John Force Racing

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From USA News -- NHRA stunner: Jimmy Prock out as John Force’s crew chief

In a stunning move that could potentially threaten his bid for a record-extending 17th NHRA Funny Car championship, John Force announced Wednesday that veteran crew chief Jimmy Prock has resigned, effective immediately.

In an NHRA teleconference Wednesday afternoon where many reporters believed he would announce a new sponsor and new car manufacturer for next season, Force instead said an unnamed rival team owner had reached out to him earlier this week and said he was interested in hiring some of Force’s employees, including Prock.

“I approached (Prock) and he couldn’t give me an answer,” Force said. “I said, ‘Jimmy, I need to know if you’re with me or you’re not.’ We danced around for a few days and finally I said I need to know, that I have sponsor contracts that have been signed or are on the table, selling this powerhouse race team of four teams. You and (fellow crew chief) Mike Neff lead my charge. I need to know where I stand.

“Jimmy Prock said, ‘I’m probably going to leave at the end of the year. Basically, I need a change.’ I know he had been talking with others (team owners).

“He turned in a resignation yesterday for the end of the year. I met with my brain trust and told Jimmy Prock I would accept his resignation, but I was accepting it now. I’ll take it right now.

“As of right now, Jimmy Prock is no longer employed by John Force Racing. I know it’s in the middle of the Countdown (to the Championship) and you think I’m committing suicide, but I’m not.”

Force is currently second in the Funny Car standings, 36 points behind series leader Matt Hagan. Two races remain this season, in Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif.

Force admitted Prock’s decision to leave caught him by surprise and resulted in the decision to let Prock leave now rather than after the season, regardless of how that might affect Force’s championship bid this season or sponsorship contracts that have already been signed for 2015 or are close to being signed.

“I race from the heart,” Force said. “I’m about principle, camaraderie (and) loyalty. If a man’s heart is not here with me, his job is to protect his family, he has to do what he has to do and John Force has to do what he has to do.”

And perhaps the biggest thing Force has to do is rally his team and go forward with his championship hopes, although it likely will cause some scrambling and greater interaction and use of employees, including those who may work for Force’s two racing daughters, Brittany and Courtney, and racing son-in-law Robert Hight.

“I am going after this championship and I am going after it with the people that will stay with me for the long haul. That is what I owe my sponsors and fans,” Force said. “As much as I want No. 17, not even for a championship will I race with somebody that I know is leaving me.

“I am a big boy and I’m going to put this team back together. I am going to fight, win or lose. If we get No. 17, great, but if we don’t I know I will have gone down with people that believe in me, that trust in me and that will stand by me, not just in good times but in bad times. I am not just racing for this championship; I am racing for the next 10 years.”

Prock has been with John Force Racing for nearly 16 years. He previously had been crew chief for Hight, but came over in the middle of the 2013 season to become Force’s crew chief, leading him the remainder of that season to three wins in the Countdown for the Championship and ultimately Force’s 16th championship.

One thing Force likely will not do is bring back former crew chief Austin Coil. Together, the pair won 15 of Force’s 16 championships. Coil retired after Force’s 2010 title and a team source said Coil has no interest in returning to the sport.

That means Force will likely have long-time employees John Medlen, the organization’s director of technology and safety, and Dean Antonelli (who works on Brittany Force’s Top Fuel dragster).

Medlen was crew chief when Tony Pedregon won the Funny Car championship in 2003 while driving for John Force Racing.

“I’ve got about a week,” Force said. ”I’m addressing the employees (later today). If they’re going to stay, I’ll know that, I’ll have a commitment that they’ll stay through the Countdown. If not, I’ve got a week to build a complete race team.”

Force added later, “This is the hardest call I’ve ever made. I have to go on, he (Prock) needs to go on.”

Force said he would reveal more about his new sponsors and car manufacturer at the Las Vegas race next weekend and at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show the following week, also in Las Vegas.