NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Preview | Features | Results | Photos

QUALIFYING ROUND RECAPS

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE Q1 (4:35 p.m.): Just days after his one-race stint with the WAR team ended, Steve Johnson returned to racing as an independent in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class and he is the surprise leader after one round of qualifying at the NGK Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. Johnson rode his Suzuki to a 6.866, 193.63 to lead the field and earn three qualifying bonus points. Eddie Krawiec, in search of his first four-wide win after five-straight runner-up finishes, is second after a 6.872, 191.72 on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson and Scotty Pollacheck, another rider who has had success in the four-wide format, finished third after a 6.866, 193.69 on his Suzuki Extended Protection bike.

PRO STOCK Q1 (4:55 p.m.): By a thousandth of a second, Greg Anderson has the provisional pole after one round of Pro Stock qualifying at zMax Dragway. Anderson, who was also the low qualifier last week in Houston, powered his Summit Camaro to a 6.548, 211.00 to edge Las Vegas winner Vincent Nobile, who continued his recent string of solid performances with a 6.549, 210.08 from the Mountain View Camaro. Deric Kramer posted a third-best 6.557, 211.26 in his American Ethanol Camaro. The top half of the Pro Stock field is already very competitive with eight cars separated by just .025-second. Jason Line is the No. 8 qualifier after one of four runs.

FUNNY CAR Q1 (5:25 p.m.): Courtney Force, who qualified No. 1 at both of last year’s events at zMAX Dragway, has her Advance Auto Parts Camaro No. 1 after one session in the city that is home to her primary sponsor. Force blistered the track at a 3.873 to lead the field by a wide margin, with Bob Tasca III’s otherwise fine 3.907 a distant second. Force’s teammate, Robert Hight, sits third with a 3.920. Nine cars ran in the threes; John Force was not one of them but his 10th-ranked 4.068 all but assures he won’t miss the field for the second straight event.

TOP FUEL Q1 (5:50 p.m.): Defending event champ Steve Torrence, the only Top Fuel driver with more than one win this season, leads the field after one session with a 3.731 in his Capco Contractors entry. Torrence, who also won the four-wide event in Las Vegas earlier this month, is a hundredth and a half ahead of the guy with whom he shares the points lead, Tony Schumacher, who clocked a 3.746. Houston runner-up Terry Millen sits third after one run with a 3.763.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE (Q2 7:55 p.m.): After setting the pace in round one, Steve Johnson elected to sit out the second session of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying and by the time it was over, he’d been bumped to No. 6. Johnson was knocked from the top spot by Liberty Racing’s Cory Reed, who rode his new Buell-bodied bike to a 6.838, 193.54. Reed bumped Hector Arana Jr., who ran a 6.848 on his Lucas Oil Buell. Arana Jr., who broke the 200-mph barrier in Gainesville, also set the provisional top speed of the event with a 197.31 run. The third-quickest run went to Andrew Hines with a 6.859, 196.64. With two of four sessions in the books, there is already a six-second bump spot held by Karen Stoffer’s Skillman Auto Suzuki with a 6.985, 192.30. One racer who did not have a chance to improve was Scotty Pollacheck, who got timed out on the starting line. Pollacheck had previously run a 6.881.

PRO STOCK (Q 2 p.m.): There was a lot of shuffling among Pro Stock racers in Q2 and when all was said and done, Drew Skillman emerged as the provisional low qualifier. Skillman, who missed a shot to win last year’s four-wide event with a -.001 red-light, drove his Gray Motorsports-powered Camaro to a 6.534, 210.01. If he can hold on through tomorrow’s two qualifying runs, Skillman can earn the sixth low qualifier of his Pro Stock career. Skillman was the only driver in Pro Stock to run quicker than Greg Anderson’s 6.548, which lead the field after Q1. The second-best run of the round went to Bo Butner’s 6.556 and Erica Enders also picked up a bonus point thanks to a 6.561 effort. Anderson appeared to have a shot to improve his position, but his Summit Camaro got loose and made a hard move toward the wall in high gear, forcing him to lift.

