Funny Car

It just, at the time I do something.

Um, the funny cars came by, the pulling funny cars came by the promoter that was, that owned US Hot Rod Association back in the day, a guy named Bob George, promoter out of Chicago.

Um, I, he was paying us really good money to, to pull the indoor circuit and stuff, so in '83 I think I pulled 29 different arenas and stadiums all over the country.

And then he, he mentioned to me, he's like, I says, "Well, if, if you pay me a little more money I'll bu- I'll put two more motors on my tractor." And he goes, "I don't care if you put 10 on there." And he says, "Build me a funny car, looks like it just came off the drag strip." And he says, "I'll pay you X amount of dollars," and it was, at the time I considered stupid money, but okay.

Um, yeah, it's, it's not looking good for everybody else.

Which, speaking of which, on the Funny Car side, it was two-time reigning world champion Austin Prock finally collecting his second win of the season after winning in Maryland back in May.

The Funny Car field does not wanna hear me say that.

Um, Prock took down his old ride, now driven by Jordan Vandergriff, with a 390.9 at 332.84 miles per hour to beat Vandergriff's 392.6 at 325.37 miles per hour for career win number 23.

This win jumps Prock to third in the standings, 106 back of points leader Matt Hagan, who still leads, uh, Vandergriff by 72 points.

I mean, Prock still definitely has some work to do, but he's back in contention now and could go on a tear in the back half of the Countdown to possibly win a third straight Funny Car title.

Which, if you woulda told me that at Gainesville, uh, when Prock DNQ'd at Gainesville to start the year, or if you would've told me, um, heading into Chicago, which I did go to Chicago when Prock finally got a round win for the first time this year and made it to the semifinals.

But if you'd have told me entering Chicago that Prock would pick up, would finally pick up a couple wins and be in contention in the back half of the Countdown to potentially win a third straight Funny Car world title, I would've thought you were lying.

You know, like he's got Justin, Justin Ashley that drives the Top Fuel.

Uh, Daniel Wilkerson drives the, uh, Funny Car.

Dave Richards drive the, the, the Bluebird Turf, and I think they got Will Smith.

So I mean Randy and the fine, fine Scag Turf Tiger, Jackall, uh, Bluebird Turf sponsorships, they got four, maybe five cars.

I like, I like Ron Capps, is my friend.

You know, Leah, Tony's wife, I'm pulling for her.

And then Hagan, Matt Hagan, Tony's Funny Car, I'm pulling for him.

But when they go against a Scag guy, I kind of like-

Um, Gateway, uh, and Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon powered, uh, to his fourth consecutive victory of the season by defeating first-time finalist Will Smith, not that Will Smith, um, with a 3.732-second pass at 335.90 miles an hour.

[smacks lips] Uh, Austin Prock reignited his championship hopes in Funny Car with a crucial final round victory, taking the win.

Uh, he did it with a 3.906-second run at 329.9 miles an hour.

And in Pro Stock, Aaron Stanfield prevailed in a rare father-son final, uh, against his father Greg, uh, driving his Chevy Camaro to the victory.

You got 13,000 horsepower in a short wheelbase funny car.

And when you lose traction, and I always loved it when I would lose traction, and then I don't hear the car under power next to me, I'm like, okay, it's on.

Now we're in a midget at the Chili Bowl, and I've got to get this thing hooked up and keep it in the lane between the wall and that... that center line and actually out pedal somebody with more horsepower than anything on the planet at your toe.

Well, thanks for coming on.

Let's get to your stats here.

We got three-time NHRA Funny Car Champion, 78 wins.

A best ET of a 3.8 and best trap speed of 239 miles an hour.

Or 339 miles per hour, not 239.

So if anybody can challenge Langan for this championship, it's Doug, who's trying to win his third Top Fuel world title in four years after previous titles in 2023 and last year.

Funny car-wise, Matt Hagan went to his fourth straight final round and picked up his second win in that time span, collecting his fourth win of the year and 59th career win over Paul Lee in a rematch of the 2008 IHRA final at Rockingham, the last time Rockingham had nitro cars there.

Um, and Hagan also won that.

Hagan went 392.2 at 327.75 miles per hour to best Lee, who was ahead up till half track, but then smoked the tires, got sideways, about hit the wall, and had to click it off.

But, um, Hagan now has firm control of the points lead in a Funny Car class where control seems hard to come by.

Um, Hagan's now got an 84-point lead over Jordan Vandergriff and 106-point lead over Jeret'a, which is four races to go.

And bad news for Funny Car, Hagan enters St. Louis as the defending winner as he tries to secure that fifth Funny Car world title, which would only make him the second ever to reach that mark after, of course, the GOAT, John Force, with 16 Funny Car titles.

But in Pro Stock, Elite Motorsports stays a perfect two for two to start the countdown, this time with Aaron Stanfield taking his second win of the season over first-time finalist Cody Anderson, son of six-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson.

Oh, boy.

And Funny Car racing.

Funny Car.

You're talking about, uh, you're talking about quarter-mile drag strip.

I was like-

You're talking about Big Daddy Don Garlits

... is this, is this really, like, this is the multi-view?

Funny Car? What's Funny Car?