Prock, Hight, Kramer and Herrera Claim zMAX 4Wide Victories
The fifth NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series race – of 21 total – occurred this past weekend on the four lanes at zMAX Dragway outside Charlotte, North Carolina.
With all four categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – in action during the Circle K 4Wide NHRA Nationals, and with weather threatening throughout the first day of qualifying and during Sunday’s three rounds of eliminations, there was definitely some uncertainty as to whether the event would go off as planned.
The second four-across (and last for this year) race in NHRA’s professional categories – and in a few of the Lucas Oil Sportsman classes as well – managed to take place with only a few adjustments for rain showers on Sunday morning. While there were no “special” races scheduled to coincide with this event, NHRA managed to present a 13th zMAX 4Wide event that lived up to the hype surrounding this type of straight-line racing.
When NHRA uses four lanes, the action is somewhat compressed, so that there are three, rather than four rounds of eliminations on Sunday. It makes for some added drama between rounds for many competitors, who need to get their cars and motorcycles prepared to run again, often without a lot of lead time. The pro racers, of course, are used to this kind of situation, as they face it whenever the action ceases at a dragstrip; when a racer has an issue, it can affect many more than a single combatant.
The record will show that the finals of this race saw Austin Prock earn the Wally in Top Fuel, while Prock’s John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight propelled his Chevrolet Camaro SS to victory in Funny Car. Four seasons after his most recent victory, Deric Kramer finally saw a win light in Pro Stock with his Chevy Camaro, while Gaige Herrera’s assault on Pro Stock Motorcycle gave the second-year contestant a second straight victory aboard his Vance & Hines Suzuki Hayabusa.
While Prock, in his third season as a driver – he and the balance of John Force Racing sat out most of 2020 and there were issues that kept him working behind the scenes in 2021 – has been making his way to the front of the pack. Despite only qualifying in seventh place for this four-across race, Prock managed to work his way through two rounds of eliminations in order to gain access to the final round, unlike his teammate and quickest qualifier, reigning Top Fuel champion Brittany Force. Prock and Justin Ashley made it through the first quad, while he was joined by Leah Pruett in the finals, running against a resurgent Josh Hart and four-time champion Steve Torrence, who fouled out in the finals.
Austin Prock’s victory in the final race of day allowed him to double-up with Funny Car teammate Robert Hight, who won his class. That final dragster round was quite a doozy, as Torrence red-lit, leaving too soon, while Prock managed a clean 3.684/330.88 pass to better Pruett’s 3.708 at 329.99 and Hart’s 3.7565/327.82. “It was a great weekend overall,” Prock admitted. “We went down the track all seven runs this weekend, and to rebound like we did after an awful weekend in Vegas,” where he was out after the first round of eliminations, “really shows how strong this team is. My crew chiefs were so confident today that they told me we are going to go out there and out-run everybody – and I believe we did!”
Despite his final-round foul, Steve Torrence retains a 13-point lead on Justin Ashley, followed by Brittany Force, Antron Brown, Mike Salinas, Leah Pruett, Austin Prock, Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta and Josh Hart.
Robert Hight wasn’t the best driver on Friday or Saturday, but he came through when it mattered, on Sunday. Bob Tasca III was quickest in qualifying, and Hight came third, allowing him to lead his quad in the first round. Earning the win in the first round of eliminations, over Mike McIntire Jr., Alex Laughlin and J.R. Todd, Hight also won his second round, setting himself up for a plausible victory run in the finals. He was joined in that final quad by team owner John Force and the two Toyota GR Supras wheeled by reigning Funny Car champ Ron Capps and by Alexis DeJoria, who is having an exceptional season and was runner-up on Sunday.
After his holeshot win, Hight acknowledged that this 4Wide race “is a big weekend for us. The car went down the track in every run, and really hats off to the NHRA and Safety Safari: they have had challenging conditions all weekend and I know they have worked long, long hours,” he said. Weather delays made for those long hours for everyone. “After two first-round losses in a row, we changed the car around. We stayed and tested after the last event in Vegas. Jimmy Prock felt we got the data we needed despite an ignition problem, so to come in here and make seven respectable runs – and get down the track every run – that’s pretty exciting!”