FUNNY CAR Q2 (8:40 p.m.): Courtney Force held onto her first-session lead as more than half of the Funny Cars struggled in the cooling conditions, but Ron Capps, recovering from a shaky outing last weekend in Houston, moved solidly into the No.2 spot with a 3.886, just a thousandth of a second ahead of teammate Tommy Johnson Jr., who was just a thou quicker than Houston winner J.R. Todd’s pass. Twelve cars qualified in the three-second zone today, bracketed by Force’s 3.873 and Jack Beckman’s 3.983. Although the bump spot is a mere 8.66, the top 15 cars are all qualified at 4.156 or quicker.

TOP FUEL Q2 (9 p.m.): Brittany Force (3.689) and Tony Schumacher (3.692) raced into the top two spots side by side in the final quad of the night and were joined by Antron Brown (3.719) in also racing past first-session leader Steve Torrence’s 3.731; Torrence had to abort his pass. Force joined her sister, Funny Car low qualifier Courtney, on the overnight leader board in their respective classes. The Top Fuel field’s top half is over stout, with Phoenix runner-up Scott Palmer holding down the no. 8 spot with a 3.774.

Pro Stock Motorcycle low qualifier Cory Reed: “It was a rocket ship. It was the smoothest run I’ve made in a long time. I felt like I was pretty far ahead of LE [Tonglet] who was in the lane next to me but he ran slow. I couldn’t hear him. I’m not sure if that’s the quickest I’ve ever been, but it’s got to be close.” [It is, career-best 6.835 ed.]

“We rebuilt this entire bike in the last four days. We changed the body and we re-wired both of our bikes. This is a different machine than it was in Gainesville for sure. After the first run, we didn’t get any data. We had no expectations. On the first run it spun the tire so hard we just took a shot in the dark.”

Pro Stock low qualifier Drew Skillman: “We finally made a good pass. We’ve htat the potential the whole season. We ran good towards the end of last year but somehow, we lost a bit over the winter. We tested a couple days ago and it made a difference. On the first pass it was loose.

Actually, it was loose on the second run, but it was obviously much better. We had plenty of wheel speed down low and that’s a big part of getting the car down the track. That’s been the key to our success. This means a lot for our team. Last week in Houston, I let them down. I had a .040 light against Bo Butner and they work too hard for me to drive that badly.”

Funny Car low qualifier Courtney Force: “This is a great start to the weekend for sure. I’m really proud of my guys; [Brian] Corradi and [Danny] Hood. Going up for Q2 everyone was gunning for the top spot so we pushed it hard. It shook and we had to coast on down there. Luckily, we held on to the top spot. Now, we can see if we can hold on to it for another day. It just feels good to be in the top spot at the start of the weekend.

“They don’t have to tell me anything. I was well aware that it was all or nothing on that run especially after we already had the top spot. If you can get it past the shake point you’re in the clear. It shakes pretty hard in a 10,000-horsepower car. It was over quickly.”

Top Fuel low qualifier Brittany Force: “It’s exciting to be able to share this with my sister [Courtney, provisional low qualifier in Funny Car]. Every weekend no matter if it’s great or bad, I can always lean on her or go to here for advice. It’s pretty special.

“This felt good especially compared to run we made earlier. I just wanted a clean safe pass. I wasn’t expecting to go to No. 1. My Monster team is pumped. We brought a new car to Houston and won the event and it’s carried over to here so far. This will be the run for the whole weekend. Tomorrow, conditions will be will be different and we’ll work on the set-up for race day. I’m just hoping to hang on to top spot.”

Friday recap: Force sisters lead the way in fuel ranks; Skillman, Reed also grab Four-Wide leads

PRE-RACE FEATURES

Tony Schumacher had had a lot of success at four-wide events – until he gets to the final round that is. Top Fuel’s all-time winningest driver has been to the final round three times in the Charlotte four-wide (2012, 2013, and 2017) and earlier this year was in the final of the first four-wide in Las Vegas. On all four occasions he’s has finished second – behind then-DSR teammate Spencer Massey in 2012 and ’13 and behind Steve Torrence the last two times.

“I think we are definitely more comfortable in the four-wide racing than we were before and coming off the Las Vegas event a few weeks back should make it more exciting,” he said. “It’s almost to the point where I’ve gotten used to it. I know how to stage the car. I know how to race. It doesn’t matter what lane I’m in. I do know there is nothing easy about it. You have to go out and compete with three other incredible teams and find a way to win each time, or at least in the first two rounds win or finish second. Yeah, we’ve been to consecutive finals racing four-wide, but we finished second both times. They only give a trophy to the winner. We’re working on the details, and the trophy’s usually in the details. We’ll get it figured out and we’ll get one soon.”
 
