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This week the NHRA has a Carolina calling with the return of the sixth annual 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s the renewal of the 4-wide scene for drag racing, and from a promoter\u2019s point of view, it should be one of NHRA\u2019s biggest races garnering \u00a0lots of attention.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not.\u00a0 Getting fans to embrace the 4-Wide format has been a struggle.\u00a0 Attendance is down and fan enthusiasm is low.\u00a0 So what happened? In this sport of big noise and big power, why isn\u2019t bigger equaling better for fans?<\/p>\n
Track owner Bruton Smith clearly feels that if two lanes of racing is good, four is great, and he\u2019s convinced he can turn others to his way of thinking.\u00a0 Smith is a big-picture guy and envisioned a show that people couldn\u2019t get just anywhere. They had to come to zMax to see four lanes of drag racing at once.\u00a0 He went the extra mile, or a couple of\u00a0 extra quarter-mile, to bring fans a one-of-kind show that can\u2019t be duplicated anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
The problem is that race fans are failing to embrace it. The biggest qualm fans have expressed is the overabundance of sensory input. It\u2019s difficult to catch all the action with four cars running. Fans don\u2019t want to miss any of the clashes on the track, and trying to train your eye on four lanes instead of two is a challenge.\u00a0Fans are then relying on the giant video screens to watch replay and it\u2019s frustrating trying to watch it all.<\/p>\n
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From a driver\u2019s perspective, though, zMax is a dream, although running there has been an adjustment for them as well. Drivers are growing accustomed to the two additional lanes of racing and it\u2019s rare to hear anything but compliments about the set up on the surface. Last year\u2019s winners, Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Jimmy Alund (Pro Stock), Andrew Hines (Pro Stock) seem to have full command of that environment.<\/p>\n
One racer, who hasn\u2019t seen Charlotte\u2019s Winner\u2019s Circle, but has been in three final rounds, is unlikely Funny Car driver, Tim Wilkerson. \u00a0History illustrates that Wilk has shown a propensity for finding his way into that final foursome on previous Sundays in Charlotte, as well.\u00a0 \u00a0In the first five running\u2019s of the 4-Wide Nationals, he’s advanced to the final round three times, but has yet to crack into the Winner’s Circle or the runner-up position. \u00a0All three times, he finished outside the top two and was saddled with a semifinal finish.<\/p>\n As Wilk sees it, it’s twice the drama, double the size, and \u00a0two times the opportunity for success.<\/p>\n “We’ve all gotten used to it now, so there’s not the crazy feeling of being a little lost doing something you’re supposed to know how to do, which is what it was like the first time around,” Wilkerson said. \u00a0“That first year, we were all figuring it out on the run, and some of us never figured it out, but now the crew chiefs and the drivers know the drill and we get it all done without too much trouble.<\/p>\n “At the 4-Wides, on Sunday you don’t have to be the quickest car in your lap, you just have to be one of the two quickest. \u00a0If you do that twice, you have a chance to win the whole thing.”<\/p>\n Talking with drag racing fans in Charlotte area, none of whom wished to be named, it\u2019s clear that it\u2019s all about the viewing and while they love the cacophony of four nitro machines in sync – a noise unmatched anywhere – the race is really all about the view. \u201cI can appreciate having a first class track so close to home and we try to make both of the Charlotte NHRA races, but we prefer what we call \u2018regular\u2019 drag racing,\u201d said a young lady, who is a big Greg Anderson fan.\u00a0 \u201cYou just can\u2019t see, and my husband and I get frustrated by that.\u00a0 We love the sound, meeting the drivers and it\u2019s a great place to get up with our friends.\u00a0 They are like us; you can\u2019t watch all four drivers in the race.\u00a0 We\u2019ve tried to understand it, but all the other tracks we go to are two wide.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI love drag racing,\u201d said a North Carolina man in his 30s.\u00a0 \u201cI just can\u2019t understand the purpose.\u00a0 I always thought drag racing was two cars competing.\u00a0 Now with four, it\u2019s just so much to see and you really can\u2019t keep up with what\u2019s going on the track.\u00a0 The scoreboards are lit up but I can\u2019t tell which lane is which.\u00a0 I normally wait on the announcer to tell me what the best run of the bunch was.\u00a0 The win light doesn\u2019t mean much because each side has two cars\u2026who won?\u201d<\/p>\n The empty seats in recent years back up the fan perspective. Attendance has been down and fans have been signaling to the sanctioning body that they don\u2019t approve.<\/p>\n That won\u2019t change anyone\u2019s mind in Glendora, California.\u00a0 Bruton Smith built it and it will work and it will be unchanging because he says so.\u00a0 With all the contributions that Smith has made to motorsports, you have to wonder what future vision he sees that can weather fan indifference.\u00a0 Will they grow to embrace it once it becomes more familiar?<\/p>\n The NHRA \u00a0must think so as the series continues to run there, signaling tacit approval of this one-of-a-kind racing, and with attendance down in all venues, you can\u2019t blame them for trying to spice up the show and draw in new folks with fewer preconceived notions of drag racing format.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rumors abound that Bruton may change the format, offering huge prize money and a national network broadcast of the nitro head to heads.\u00a0 It could be much like the Winston \u2018No Bull\u2019 Showdown – a 24-car field of Funny Cars against Top Fuel Dragsters for a winner\u2019s purse of $200K. That would interest the car owners and the racers, but for the fans, it still all comes down to just wanting to see great racing. That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n But for now, \u00a0the status quo at zMax is 4-Wide racing and if Bruton Smith wants it that way, then that\u2019s the way it\u2019s going to be.\u00a0 Case closed.<\/p>\n![\"14TimWilkersonActionShot\"](\"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/14TimWilkersonActionShot-1024x681.jpg\")
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