While he didn’t make the final round, Matt Hagan retains a 105-point advantage over Ron Capps’ Toyota GR Supra in his Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, with Alexis DeJoria’s GR Supra third, Chad Green’s Mustang fourth, Hight’s Camaro fifth, Bob Tasca III’s and Tim Wilkerson’s Ford Mustangs sixth and seventh, followed by John Force’s Camaro in eighth, second-qualifier Cruz Pedregon’s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat ninth and Blake Alexander tenth in Jim Head’s Mustang.
Deric Kramer worn the blue winner’s cap at the end of this Pro Stock race day and, while he didn’t get to wear the yellow No. 1 qualifier’s hat this weekend – that went to fellow KB Titan Racing partner Matt Hartford, who also races a Chevrolet Camaro – the blue hat fit Kramer well after a nearly four-year victory drought. In earning his fifth career victory, Kramer bested points leader Dallas Glenn, who was looking to take his third consecutive victory in Pro Stock, No. 1 qualifier Hartford and the Ford Mustang of first-time finalist Fernando Cuadra Jr. Kramer’s last victory before this weekend came at the same track, albeit in the fall Charlotte race where only two lanes are used.
“The Get BioFuel Chevy Camaro is a fun car to drive, first and foremost,” Kramer admitted. “That, right there is enough to keep someone wanting to be out here. Once you hoist that Wally, you want another. The drought is so long, ad when it finally happens again, the euphoria just washes over you. As a team,. we’ve been struggling with the car the last few years. It was a lot of small stuff,” which is usually the case. but Kramer did make the finals in Las Vegas’ four-wide competition two weeks ago and stayed to test afterwards. “It’s just been getting more and more laps, getting more comfortable, getting more data and compiling it all to get a victory.”
Dallas Glenn has a 51-point advantage on Troy Coughlin Jr., while Matt Hartford is third, Camrie Caruso fourth, Aaron Stanfield fifth, Bo Butner III sixth, Greg Anderson seventh, Cristian Cuadra’s Mustang eighth, Kyle Koretsky and Mason McGaha completing the top ten in Pro Stock.
Herrera is making Vance & Hines look like geniuses in choosing him to partner three-time champion Eddie Krawiec on a pair of Suzuki Hayabusa Pro Stock Motorcycle entries. Herrera won the season starter at Gainesville, FL but had to wait from mid-March to the final day of April to race a second time. The results were the same and Herrera made the quickest run in two the three quads on Sunday, Herrera was quickest on his Suzuki in both the first and second quads and did it again in the finals, when he extinguished Kraweic, reigning world champ Matt Smith and defending race event winner Steve Johnson, all of them riding Suzuki motorcycles.
In the first round of competition, which was delayed due to weather activity in the region, there was an incident that could have been – but thankfully wasn’t – tragic. Herrera had his best result in this round, going 6.754/201.13, while Kelly Clontz brought her Suzuki second and was able to advance to the second quad. Rookie Marcus Hylton, who had aborted his run earlier in the quarter-mile (fourth rider Ryan Oehler red-lit) had problems getting his Buell stopped before the turnout and just missed Herrera and Clontz as he finally ended up in the kitty litter. It was frightening but the results were good; no one was hit and no one was injured.
After a half-season in 2022, Gaige Herrera is taking his incredible start to the season in stride after winning two races and earning this weekend’s No. 1 qualifier. “It’s definitely more than I expected. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in the Vance & Hines Suzuki team, but as far as me being able to hold my composure and show the results of all the hard work they do back at the shop, it’s a lot to take in,” he said. “Every pass has a learning curve. I’m still working on how to make little changes with my body during a run that won’t affect the motorcycle’s elapsed time or top speed. This Gen III Suzuki Hayabusa is a dream to ride, and if I leave the line going straight, I know it’s going to be a good pass.”
Herrera’s two victories give him a 34-point advantage on Buell-riding Angie Smith, while WAR Racing’s rookie, Chase Van Sant in third (-46), Jianna Evaristo fourth and Matt Smith fifth. Krawiec holds sixth-place points, followed by Ryan Oehler (Buell), Joey Gladstone, Steve Johnson and Chip Ellis, who ran Gainesville but didn’t compete in Charlotte, holding down 10th place points.
The NHRA Camping World tour takes a small breather before all four classes resume at Route 66 Raceway the third weekend of May. Not only all four classes, but a Pro Stock All-Star Callout is on the docket, together with the latest round of Mission Foods’ #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.