Preparing for the second of its four-wide events, the NHRA heads to Charlotte, NC with a full roster of racing.
This weekend the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series conducts its second and last four-wide race of the 2021 season, held where the first one occurred: zMax Dragway outside Charlotte is hosting the 11th annual NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.
It’ll be a full house with all four (plus Pro Mod) Camping World categories competing on the zMax dragstrip. Since there were no four-wide races during last year’s pandemic-affected season, this’ll be the second time in less than two months that competitors will be vying for Wally trophies in this format. The most recent zMax four-wide contest, held April 26-28 of 2019, yielded winners in only three categories: Steve Torrence in Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon in Funny Car and Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Pro Stock cars were not included in that race.
Read More: Take a Look Back at that 2019 Race
As was the case at Las Vegas, this four-wide event will have three attempts at qualifying for Sunday’s eliminations: a night session on Friday begins at 7PM; Saturday at 1:15PM and 4:45PM with eliminations starting Sunday at the crack of noon.
After beating his good friend and fierce competitor Steve Torrence in Atlanta’s final round two weekends past, Antron Brown may take his place in the Top Fuel pantheon this weekend. In Atlanta he tied Joe Amato for third in career Top Fuel victories with 52; by advancing one round this coming Sunday, he’ll be become only the sixth driver in NHRA history record 750 career round wins. Another 2021 victory on Sunday would Brown’s 69th all told: he would accumulate his 53rd in a dragster to go with 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle Wally winners trophies.
Brown could be a favorite this weekend, thanks to his five Top Fuel wins at zMax Dragway. Two of those victories have come in four-wide competition. With 18 competitors in Top Fuel, Brown knows his biggest challenge is to “get ourselves qualified at the top of the ladder and then look to take it one round at a time on race day.” This race marks the second for Krista Baldwin, who is driving her grandfather Chris Karamasines’ dragster after a successful Top Alcohol Dragster career. Mike Salinas, too, is returning to competition outside Charlotte, along with occasional racers Luigi Novelli, Kyle Wurtzel, Buddy Hull, Arthur Allen, Joe Morrison and Gainesville winner Josh Hart.
Steve Torrence still has the Top Fuel points lead, but Don Schumacher Racing’s Brown is only 28 points behind, Kalitta Motorsports’ Shawn Langdon is third (-65), Billy Torrence fourth (-107) and Brittany Force’s John Force Racing rail is in fifth place, 113 points behind Torrence. Hart, Doug Kalitta, Justin Ashley, Leah Pruett and Clay Millican round out the top 10. Langdon could make history at this race if he wins, becoming the sole driver to earn four-wide wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car (2019).
Bob Tasca III is having a magical start in his 2021 campaign to take the 2021 NHRA Funny Car championship. The Ford Mustang driver achieved two straight victories in the last two contests to give him a 60-point lead over Kalitta’s J.R. Todd and that driver’s Toyota Camry flopper. In the three races held to date, Tasca went to the semifinals in the season-starter at Gainesville and won the next two races. With 16 Funny Car entries at this race, everyone will have an opportunity to race on Sunday.
That would include 16-time Funny Car titleholder John Force, who sat out the 2020 season but is elevating his status in the standings as this new season progresses. By going to the final round at Atlanta, Force placed himself and his Chevrolet Camaro SS in fourth place, only two points behind 2020 champ Matt Hagan of DSR, who drives a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Bad news for Force is the challenge of 2016 champ Ron Capps, whose DSR Charger SRT Hellcat stands only 10 points behind him in fifth place, followed by Force’s teammate Robert Hight. Tim Wilkerson (Mustang) is seventh, Alexis DeJoria’s Camry stands eighth, while Cruz Pedregon (Charger SRT Hellcat), the most recent active driver to win at zMax in Funny Car is ninth and Blake Alexander holds 10th place points, driving a Mustang for Jim Head.
Challengers making a play for glory at zMax this weekend in Funny Car include Cory Lee in a Mustang, Terry Haddock’s Mustang, Dave Richards in a Mustang, Dale Creasy Jr., driving a Dodge Stratus flopper and Mike McIntire Jr.’s Toyota Camry.