Schumacher has been to the winner’s circle at zMAX Dragway, winning the inaugural event there in the fall of 2008 and winning that event again in 2014.

It’s been a whirlwind nine months for Richie Crampton since getting the call from racing icon Connie Kalitta to return to the Top Fuel ranks. After having his driving career parked at the end of the 2016 season in conjunction with the parking of the Morgan Lucas Racing operation, for which he had driven since 2014, Crampton returned to drive for Kalitta at last year’s Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. No pressure, right?

“I had been hoping for eight or nine months that I would a phone call, and it never happened, and I kind of had come to terms with that it might never happen,” he admitted. “So when I got the call to drive for one of the greats of our sport, that would be like a NASCAR kid getting a call from [mega team owner Rick] Hendrick. It was very exciting but also slightly intimidating.”

Crampton quickly proved his worth, scoring a runner-up here at zMAX Dragway behind Doug Kalitta in the next event. The 2018 season was just three races old when the transplanted Australian scored in Gainesville for his eighth career win, completing the circle.

“The biggest challenge – other than getting back into a 300-mph car for the first time in a while – was getting back the confidence in myself that I still deserved to be out here with the best Top Fuel drivers in the world,” he said. “I still even had that in the early part of the season until Gainesville.”

Crampton is an impressive 8-2 in final rounds with his only losses coming to Kalitta in the aforementioned race in Charlotte last fall and, ironically, to his new teammate, Kalitta Racing Funny Car driver J.R. Todd, in Sonoma in 2016, when both were competing in Top Fuel. 

Crampton also reached the finals of the 2015 Four-Wide event while driving for Lucas but finished third behind Antron Brown and Steve Torrence.

Dom Lagana is making his first start of the season in Top Fuel, driving a second CatSpot-branded car alongside teammate Scott Palmer. Lagana, who also wrenches alongside brother Bobby on the Capco Contractors cars and on Palmer’s machine, will be driving a brand-new Morgan Lucas Racing-built dragster, replacing the old MLR front-halved Hadman pipe he had run for years.

“I feel like a need a refresher course,” joked Lagana, whose last outing was in St. Louis last fall. “The good news is that this car has all the same new stuff that we’re running on the other cars. The bad news is that it hasn’t been down the track at all. Q1 with be T1.”

Lagana will make a halftrack checkout pass on that first qualifying/test lap, then come back and hit it hard for Q2’s evening session

Lagana’s schedule for the rest of the year is fluid, but with Billy Torrence coming back out in Topeka to rejoin his son, it’s wait and see for one of the sport’s busiest dual-role competitors.

If ever there was a race that night be salve for the emotional wounds John Force suffered in his ultra-rare DNQ last weekend in Houston – heck, the whole year for that matter -- it’s going four-wide in Charlotte.

Force won the inaugural four-wide event here way back in 2010, beating daughter Ashley Force-Hood in the final. He was runner-up to son-in-law Robert Hight in 2014 and in eight career four-wide appearances in Charlotte, he has lost in the first quad just once. Earlier this season, at the first four-wide in Las Vegas, Force also advanced to the second quad. 

“I didn’t get it done in Houston, but I am not going to let that get me down,” said the sport’s all-time winningest driver. “Not making the show only showed me how much I love this sport and how much I want to keep winning. Our sponsors pay us and expect us to win. It was hard to be on the sidelines in Houston.”

Force’s DNQ – his first in 211 events – came just as his Peak Camaro looked to be on the mend after a disastrous start to the season in which he blew the body off of his car four times in the first three events and was involved in a multi-car wreck with Jonnie Lindberg.

“I had some problems at the start of the season and we blew up some bodies,” he admitted. “We found the issue. The problem wasn’t just one big thing; we had a couple issues to fix but we got that done with some testing before and after Las Vegas and we are on the way back. I have been at this game a long time and you have to take your bumps. You can’t win all the time and we have the brain trust all working to keep all four of these race cars at the top.”

“Bruton (Smith) built an amazing race track that has four beautiful lanes,” added Force, after whom the main grandstands are named. “We are going to put on a show this weekend. I love the four-wide and I want to get another win in front of my grandstands. If I can’t get the win I’ll be rooting on my teammates. This Peak Camaro has some magic left in it and I will be ready to get after it this weekend.”

