Prock Leads STARS National Midget Field into Second Grundy County Round

By: Rich Murray

Heading into this Saturday Night’s “Ladies Night” STARS National Midget event, 18-year-old Austin Prock has a bird’s eye view on the rest of the competitors from his perch atop the STARS points standings. Prock, who works in the race shop of legendary 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force when he is not racing, was victorious in last Saturday night’s midget feature by using the high groove to work his way to the front from his seventh starting position. After making a lap eight pass of Nick Baran, Prock dominated the rest of the race and beat second place finisher and Indy Lights Series veteran, Kyle O’Gara, by a 1.5 second margin at the finish line.

Prock leads the STARS National Midget points standings over O’Gara 137 to 128. Rounding out the current top 10 in points include Travis Young, Brad Greenup, Nick Baran, Jim Anderson, Ryan Probst, Kyle Hamilton, Nick Wagner, and Nick Hamilton. Young, Greenup, and Baran made quite an impression in their 2014 season debuts with STARS last weekend by posting top-five finishes while front-running contenders such as the Hamilton brothers (Kyle and Nick) suffered a bout of bad luck that ended their chances at winning the feature.

The Hamilton brothers are not alone as the only youthful, talented drivers in STARS. The list of drivers involved with the current youth movement of STARS is certainly impressive with Prock, O’Gara, Greenup, and the Baran brothers, just to name a few, consistently contending for victories. Veteran drivers such as three-time STARS champion Jim Anderson and Franklin, Indiana’s Travis Young are front-runners who are as stout as ever.

Watch all of these drivers and more in a thrilling open-wheel battle Saturday, June 7, on the 1/3 mile of Grundy County Speedway. Also on the card for the night are the Illini Racing Series Midgets, Classic Modifieds, and INEX Legends. It is “Ladies Night.” Grandstand tickets for ladies are just $6! Guys get in the gates for $12. Children 5-12 get in for $2. Children age 4 and under are free. The pit gates open at 2 p.m. while the grandstand opens at 5 p.m. The first race begins at 6:30 p.m.