NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After a wild event in Reading, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads south to zMax Dragway for the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals. As if the pressure of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs wasn’t enough, this week’s event will also be the first playoff race to feature the unique four-wide format.

Indy winners Justin Ashley and Austin Prock are the favorites in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively, while Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn share the top spot in Pro Stock, and Gaige Herrera continues to lead the way in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

PlayNHRA, NHRA’s partnership with leading sports books and fantasy sports providers, has allowed fans to sign up for free and legally wager on national events and other outcomes in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, including this weekend’s event at zMax Dragway.

NHRA fans have the opportunity to engage in fantasy games, gaming, and betting for this event. Betting markets feature Professional classes, where fans can wager on event winners, low elapsed time of the event, head-to-head matchups, and season champions.

Below are the opening odds as provided by Alt Sports Data.

(Note: In American sports betting, odds are typically expressed with a plus (+) or minus (–) symbol followed by a number. For example, +200 signifies the amount a bettor could win if wagering $100. If the bet works out, the player will receive a total payout of $300; $200 profit + $100 initial stake.)

TOP FUEL

Coming off a quarterfinal loss in Reading, Justin Ashley remains a small favorite in Top Fuel with opening odds of +450, meaning a $10 wager would return $55 with a victory. The Top Fuel field remains very close with Shawn Langdon (+600), Doug Kalitta (+650), Brittany Force (+700), Tony Stewart (+700), Antron Brown (+750), Steve Torrence (+750), and Reading winner Shawn Reed (+850) each priced at less than 10-1.

Clay Millican, the low qualifier and a semifinalist in Reading, has a +900 opening price, while eight-time world champ Tony Schumacher can be had for +1400.

Two other drivers worth watching are Doug Foley, who hails from North Carolina, and Dan Mercier, who are each priced as true long shots at +2500.

FUNNY CAR

John Force Racing teammates Austin Prock and Jack Beckman remain the frontrunners in Funny Car, although neither of them reached the final in Reading. Prock opens as a solid favorite at +180, while Beckman is +550, the same odds he had for the Reading event.

So far this season, eight drivers have won a race in Funny Car, giving the class the same amount of parity that exists across almost every class in NHRA racing. Following Prock and Beckman, the list of favorites includes NHRA Rookie of the Year frontrunner Spencer Hyde at +750, while Paul Lee and Chad Green open at +1000.

A +1100 price is available for Matt Hagan and Ron Capps, both of whom have had past success in the four-wide format. Cruz Pedregon, who broke a lengthy victory drought in Reading, has moved from +2000 to +1400.

One driver who figures to provide a lot of value is Daniel Wilkerson, who has yet to win his first Funny Car race but is a true long shot at +5000, should he get the job done this weekend in Charlotte.

PRO STOCK

Championship leaders Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn share the top spot in Pro Stock once again with an opening price of +280. Glenn is coming off a win in Reading, while Anderson lost early following a rare disqualification for crossing the starting line twice on a burnout.

Following her recent Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals victory, Erica Enders has gotten a sizable bump from the oddsmakers, and the now-50-time national event winner is +750, while Matt Hartford is +1100.

There are a host of Pro Stock racers between +1400 and +1800, including Cody Coughlin, Aaron Stanfield, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Greg Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., and Cory Reed.

There are plenty of long shots, including Cristian Cuadra, who opens at +2200, while Eric Latino is priced at +2500.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Even though he lost early in Reading, Gaige Herrera continues to lead the way in Pro Stock Motorcycle, and as a result, he’s the only racer in the field with negative odds. Herrera is again priced this week at -160, so it would take a $16 bet to win a $10 profit ($26.00 total).

Matt Smith, racing at his home event in Charlotte, opens at +450 and shares those odds with Richard Gadson, who has two wins this season.

John Hall, fresh off his second win of the season in Reading, has favorable odds of +1400, while Brayden Davis, who has been to the semifinals in each of his four races with the Vance & Hines team, has long odds of +2000, making him attractive for bettors.

Chase Van Sant, who made several solid runs in Reading, also comes off as a long shot with a +3500 opening price.

Opening odds provided by Alt Sports Data (Odds are subject to change). 

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