Prock, Kalitta and Enders score historic victories at inaugural PRO Superstar Shootout

Filling in for the sidelined Robert Hight, Prock wins in the first-ever Funny Car race of his career

Austin Prock in his Funny Car debut raced to victory at the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, at Bradenton Motorsports Park, on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta and six-time Pro Stock world champion and winningest woman in history Erica Enders also picked up wins worth $250,000 and $125,000, respectively.

The sportsman classes at the PRO Superstar Shootout also raced for big payouts, with Darian Boesch (FTI Performance Top Sportsman), Matt Dadas (Super Stock), and Monty Bogan Jr. (Stock Eliminator) collecting checks for $50,000 (Top Sportsman) and $30,000 (Super Stock and Stock Eliminator).

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Austin Prock was outstanding in his Funny Car career debut

FUNNY CAR

In the Funny Car final round, Prock put together a run of 3.845-seconds at 332.42 MPH in his Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SS to defeat defending world champion Matt Hagan, who ran a 3.872 at 329.75. Prock, who was also the No. 1 qualifier and collected a $10,000 bonus award from Lucas Oil Friday night during the chip draw session, received a payday of $250,000.

“I can't even put it into words. It's like I said, it still doesn't even feel real,” said Prock. “This team is just so exceptional and I was just happy to not mess it up for them. This is a championship-caliber team and a race-winning team, and I just had to hang on to the wheel and make sure I got the data for them and we did that today.

"This win is huge. I had a quote before we came in here that if I ended up winning my first ever race and it was the PRO Superstar Shootout it would be legendary and I guess we did that today.”

Hagan had the starting line advantage, but Prock chased him down for the win in the finals. Prock defeated Alexis DeJoria in round one and then his teammate John Force in round two, conquering the early rounds with the starting line advantage.

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Reigning NHRA Top Fuel champ Doug Kalitta picked up where he left off at the end of last season: with a win in Saturday's Top Fuel Finals at the PRO Superstar Shootout

TOP FUEL

Doug Kalitta picked up right where he left off at the end of the 2023 season. Kalitta powered his Applied Innovation Top Fuel dragster to claim the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Top Fuel title.

Kalitta threw down a 3.706 at 325.14, while final-round opponent Clay Millican slowed to a 4.22 at 196.39.

“The first thing that I thought of when we won this thing was how proud Don Schumacher would be of the PRO group putting this together,” said Kalitta. “We've never really seen this kind of money and the whole deal was it was pretty cool. I know a lot of people worked real hard to make this happen.”

Kalitta’s crew chief and PRO President, Alan Johnson, was just as excited for the win that shows that backed up their championship season.

“It's really great for Doug but it's also great for these crew guys who worked all winter long to maintain this thing because there's some things we had to change,” said Johnson. “We're going to a different chassis. There are things we had to change to be able to come out at the first event and run well and win. It is just a testament to how good a job they did over the winter.”

Kalitta had the starting line advantage in the finals, never trailing for the win and the $250,000 check. Millican started to lose traction and clicked off his Top Fuel dragster. Justin Ashley had the starting line advantage over Kalitta in the first round, but lost traction. Kalitta pedaled his car for the win. He then used a 3.709 at 330.63 to take down Leah Pruett’s 3.941 in the semifinals.

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Erica Enders is No. 1 again as she captures the Pro Superstar Shootout Saturday in Bradenton, Fla

PRO STOCK

Erica Enders put together a memorable weekend in Pro Stock at the PRO Superstar Shootout, making a clean sweep at Bradenton Motorsports Park with her victory over Dave Connolly in the final round.

The reigning world champion bested Connolly with a 6.531 at 210.05 in her JHG/SCAG/Melling Camaro. Connolly recorded a 6.577 at 208.81 in the runner-up effort.

“Dave [Connolly] and I have a lot of history and that final round, I'd be lying if I told you my heart rate wasn't a little bit higher than normal,” said Enders. “I called my dad before that final round, and I'm like, ‘Alright, help me with my neuro program.’ I had to disregard the emotion behind it because I just want to knock their teeth out, but I just have to go out there and do what we do best.

"I know I have the best guys in the business standing behind me and it's a group that I can trust and I cannot emphasize that enough. That means the world to me, but that pressure right there, I’d put it up against a world championship because of who was in the other lane.”

On Friday night, Enders qualified in the No. 1 position in the final qualifying session of the event after struggling throughout qualifying. The throwdown run set a positive tone for Saturday eliminations at an event supported by her Elite Motorsports team’s key partners.

"To have the partners that we have with JHG and SCAG – they dove in headfirst and supported this race, not just our race cars, but this entire event and the sense of pride that I feel having partners that believe in what we believe in it, you can't compare it,” Enders said. Before collecting the $125,000 check in the final round, Enders also defeated teammates David Cuadra, Aaron Stanfield, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the first three rounds.

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TOP FUEL VS. FUNNY CAR SHOOTOUT

Rather than head home early, the drivers who didn’t qualify in Top Fuel and Funny Car participated in the Top Fuel vs. Funny Car Shootout with the Don Schumacher Nitro Superstar Award and a $10,000 bonus from Red Line Oil up for grabs.

The format paired up Top Fuel dragsters versus Funny Cars in the first round, with the quickest of each returning for the final round. A two-tenths staggered tree in favor of the Funny Cars evened the playing field.

Recent first-time Funny Car winner Chad Green and four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence coincidentally were the quickest in the first round when they faced each other, so they came back for a rematch in the final round.