It’s becoming pretty clear that while three-second runs are a good thing in Funny Car qualifying, they’re no longer a guarantee of success. Just ask Bob Tasca III. The returning Ford star has qualified his Motorcaft/Quick Lane Mustang in the three-second zone at all five races so far this season but only one of them – his 3.96 in Las Vegas at the four-wide – got him into the top half of the field, meaning he hasn’t had lane choice all season (in Vegas, he got to pick second of the four cars), which had made it tough to win rounds. Yet he remains confident in his team and crew chief Eric Lane.

“I never would have thought that we’d be going into Charlotte without a round win,” he admitted. “Trust me; we can win a round and win a race just as easy. I think that’s what gives us confidence. We know we’re close. We just need to keep moving forward. We need to keep doing the things to put this team in a position to win. 

“It just hasn’t come together. And then you see guys out there that should have lost, but win. We haven’t gotten one of those breaks yet this year. It is what it is. You just can’t get frustrated and must have a real short memory. If you dwell in the past it will just affect your actions in the future. We know where we’re at. We know where we need to go. We’re well on our way. Our mission is to come out of Atlanta in the top 10. We know that we need to go some rounds to achieve that goal. Charlotte is going to be an important race and then right into Atlanta.”

The raceweek of a professional racer these days certainly doesn’t begin with the first qualifying run Friday, as Thursdays are usually chockfull of media and sponsor obligations, and, just based on the John Force Racing social media accounts, it seemed like few worked harder Thursday than Courtney Force. 

Thanks to the deep connections of the media staff at zMAX Dragway, the second-generation Funny Car star guested on WFNZ sports talk radio then headed over to WBTV for a live hit on the local CBS television affiliate, followed by lunch with David Scott from the Charlotte Observer and an interview with Deb Williams from ESPNW. After that she headed off for an interview with alternative rock radio station WEND, then off to country radio WKKT, and on to Spectrum cable and The CW television networks.

“It was very busy, but it was good,” said Force, who’s also featured on local billboards promoting the event. “It was a little frantic, but not too bad.”

In addition to helping promote the event, the extra media attention also was a boon to her sponsor, Advanced Auto Parts, which is based in Charlotte.

Force was the No. 1 qualifier at both Charlotte events last year but was unable to cash in either for a win, something she hopes to address this weekend after falling from second to fourth place after last weekend’s first-round loss in Houston.

“We’ve done pretty well here, which is pretty cool because it’s home for Advanced, and it’s a track where I’d absolutely love to get a win,” she said. “To be in the winner’s circle with everyone from Advanced and all of their customers would be a big win and get us back up in points. I’m hoping for a long day Sunday.”

In the years since family patriarch Paul Smith began racing Funny Cars in the early 1970s, the Smith family has become a part of the fabric of the sport. Smith, who finished second in championship points in 1974 in his Fireball Vega, retired from driving a number of years ago, but continued as a successful owner and/or crew chief for a number of drivers, including 1990 rookie of the year Dannielle DePorter, and, as proprietor of Paul Smith’s Drag Racing School, he made available the equipment and hands-on instruction that jump-started the careers of dozens of young pro drivers.

Blake Alexander was a recent protégé, and, of course, Smith’s two sons, Mike and John (aka “Bodie”), pictured at right with their dad in the winner’s circle in early 1977, have taken their turns behind the wheel of cars either owned or tuner (or both) by dad. This weekend it’s John’s turn, making his first NHRA since the 2011 fall Charlotte event.

John’s big brother, Mike, has raced the last few years in Rhea Goodrich’s New Englander Funny Car, mainly at the East Coast events, but for John, who previously raced in Top Fuel alongside his wife, Rhonda Hartman-Smith, it’s been a long time out of the national event saddle. He’s been keeping busy driving the family’s nostalgia Funny Car -- dubbed the Entertainer, just like dad’s cars –- and, before that, Henry Gutierrez’s “Jungle Jim” tribute car, but it’s his first “big show” event in nearly seven years.

John will drive the team’s car with sponsorship from Rock Batteries, Discount Furniture, and Rockingham Dragway while his dad and big brother will turn the wrenches. It’s the same chassis that Alexander raced a few years ago, but Paul got tired of it sitting in the garage.

