Prock back to winner's circle as he, Langdon, and Smith double up in Maryland
- TSN MOTORSPORTS INSIDER
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
Austin Prock won for the first time in 2026 on Sunday in front of a capacity crowd at Maryland International Raceway as he and Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won the NHRA Potomac Nationals after winning Saturday's Mission Challenge event and Greg Anderson collected his 114th win in Pro Stock.
The wait is over for back-to-back Funny Car world champion Austin Prock, as the standout won for the first time in 2026 on Sunday in front of a huge crowd at Maryland International Raceway, defeating John Force Racing’s Jack Beckman in the final round of the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS.
Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the seventh of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA season. Smith’s win was the 200th victory by a woman in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Prock went 3.956 seconds at 324.20 mph in his PPG Ford Mustang, holding off Beckman’s 3.971 at 323.50. It is Prock’s 22nd career win, but the first since leaving John Force Racing in the off-season after two straight world titles and joining Tasca Racing.
Prock’s family, including tuners Jimmy and Thomas Prock, came with him, but there were early-season struggles as they didn’t qualify at Gainesville to open the year and failed to win a round at the first five races. But the team showed signs in Chicago, advancing to the semifinals, and then had a massive weekend at MIR, starting with Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory.
On Sunday, he got past four-time world champ Matt Hagan, Spencer Hyde and points leader Ron Capps to reach the final round. Prock left first on Beckman and led wire-to-wire with his best run of the weekend, putting a stamp on the race and perhaps signaling the start of what could be another big year.
“It means a lot,” Prock said. “It's like winning your first race all over again, because all of the work that we put in and everything that we learned. So, to be seven races in and win the Mission Challenge this weekend and win the diamond Wally, I think it says a lot about this race team and what we're capable of. I’m just very proud of this whole Ford Racing team. It was a great weekend, but this is just the beginning of the new era of the Prock Rocket.
“As a competitor, you’re just kind of beat down, and then the race car started coming alive again, and I felt like I was behind the race car at times, where the race car was performing better than I was. After (Chicago), I was really, really hard on myself after the semifinals. I didn't leave good enough to even put us in contention. I wanted to come in here this weekend and prove to myself that I’ve still got it, and I feel like I did that.”
Beckman reached his second final of 2026 and the 79th in his career, taking down Joe Morrison, J.R. Todd and teammate Jordan Vandergriff. Capps leads Todd by 16 points, with Chad Green in third.
In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon continued his spectacular run, winning his third straight race for the first time in his Top Fuel career, taking down teammate Doug Kalitta in one of the closest Top Fuel races in NHRA history with a run of 3.762 at 334.90 in his Kalitta Air dragster.
It is Langdon’s fourth win in the past six races, but the final round against Kalitta was a thriller for the ages. Kalitta left first with a .052 reaction time to Langdon’s .056, but the points leader slipped past the reigning world champion at the finish line, winning by a mere .0002 seconds (or one inch).
It was as close as it gets in the Top Fuel category, but there appears to be no stopping Langdon at the moment as he was simply tremendous all weekend. He qualified No. 1 at the new facility on the NHRA tour, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, and then got past Justin Ashley and Billy Torrence to reach the finals.
He set the track record earlier in the day with a blistering 3.718 at 338.00 and was consistent throughout Sunday, stretching his lead over Kalitta to 76 points as Langdon’s dream season pushes on.
“I knew I had to hit the Tree better in the final because Doug had a little bit on me all weekend long, and I mean, Alan Johnson's Alan Johnson for a reason, because in the final rounds he performs, and Doug's been there, and had had one of the best cars over the last couple years. Brian [Husen, crew chief] was trying to run a little bit better than that in the final, and fortunately, I pulled just enough out of somewhere,” Langdon said.
“Three wins in a row means a lot because of all the hard work that's gone into this team over the last couple of years. When Brian came over and revamped everything within the team, the guys just all got together and they've done such a fantastic job. It just makes my job a lot easier. I just have to go out there and hit the gas on time and hold the thing straight. When you have confidence in your team and confidence in your car, it makes it a lot of fun.”
Kalitta knocked off Lex Joon, Clay Millican and Leah Pruett to reach the finals for the fourth time this season and 130th time in his career.
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