One year ago, Funny Car star Bob Tasca III made history at the inaugural PRO Superstar Shootout in Bradenton, Florida by recording the sport’s first ever wheel-driven pass in excess of 340 mph, forever etching the special event into the record books. But in its sophomore campaign, the unique event has delivered a proper encore.

On Friday evening, reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion Austin Prock stunned the assembled crowd at Bradenton Motorsports Park and those watching at home on Flo Racing by clocking the quickest 1,000-foot Funny Car elapsed time in history at 3.791 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 3.793 seconds set by his predecessor, Robert Hight, all the way back in August of 2017 in Brainerd, Minnesota.

The stunning lap came in the event’s fourth and final qualifier under the bright Bradenton lights, after Prock Has already recorded a series of runs through testing and qualifying that hinted at such a performance. Those included an earlier 3.816 that led the first three sessions of qualifying.

“That thing was trucking down there,” Prock said. “I had my hands full. I got really close to the centerline and that might have scrubbed off that three-thousandths we needed to go (3).78. But I’m really proud of this team.

“It’s been eight years since someone has run (3).79,” he continued. “The race cars and rules were much different (then), so to get back to that number says a lot about this team, says a lot about my dad (crew chief Jimmy Prock), Thomas (Prock) and Nate (Hildahl). They do a really good job and it sure is fun.”

Prock’s time-slip included an 0.858-second short time, a 2.187 to 330 feet, 3.067 at 292.46 mph to the 1/8-mile, and a 331.53 mph finish-line speed.

To provide some context to Prock’s incredible numbers, in February of 2007 Hight recorded what will likely forever stand as the quickest 1/4-mile Funny Car run at 4.636 seconds; on that pass he went 3.955 seconds to 1,000 feet (along with an 0.878 60-foot, 2.243 to 330 feet, 3.175 at 273.16 mph to the 1/8-mile, and a 327.74 mph trap speed). Prock, in those 18 years, picked up 0.108 seconds to the 18-mile and 0.164 seconds to 1,000 feet; conservative math would tell us based on Prock’s numbers alone that Funny Cars would be into the mid to upper 4.40’s in an alternate timeline that features safe 1/4-mile racing. But remember, too, that the NHRA in 2018 restricted the lay-back angle of the headers on Funny Cars that had benefited their performance gains, handicapping them about half a tenth at the time. And so it’s likely that Funny Car teams would have already canceled out Hight’s 3.793.

Prock is the reigning champion of the PRO Superstar Shootout, notching his first career win in a Funny Car at last year’s contest before embarking on his first full season in the category. With his legendary crew chief father, Jimmy Prock, and assistant crew chief brother Thomas in his corner, Austin dominated the 2024 campaign, winning eight times in 20 races and qualifying number one an impressive 15 times.