“We were running the nostalgia car last week and Dad said, ‘I need to go race my car,' ” said John. “We were going to do it at Gainesville but then the [Richards family] decided to go, and we’re their crew, we had to move it back. We’ve got some new setback [blower] stuff for this weekend and more stuff we’re going to try in Atlanta next week.”

NHRA fans may see a lot more of the Smiths in the future as both John and Rhonda are seeking a fulltime return to the series — he in Funny Car, her in Top Fuel – and hope that their 19-year-old daughter, Megan, will follow as she works her way through Top Dragster and then an A/Fuel Dragster and, hopefully, in the future, Top Fuel as well. The couple could be back on the track as early as later this season or in 2019.

Rhonda, who’s also in attendance this weekend, last competed at this event in 2010, where she scored a round win. Her brother, Richard, is Tim Wilkerson;s right-hand man in the Funny Car.She’s currently selling real estate and working with her husband and her dad, longtime nitro wiz Virgil Hartman, at their family business, Hartman Enterprises, which does plastic injection molding, but hopes to be back in the cockpit soon.

“It’s always been about family for us,” said John. “The old man says he can’t die with all this money, so I have to figure out how to spend it for him. Once I figure out where it’s buried.”

Seeking his first win of the season, past four-wide champion Jason Line made a strategic move this week when he decided to park his familiar blue Summit Camaro and will compete in Charlotte behind the wheel of the red Camaro that Rodger Brogdon drove a week ago in Houston. The car was built by Rick and Rickie Jones of RJ Race Cars and was previously raced by world champ Bo Butner last season. The car’s history runs even deeper than that. It was the first new generation Camaro to win a national event when Greg Anderson drive it to victory at the 2012 Englishtown race. It was also the car that Sweden’s Jimmy Alund drove to a win at the 2014 Four-Wide Nationals, becoming the first European driver to win an NHRA pro title.

“This car has a lot of history to it but that’s not why I’m driving it,” said Line. “I plan to make some changes to the blue car that I’ve been driving and we don’t have time to get it done. In the meantime, I’ll just drive this car for a race or two. It all depends on how we run but it seemed to work just find for Rodger last weekend.”

Line has had success at zMax Dragway with three wins in seven final rounds, but most of those have come at the fall event, which is run in the traditional two-wide format. Regardless, he’s excited to be racing at the home track for KB Racing.

“Aside from [team owner] Ken Black’s home track in Las Vegas, this is home for us,” Line said. “We have a lot of reasons to enjoy coming her, especially because we get to have our families at the race with us. As a team, we've had some pretty cool moments at this racetrack, and the folks here are the best. We've gotten used to racing four-wide over the years, and I think we've gotten more comfortable with it as time has gone on.”

Five days after celebrating his first national event win in Houston, newly crowned Pro Stock winner Matt Hartford is back in action at zMax Dragway. The Phoenix-based Hartford had almost no intentions of racing at the Four-Wide event, but a chance to earn his second Wally in a week has changed his perspective.

“To be honest with you, I’d like go to all of them but funding being what it its we have to pick and choose,” said Hartford. “Thankfully, Total Seal allows me to travel and Kenny [Koretsky] is great about letting me use his car and helping me out. Otherwise, I couldn’t do this at all.”

Hartford became just the 66th different driver to win a Pro Stock race and he did it in a most unusual way. He defeated four world-class drivers in Chris McGaha, Tanner Gray, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Erica Enders and he did it primarily with horsepower. In the final round, Hartford ran a 6.522 that most agree was the best run of the event based on correction factors.

“We did make a monster run in the final,” said Hartford. “That goes to show us that we have the power to compete with anyone out here. I made eight runs and my slowest was a 6.57. The big thing is that I can now say that I’ve won a Pro Stock race. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to come out here and run as much as we have and put as much effort into this as we have and never get to win even one. That win was a big relief.”

As if the whole Four-Wide thing wasn’t enough to concentrate on, reigning world champ Bo Butner decided to further complicate matters this weekend by entering the Super Stock class with his new Cobra Jet Mustang. The car was built by Butner’s longtime crew chief, Darrell Herron, and it will eventually appear in the Sam Tech Factory Stock Showdown.

