4-WIDE RACING STILL DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS FROM DRIVERS

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Just over a year ago, the buzz on the NHRA scene was about the inaugural 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
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The event, which was held last March, was the first time Top Fuel dragsters, Funny Cars, Pro Stock cars and Pro Stock Motorcycles raced in four-wide competition at an NHRA national event.

The historic race received mixed reviews from drivers and fans, but the second annual 4-Wide Nationals are on tap April 14-17 at zMAX Dragway.

“I think the decision will be made by the spectators,” Graham Light, the NHRA’s senior vice president-racing operations said of the event's future. “We ran it one year and the weather wasn’t that great and I think we owe it to everybody to try it again, and we will see how the results are in two weeks. We got mixed reviews. Some people are traditionalists and two-lane drag racing is what they grew up with and other people saw it (4-wide racing) as a spectacle of noise and speed and so on. I think it got mixed reviews and that’s kind of understandable.”

Brandon Bernstein, who drives the Copart Top Fuel dragster, is one driver who doesn’t embrace the 4-Wide Nationals.

“As a driver I do not particularly like it,” Bernstein said. “It is something that I feel with four cars that it just ups the chances of something bad happening. The NHRA is going to do it (have the 4-Wide Nationals) and they are obviously making some changes.”

Allen Johnson, who finished sixth in the Pro Stock point standings last year, realizes the 4-Wide Nationals are something he has to just accept.

“We do not really have a voice in the matter, so we have to get good at, practice on it and go over there and have fun,” Johnson said. “I’m all right with it one time a year just for some hype, and it is a challenge as a driver to get the jist of it. Instead of being negative and bad about it, I’m going to have an open mind and go over there and try and do my best.”

Last year at the 4-Wide Nationals, the winners in the Pro class categories were determined in three rounds of eliminations. The first two drivers who crossed the finish line in each of the first rounds of eliminations advanced to the second round.

The first two drivers who crossed the finish line in each of the first, second and third rounds advanced to the final. Each final round included four drivers, with one driver as the winner and one as second, third and fourth.

“I have no problem doing it (racing the 4-Wide Nationals),” said Funny Car pilot Jeff Arend, who drives for Kalitta Motorsports. “I kind of enjoyed it myself from a spectator point of view. It was kind of cool the first time. I do not know if that will wear off eventually. As far as driving the car, a lot of people have had a tough time getting better reaction times and I seemed to adapt to it pretty fast. I think that is an advantage for us there and I can’t wait to get back. The lanes concern me a little bit (at zMax), but NHRA does a great job of prepping the track. You just want to qualify better and get that lane choice.”

Pro Stock driver Ron Krisher just tested at zMax last week and the condition of the track for 4-wide racing left him concerned.

“There are two lanes that look pretty good and there are two lanes that look like this parking lot, that there has not been a car on since we left there last year,” Krisher said. “If somebody can explain to me how they are going to make those lanes equal, (that would be appreciated). Where you start out on time trials is going to kill you if you get those right two lanes. If you get those right two lanes, you are going to start out with no data and a crappy ET if you get down at all. Then, you are going to go across and do something else and that’s a hard way to go.”

The biggest issue most drivers had at last year’s 4-wide Nationals was how the Christmas tree starting lights worked. The starting line had two trees, one for the two left-side lanes and one for the two right-side lanes. Staging lights were visible for all four lanes.

“From a driver’s standpoint, the two major areas of concern were the pre-stage and stage lights,” Top Fuel series champion Larry Dixon said. “What they had last year was pretty Mickey Mouse. The NHRA and zMax promised that they would take care of that and come up with a better, more professional looking starting system. The other big concern was the sand trap down there. You have two separate race tracks, but you have just one big sand trap. You have the opportunity of four cars going into the sand trap. They assured us that they would fix that as well and put a wall between two separate nets and have it be two separate sand traps. From a driver’s standpoint I think that’s all we had. From a owner’s standpoint, for the TV show and sponsoring impressions and things like that definitely got lost in the shuffle. I’m not in that loop as much, but I know those there were areas that NHRA was working with ESPN to address those concerns.”

Johnson also conveyed the troubles he had at the starting line.

“Everybody was going in at different times and instead of watching just one bulb, you have to watch four,” Johnson said. “You have your mind programmed on watching one bulb and with this deal you have to really think. That is the hardest thing.”

On April 7, a statement issued by zMax Dragway stated a new tree has been implemented for this weekend's event.

Instead of the usual separate pre-staging - staging bulbs, the new tree will include one row of four LED lights to indicate the pre-staging and staging of the cars in all four lanes. During pre-staging, the top half of each LED light will light up and during staging all four LED lights will light up entirely, indicating the position of drivers from left to right in all four lanes.

“It is going to be a lot easier to stage the cars and realize what the other three lanes are doing," Bernstein said of the prototype tree. "It was very confusing the way they had the Christmas tree last time. That was the most difficult thing to do (last year) trying stage the car in time with what everybody else was doing.”

Some of the drivers aren’t nearly as critical about the 4-wide racing if it were run as an all-star event with no point ramifications, but that doesn’t appear to be an option at this time.

“We have not discussed that all,” Light said about the 4-wide racing becoming an all-star event.

Johnson would favor the 4-Wide Nationals as a specialty all-star race.

“I would like to see it (as an all-star) race,” Johnson said. “They could probably put even more hype into it. They could bring (in) some NASCAR drivers or do some crazy stuff with an all-star type event. Having it (4-wide racing) at a national event that might play in on your championship hopes is probably not the place for it.”

Bernstein agreed.

“I think it (the 4-Wide Nationals) would be better if it was a non-points event, and just for money,” Bernstein said. “That would be better for what we would like to see.”

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4-WIDE RACING STILL DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS FROM DRIVERS