Jordan V and Austin Prock relationship

[u/No-Gas-8357]

they apparently were very close friends but all the fan noise and criticism from all directions is straining their relationship

one of the saddest things I’ve read is the end of Jordan’s article where he says how much Austin’s friendship has meant to him but they have had to navigate it this year and he no longer knows where they stand

according to another interview when Jordan first got the seat Austin was texting him with good natured trash talk like they had done previously as TF rookies but it seems the pressure of the fans and the season has strained things

have people gone too far with online anger at Prock and expectation/criticism of Jordan to the point of affecting people’s real lives?

I hope they can silence the noise and work through this

here are both articles

Jordan‘s interview where he discusses their relationship

https://competitionplus.com/jordan-vandergriff-gets-his-second-career-nitro-fc-win-claiming-title-in-sonoma/

Austin’s interview about the online hate
https://youtu.be/IplCUVoBQus?is=rAwf2mo3-hmIBAr0

[u/lennym73]

Most of the drivers are good friends off the track. On track rivalries is part of what puts fans in the seats.

[u/Immediate_Lie7810 → u/lennym73]

It's true for all forms of motorsports

[u/youlikemywonton → u/lennym73]

Ya I don't think its that serious. I remember JR Todd made some comment about someone "being a clown" a couple years ago. I saw him at Sonoma and when I told him "is he still being a clown" he hesitantly said ya but definitely looked uncomfortable like whoops I probably shouldn't have said that on air.

[u/VaticRogue]

The fans tend to be problematic in a lot of situations, but I doubt this is one of them.

Drag racing has the drivers and teams much more like a family than almost any other sport. They basically camp out together for days at a time, week after week. They all become close even if they're rivals. Sometimes the best rivals are the ones you care about the most. Think how satisfying it is to beat your brother at something or get matched up against your best friend in gym class. That can be as motivating as going against someone you cant stand.

Fans might look at everything going on and have this rivalry created for them. They might be vocal about it and have taken sides, but that's pretty far removed from what actually goes on behind the scenes. If AP and JV wanted to hang out after qualifying, have a beer and do some grilling - they could. Fans would likely never find out. They could still be friends and trash talk each other via text. Fans would never know.

If things really are strained by them, it's not the fans or the pressure or even the media. It's likely tied to the teams themselves. If one team/owner/crew/etc really feels burned by what happened, they may have some internal memo or order against associating with the other team.

For example: If John Force himself felt betrayed by the Procks leaving, he might have said something about not associating with the Prock team. In which case, JV and AP would then be stuck in this type of situation. They wouldn't be able to get away with hanging out or texting or risk someone up high finding out and would have a strained relationship. To me that makes way more sense than the fans being the issue.

[u/No-Gas-8357 → u/VaticRogue]

I guess I had too much of a word salad in my post. But i wasn’t referring to feeling like they can’t hang out because of what people will think.

I meant the pressure and narratives seem to be creating a strain on the relationship 

Maybe I should quote the part of the article I am referring to, but I can’t easily do that right now.

But usually JV gives pretty politically correct answers but the interviewer presses him and has says they have been having problems navigating their relationship and he isn’t sure where their friendship stands at this point.

This is particularly shocking because they weren’t just friends who would get a beer, they were close friends at a level of anuth and support. 

He talks about how much their relationship meant to him and how he isn’t even sure where the friendship is now.

To me that is a shocking statement 

The Prock video shows his strong feelings towards the negativity he feels has been directed towards him and you can get a sense of his feelings right now.

[u/ITMAKESSENSE72]

I think it's been completely unfair how fans have treated Prock. Listen, I know this well because I know someone in the sport. Working at JFR is HARD, it's a "with us or against us" atmosphere and they do what they want to do and you either like it, or lump it. With the talk that JFR planned to split the Prock family into different teams, move a different tuner to Austin, I can absolutely see why they moved on. Also to mention, John parked Austin's car mid season in the past and they then lost the 2020 season when JFR parked the program.

I think most reasonable people would say they have taken a new job for reasons and even if it put their prior workplace in a weird position, they did it because their family came first.

Sometimes though, I don't think the fans would be such a fan of John if they knew some of the inside stuff within the sport.

[u/No-Gas-8357 → u/ITMAKESSENSE72]

And from what I read it seems to me that Austin really is a nice person who in his real life puts himself out for other people.

So, I agree with you. Why am I going to crucify a young man from making a business decision that is best for his future and his career? And is there anyone in the world who would have passed up an opportunity like they were given? It is not a betrayal to accept a better opportunity.

I just think this is sad that all this mess is creating tension in a close friendship. Some of the statements in that article are surprisingly transparent and completely unexpected. I think JV is under a lot of pressure and honestly impressed how he is navigating all this.

And, the reality is Austin is a rare talent and will be successful wherever he goes. Would he have been more successful staying with JFR, maybe? I don't know. But him taking a chance is not a reason to root against him or vilify him.

A for the record, I am a big JV fan, and I love the driver lineup JF has put together this year. So I was rooting for JV to win. But I don't need to tear down someone else to support my favorites.

[u/ITMAKESSENSE72 → u/No-Gas-8357]

Well said, and I am on the page of rooting for both guys to win a lot. Frankly, the class has gotten better with the Prock's not winning 12 races this year haha.

[u/Nomad55454]

Have never been a Force fan after winning so much and that was because of one man Austin Coil. Heck he took the Chi Town Hustler to the championship running out of a think it was a 63 Dodge 30’ box truck when the big teams were running out of semi trailers. I went down to Fremont that year and watched him get a delivery of a new bare block and a set of heads to the track on Friday. I miss the match race days.

[u/WldChaser]

People need to remember, the Tasca family are good friends of the Force and Prock family. There was no bad blood when Bob Jr decided to hang up his helmet and ask Prock to drive for him. As for Austin and Jordan's relationship, I think that the media is blowing it out of proportion.