Green was first to the finish line both times in his Bond-Coat ‘23 Ford Mustang. He cut a .064 reaction time to Torrence’s .186, then laid down a 3.977 at 318.17 to finish ahead of the CAPCO Contractors dragster’s 3.729 at 333.41.

Top Fuel Funny Car Shootout winner Chad Green

“I did something today I definitely thought I would never do, and that's race against a Top Fuel dragster,” Green said. “And on top of that, when I heard I was gonna be doing this last night when we got bumped out, I was like, ‘Oh, I just I hope I get Steve Torrence.’

"That's what I went home telling all my crew last night because he's my buddy, and just to get a chance to race against a Steve Torrence, right? Or Brittany [Force], for sure. I was like, ‘If I don't get Steve, I want Brittany.’ I went up to Steve after the first round and said I'll probably never get a chance to do this again, and then, boom, we get to race each other in the final. So I got to beat him two times. I think got a holeshot both times. I'm just really proud of that.”

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Top Sportsman winner Darian Boesch

TOP SPORTSMAN

Kenner, Louisiana-based driver Darian Boesch took home the big prize in Saturday’s Top Sportsman category after qualifying second in the class’s 28-car field. Boesch had an impressive .002 final-round reaction time in his supercharged Haas-built ’18 Camaro, running 6.285 at 220.91 on a 6.27 dial-in. Boesch took down Sandy Wilkins in the finals, who had a .024 reaction time and ran a 6.490 at 201.61 on a 6.47 dial-in.

On Boesch’s road to the winner’s circle, he also took down Brian Heath, Chris Arnold, Mark Buehring, and Brandon Miller. Part of Boesch’s success might be attributed to the fact that he’s no stranger to Bradenton Raceway Park. In fact, he’s raced here three times over the last month, making more than 40 runs down the track. But Saturday’s race was a bit different, with $50,000 on the line.

“The money makes a big difference. It’s a little bit different, letting go of the button for $50,000. It’s a bit of added pressure,” Boesch said. Boesch thanked Wes Buck, FTI, Mark Micke, and Jerry Haas Race Cars for his successful weekend. Boesch will be back at Bradenton Motorsports Park in a few weeks for the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod on March 1-3, competing in both Top Dragster and Top Sportsman.

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Super Stock winner Matt Dadas

SUPER STOCK

Driving for car owner Bo Butner, Matt Dadas delivered a huge Super Stock victory for the past Pro Stock world champion when he defeated Jeff Adkinson in the final round. With a $30,000 check on the line, Dadas was first off the starting line with his .014 reaction time to Adkinson’s .039 before running a 9.532 at 136.91 on a 9.53 dial-in in Butner’s FSS/K ‘12 Ford Mustang. Adkinson, in his FSS/F ‘15 Camaro, recorded a 9.29 at 132.18 on a 9.28 dial-in.

Making the win even more memorable was the fact Dadas had never driven the car before the weekend and was tapped to drive less than an hour before qualifying began.

“Oh man, this is super special,” said Dadas, who thanked Bo and Randi Lyn Butner, crew chief Gage Green, girlfriend Carly, his parents, and Jason Johnson of Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage. “About 20 minutes before Q1 of Super Stock, Bo comes in the trailer after turning in his tech card and he goes, ‘Well, I made an executive decision while I was up there.’

"I was like, ‘What's that?’ He said, ‘You're driving.’ I was like, OK, so I got in it. I had never made a run in this thing. I mean, I loaded it in the trailer for him, but it's just unbelievable how this stuff happens. I'm super, super thankful, super blessed, and it's very special.” Dadas, from Vermilion, Ohio, raced past Jay Storey, Ryan Montford, Kevin Helms, and Hayden Trumble on his way to the final round.

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Stock Eliminator winner Marty Bogan Jr

STOCK ELIMINATOR

Monty Bogan Jr. drove his ’67 Camaro to the winner’s circle in Stock Eliminator after a final-round finish over Michael Brand II. Bogan left the starting line first with a quick .004 reaction time, compared to Brand’s .018, and ran a 10.715 at 119.80 on a 10.71 dial-in. Brand’s ’13 Cobra Jet recorded a 8.663 at 156.19 on a 8.67 dial-in. In his five rounds of competition, the Boiling Springs, SC driver said he had luck on his side in the semifinal round when his carburetor broke during his run, but his opponent, Brett Candies, red-lit, giving Bogan the win.

“You’ve gotta have one lucky round – and that was my big round,” said Bogan, who also took down Dave Bares, Tyler Bohannon, and Jay Storey during Saturday’s eliminations. “We’ve had a ball,” Bogan said. “This is a fun race, and I wish there were a bunch more!”

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For detailed results from the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by JHG, visit www.DragRaceCentral.com.

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ABOUT THE PRO SUPERSTAR SHOOTOUT

On February 8-10, 2024, the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) in collaboration with Drag Illustrated and Bradenton Motorsports Park, will host the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage. With a combined purse exceeding $1.3M, the PRO Superstar Shootout will pay $250,000 to the winners in Top Fuel and Funny Car and $125,000 to the winner in Pro Stock. For event details, visit www.SuperstarShootout.com.

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ABOUT PRO

The Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) is a trade organization providing services and other benefits to professional drag racing team owners and drivers. Veteran nitro crew chief and former team owner Alan Johnson is the president of the organization, and board members include active team owners and drivers.

--- Press release from DragIllustrated.com