“If they’d allow us to run four or five cars, I’d do that,” said Butner. “That’s how much I enjoy it. I’m at peace with [racing two cars]. This morning when I made my first run in the Super Stock car, I was going down the track and my brain was saying ‘Why did you stop doing this. It’s so much fun.’ I think everyone knows that as soon as this fantasy lifestyle of being a pro is over, I’ll go right back to being a sportsman racer. That’s where I started and that’s where I’ll end. I want to be clear that I’m not in any hurry to get out of Pro Stock. I still enjoy it and I’m still competitive.”

Butner has yet to win a Four-Wide race but he feels that it’s just a matter of time before he checks that off his to-do list.

“The four-wide is growing on me,” Butner said. “I enjoy coming here. I think that Las Vegas was nicest track I’ve ever raced on. This track was also very smooth for my Super Stock car. Two-wide or four-wide, Pro Stock is tough. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in racing. There is no advantage anymore. You have to make the closest to perfect run you can and hope it goes your way.”
 

There have a been a lot of changes in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class over the last five weeks and the Liberty Racing team with riders Cory Reed and Angelle Sampey have been a bit part of it. Reed and Sampey elected to abandon their Victory-bodied bikes in favor of a more traditional Buell body. Since they use the newest version of the Victory engine, that switch required a rules change which was approved by the NHRA Technical Department last week. Beginning with the Charlotte race, Victory engines can now be re-branded as S&S V-twins and used in Buell or EBR bodies.

“This was a major project to get the new bodies fitted to these bikes but we felt it was necessary,” said Reed, the 2016 Auto Club Road to the Future award winner. “Ken [Johnson, crew chief] and I worked a couple of 16 to19 hour days to get them finished. Overall, it takes about a week to get each bike done and we didn’t even have time to paint them.

“As for the rules, we needed to get a letter from S&S, Victory, and NHRA before we could go ahead with this change and we were able to get all that handled. Overall, I think the air scoops, the intake area, and the air box are better on the Buell body so that’s what we went with. We also looked at the new EBR body that Hector [Arana Jr.] ran 200 with, but there were cost issues there. I do think we’ll be more competitive this weekend.

“It’s been a long five weeks since Gainesville,” Reed said. “I’ve just been at the shop during the week and traveling home to Florida on the weekends. We’ve been picking at things one piece at a time and I think Charlotte would be a great place for my first win.”

Jerry Savoie believes a sense of normalcy has returned to his White Alligator Suzuki team after LE Tonglet rejoined the squad last weekend. Savoie began the season with Steve Johnson as his teammate but that arrangement lasted only one race.

“I don’t want to get too much into it but it just wasn’t a situation that was going to work for us,” said Savoie. “Steve is a good guy, but he and I were like oil and water. I didn’t feel like we were going to be compatible so here we are.

“We wanted LE to return all along, but we had some things come up that were more a matter of timing than anything. Now that we’ve had a month or so after Gainesville, we were able to get all that resolved and he’s back with us. Everyone has seen what we can do as a team and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish this year.”

In 2017, Savoie and Tonglet combined to win half of the 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events during the season. While neither rider make it past the first round in Gainesville, they’re far more optimistic heading into the NGK Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.

“We worked on some issues and I feel like we’re going to be much better now,” said Savoie. “Tim [Kulungian, crew chief] and the guys at Vance & Hines put in a lot of time and effort to get our engine program right. I think we’re going to have a great weekend.”

Scotty Pollacheck was at home in Oregon last weekend and he watched Pro Stock racer Matt Hartford become the latest first-time Pro winner on the NHRA Mello Yello tour. At every race Pollacheck attends, he wonders if he’ll be the next one to hoist a coveted Wally trophy. As a veteran bracket racer, the Four-Wide Nationals would seem to be a perfect place for Pollacheck to score win No. 1.

“All the times we’ve come here for the Four-Wide race, I’ve only ever not made the final once and that was 2016 when we couldn’t do anything right. I’ve been in the last quad every other time. I just haven’t closed the deal. In 2013, I had a perfect .000 light in the final and that still didn’t get it done. I’m actually mad that the [Pro Stock Motorcycles] weren’t included at the Las Vegas Four-Wide race because I think this is an awesome deal. This is a cool track and I like racing here, even the two-wide races, and my bike is fast.”

Pollacheck is once again racing alongside Joey Gladstone, Jimmy Underdahl, and Karen Stoffer as part of the Underdahl/Stoffer Suzuki team. In Gainesville, all four bikes qualified for the quick field and Pollacheck reached the semifinal round. He’s third in the points standings after one event.