In 2019 NHRA decided to limit Pro Stock to 18 races, rather than 24 for the nitro classes. As a result, there was no Pro Stock competition at zMax during the springtime four-wide event. During the 2018 event, Chris McGaha was the winner, but the current 10th place runner will have his work cut out for him to take a second straight four-wide trophy at zMax.
There are plenty of hot hands on that entry list for Pro Stock and most of them are driving Chevrolet Camaro race cars, but with 20 cars on the grounds, this could be anyone’s race. The hottest of those hot hands belongs to four-time class champion Greg Anderson, who has a massive 79-point advantage on fellow four-time and reigning titleholder Erica Enders, with Deric Kramer just three points behind her. Second generation Pro Stock racers Aaron Stanfield, Mason McGaha, Kyle Koretsky and Troy Coughlin Jr. comprise positions four through seven, while Matt Hartford, Kenny Delco and Chris McGaha make up the balance of that top 10.
Coughlin Jr., who made the finals at Gainesville has had rough outings in the last two races but isn’t going to let that get to him. Cool and calm about his racing, Coughlin Jr. used his first four-wide adventure in Las Vegas to gain confidence in the tricky format. “It adds a lot to the competition. You have to really concentrate on what you’re doing during the staging process in relation to the other three cars,” he said. “In the end you’re still trying to get all you can out of your own car, so you can’t get too distracted by what the other drivers are doing.”
Everyone will have to stop Anderson, who’s earned all three No. 1 qualifying slots in the first three races and is a three-time winner at the zMax track. With team cars for Kramer, Hartford, Koretsky and Dallas Glenn, “My car has been the standout – superior so far – but any race we go to, any one of these five KB Racing cars could win the event,” Anderson allowed.
Andrew Hines, who won the four-wide zMax race in 2019, will be making his second start of the season – and is back in 17th place in points because of it. Hines and fellow Vance & Hines racer Eddie Krawiec (currently P12) debuted the new VH160VT V-Twin at Atlanta with Hines losing to Krawiec in the quarterfinals and Krawiec bowing to reigning four-time champ Matt Smith in the semis – despite a 200mph pass.
The rider on everyone’s radar is Scotty Pollacheck, who earned his second career Wally trophy in Atlanta on his Matt Smith Racing EBR. Pollacheck has exceptional fortune in four-wide competition, going to the final quad five times since 2013, but still looking for his first victory in this format. There are 22 motorcycles entered for NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals this weekend and the lineup is plenty stout.
It includes the entire top 10 of Matt Smith’s EBR, Pollacheck (-3), Ryan Oehler’s EBR (-14), Angelle Sampey on the V&H Suzuki, Steve Johnson’s (-92) and Cory Reed’s (-120) Suzuki motorcycles, Angie Smith (EBR), Karen Stoffer’s Suzuki, Joey Gladstone and Kelly Clontz, both riding four-valve Suzuki motorcycles. In addition, Hector Arana Jr. (EBR) returns to competition, as does Jianna Salinas (Suzuki), both of whom haven’t run every race this year. Chip Ellis will ride a Matt Smith Racing EBR this weekend, and David Barron, Chris Bostick, Marc Ingwersen, Jimmy Underdahl, Ron Tornow and Pablo Gonzalez will be looking to make the 16-motorcycle field.
Even before the action starts on Friday evening, there’s an unusual event planned for Thursday in the mid- to late-afternoon. Since NHRA is racing in what is ostensibly NASCAR country, on Thursday there will be a NASCAR/NHRA crossover with Toyota Racing drivers. The NASCAR drivers will be able to experience an NHRA engine warm-up and then see the power of nitro-driven dragsters and Funny Cars when the NHRA drivers perform a burnout. All four drivers – NASCAR’s Daniel Hemric and Bubba Wallace, along with Shawn Langdon and J.R. Todd will participate in a four-wide drag race down the quarter mile in production Toyota Supras to end the day.
Weather looks good for the weekend, with Friday being the coolest day and logically providing the best opportunity to make good speeds in the waning light. Both Friday and Sunday currently call for more cloudy skies and temps will be in the mid-70s on both Saturday and Sunday.
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