POMONA — Austin Prock can enjoy his weekend in Pomona for the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series finale.

But he generally enjoys all his visits to the Southern California drag strip.

Prock, a driver for John Force Racing, is on the verge of winning his first NHRA Funny Car championship. He was 189 points ahead of teammate Jack Beckman in the countdown to the championship playoffs and needed only one qualifying Friday to win the Funny Car championship.

Whatever happens this weekend, it’s extra wax on the hood.

Prock wouldn’t officially win the Funny Car championship until qualifying ended Saturday, but he had an insurmountable lead after Friday’s qualifying round.

Rain delayed the start of qualifying for the Funny Car and Top Fuel teams by about two hours. A second rain delay ended qualifying Friday before the Top Fuel portion concluded. Qualifying resumes Saturday from 11:30 a.m.

But even rain couldn’t dampen Prock’s championship season.

Beckman was the top qualifier with a run of 3.828 seconds at 334.82 mph. Prock finished second with a run of 3.842 seconds at 331.94 mph.

“First place last time I left Pomona, first place now in my Chevy PEAK. That sounds good. On Friday in Pomona, it is always very cool. Friday in the final is always really interesting because the whole year comes down to one race, and you can’t wait to get there for the first run,” Beckman said.

“And then we had a rain delay. In Southern California… Now, this happens a lot at Winternationals, but it doesn’t happen very often in November. It’s just been a weird start to the last race of 2024. So, we have some sunshine. We drag the car up there. 3.828 and my best speed since 2020. This is the fastest speed I have achieved this year at over 2 miles per hour.

Prock won his eighth race of the season in Las Vegas two weeks ago and took all the pressure off by finishing the season at Pomona Dragstrip for the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finale.

“I always loved coming to Pomona. It’s always a treat for me,” Prock said. “It was something I looked forward to and something I was passionate about as a kid. I still feel the same way about this place. He holds a special place in my heart. I love going there.

Prock was the No. 1 qualifier in Las Vegas and defeated Paul Lee in the final round. But the finale in Las Vegas was pushed back a day and ended on Monday due to some messy crashes on Sunday.

“It gets tricky sometimes. I just have to keep my head down and stay focused,” Prock said. “You always have to do the job at hand. It’s exhausting to be on the track for 10 to 14 hours straight. When you end up winning, it’s worth it.

Top Fuel teams were unable to complete qualifying sessions due to rain.

The Top Fuel Countdown’s top three drivers for the championship playoffs entered the NHRA Finals separated by 45 points. Justin Ashley had a 44-point lead over Antron Brown. Shawn Langdon was third, one point behind Brown.

Ashley is in position to win her first NHRA championship. He won the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona in March and added three more victories in 2024.

“We deserve to be in this position. We competed at a high level,” Ashley said. “There are many other competitive racing cars that can win a race at any time and at any time. For us, our focus is internal.

Brown has won three NHRA Top Fuel championships in his career and has a chance to win a fourth. He said the level of competition in Top Fuel has never been higher.

“Everyone knows the stakes are high,” Brown said. “Everyone wants it. We do things we don’t normally do because… we don’t want to go there just to run. We want to win.

Langdon was in the finals in Las Vegas two weeks ago and lost to Brittany Force. He missed an opportunity to close the gap on Ashley and Langdon and has no intention of repeating the experience.