“We had some great momentum going after Gainesville, so I actually hated to see us have five weeks off,” said Pollacheck. “When you have a good bike that is capable of winning, you want to be out there. This class is light murderer’s row right now with so many good bikes, but I like our chances.”

PHOTOS

NHRA drivers Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Tommy Johnson Jr., Tanner Gray, and Bo Butner joined Charlotte Motor Speedway pit crew members, Cabarrus County officials and Coca-Cola Consolidated volunteers to distribute Coke product to area first responders as part of Cooperative Christian Ministry's "I Love My City" service project. They distributed more than 800 cases of Coca-Cola, Dasani and Powerade to 18 local public safety organizations. Concord and Kannapolis Police and Fire departments, the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Department, EMS and area volunteer fire departments lined their vehicles down the zMAX Dragway entrance to receive their drink donation. 

A new feature at NHRA national events in a “walking tour” for first-time fans. Drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney and NHRA announcer Joe Castello hosted the first one of the day this morning.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle class held a popular autograph session in the pits where fans could meet the two-wheeled warriors up close and personal.

Pro Stock racer John Gaydosh is keeping a sharp eye on the NFL draft and rooting for his nephew, Kurt Benkert, who was the quarterback for Virginia. He is expected to be a sixth- or seventh-round choice. Gaydosh also is again bannering Pathfinders for Autism decal for Autism Awareness Month as another one of his nephews, Kolton, is autistic.

When was the last time you saw three Ford Funny Cars on the starting line at the same time? From top, the new-look Mustang of Jim Head/Jonnie Lindberg was joined by  the Mustangs of Tim Wilkerson and Bob Tasca III and the Toyota of Cruz Pedregon in Q1 of Funny Car.

Arguably, the most impressive quad of the day came in Pro Mod where, from left, Steve Jackson, Mike Janis, Todd Tutterow, and Khalid al Balooshi each ran 5.7s in a side-by-side-by-side-by-side thriller. al Balooshi was quickest with a 5.729 while Jackson posted a 5.752, Janis ran 5.757, and Tutterow was close behind at 5.775.

Before qualifying, Brittany and Courtney Force spend time signing autographs for the zMax fans at the NHRA Member Hospitality Center. Later in the day, they shared the spotlight as the provisional low qualifiers in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively. 

PREVIEW

Less than a month after The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway held their first four-wide race, the stars of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series return to zMax Dragway for the NGK Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals which means that Las Vegas champs Steve Torrence, J.R. Todd, and Vincent Nobile should have the upper hand. Torrence, who also won the 2017 Charlotte Four-Wide race, is currently tied for the points lead in Top Fuel with Tony Schumacher. So far this season, Torrence and his Capco Contractors entry have been solid with two wins, but they’ve also suffered a touch of inconsistency with a first round loss and a pair of quarterfinal defeats. Reigning world champ Brittany Force is also worth watching after an impressive victory in Houston a week ago. Force also won the Charlotte Four-Wide event in 2016.

In Charlotte, Todd will attempt to accomplish a rare feat by winning his third Funny Car race in a month. Todd backed up his Las Vegas victory with another win in Houston and the DHL/Kalitta Motorsports team has suddenly climbed from ninth to third in the points standings. Todd won the Las Vegas event largely due to his driving, but in the Houston final, he simply outran opponent Robert Hight. There's no doubt that Jon Obefhofer and Toss Smith have a good-running car and Todd is on his game behind the wheel.

In Pro Stock, there have been five different winners in the first five races of the season including Las Vegas champ Nobile. Last week, the class welcomed its 66th different champion when Matt Hartford took the Houston title. Chris McGaha, Bo Butner, and Tanner Gray have also carded wins this season. Of the five, only Nobile and McGaha have won in the four-wide format with McGaha the defending Charlotte event winner. KB Racing teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line have also combined for thrdd wins in the unique event.

Harley-Davidson teammates Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec have all but run the table in four-wide races. Hines has claimed three-straight wins in 2014-16 while Krawiec has been to the final round of the last five spring races in Concord but has yet to close the deal. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class raced for the first time this season in Gainesville and Krawiec defeated Hines in an all-Harley final. Another rider who figures to have a great chance for success is LE Tonglet. The defending event champion of the Charlotte Four-Wide, Tonglet was reunited with Jerry Savoie’s White Alligator Racing team this week.