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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK

BROWN SCORES DOUBLE-HOLESHOT VICTORY IN ALREADY-UNIQUE RACE - NHRA racers and fans know that the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway is spectacularly unique with its double-the-drama flourish. And Antron Brown knows that his Top Fuel victory Sunday on the 1,000-foot course at Concord, N.C., was extraordinary, as well.

The Matco Tools Dragster driver scored a double-holeshot triumph to earn his 27th Top Fuel victory and 43rd overall in the NHRA professional ranks.

The former bike racer used an .042-second reaction time to record a 3.800-second elapsed time at 317.42 mph to outrun both runner-up Shawn Langdon (3.800, 322.11) and third-place JR Todd (3.799, 318.22).

Doug Kalitta, Brown's nemesis so far this season in the previous four races, smoked the tires on his Mac Tools Dragster and finished fourth at 4.587, 172.04.

For Brown it was the third final-round appearance in five Four-Wide events and third final in this season's five races so far. It's the first Four-Wide victory and second of the year for the Phoenix winner. And it carried a measure of atonement, because Brown had lost his final-round match-up against Kalitta at Gainesville.

His victory also gave Don Schumacher Racing four of the five Top Fuel victories in this Four-Wide event. Spencer Massey won the previous two, and Cory McClenathan won the inaugural in 2010. Only Del Worsham, driving for Al-Anabi Racing in 2011, interrupted the streak. DSR's victory count grew to 222.

Kalitta remains the points leader as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series moves to Baytown, Texas, for the April 25-27 O'Reilly SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. Brown is second in the standings, just 25 points back.

"My guys gave me an incredible race car. Everybody's competing on such a high level right now, and you just want to be on time because I know for sure that us as drivers, all we can do is screw it up once we get to the starting line. You just want to be on point. I wanted to be poised," Brown said, knowing he was surrounded by three excellent starting-line performers. "Thank God I was on time – I could've easily been on the outside, looking in.

"It feels really good to get the job done, especially when your boys worked so hard and we had a couple of races that slipped away from us this year," said Brown, who shared the winners circle with Robert Hight (Funny Car), Jimmy Alund (Pro Stock), and former head-to-head rival Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

He said he knew he had gone up against the sport's elite in that final round.

"When you go into a final and you got two Kalitta cars and an Al-Anabi car, it's pretty much stacked against you, because the Kalitta team and Alan's team work together," he said, referring to Al-Anabi team manager Alan Johnson. "It's like three teammates' cars against one. They definitely had the advantage. You go out there and you do what you do. You don’t try to add pressure to yourself, because you've got enough pressure as it is. We just put our head down and . . . our best foot forth . . . and we were able to become the victors."

This race proved an outstanding performance for the Kalitta Motorsports duo of Todd and Kalitta, one that made an especially strong statement for Todd in his first race as official fulltime driver for the Connie Kalitta-owned team and his first in the four-wide format. "Connie hired him because he's a good leaver," Brown said of the young racer who has won six times but driven mostly on a part-time basis.

Like Langdon and Brown, Kalitta was racing in his third final round in five Four-Wide events and making his fourth final in the season's first five races.

"I call it hashtag-Tool Wars," Brown said of his emerging rivalry with Kalitta. "I definitely don’t want to see him win, and he definitely doesn't want to see me win. He was going out there, trying for some blood. We just gained 40 points on Doug – and we needed that."

Current Top Fuel champion Langdon, surprisingly the only one of the finalists who entered the weekend with a sub-.500 race-day record, showed his Al-Anabi team was making strides. He had advanced to his first final of 2014, in search of a win where he earned the first of his eight Wally trophies.  

"We made a great run in the final. We've really turned this Al-Anabi car around," Langdon said. "We made seven really good runs this weekend, and the car is running strong.  I think we're back to where we were last year with a lot of promise and hope."

Langdon's final-round composure was particularly impressive, considering he was able to win his semifinal and earn lane choice for the final while controlling his car after the steering wheel slipped off its shaft at about the 800-foot mark downtrack.  

Tony Schumacher and Khalid alBalooshi, winners already this season, advanced from the first round, along with Brittany Force and Massey. Langdon and Brown, as well as a top-end mechanical breakdown, denied Massey his third consecutive victory at this event. In the other semifinal, Schumacher tied Kalitta's 3.847-second E.T., but Kalitta beat him at the Christmas tree (.069-second to .091) to move on to the final.

HIGHT WINS CHARLOTTE’S FOUR-WIDE - World championship crew chief Mike Neff had a plan Sunday at the Four-Wide Nationals.

Driver Robert Hight executed the plan and as a result put his John Force Racing Ford in the winners circle.

Hight’s 4.074-second elapsed time bested boss John Force (4.132), Alex DeJoria (4.098) and Tim Wilkerson (6.631) at zMAX Dragway.

“This format is a dangerous format for Mike Neff,” Hight said. “He understands what he needs to run to win. We all joked all day long, we didn’t have lane choice and we were saying we had table scraps and we still won from the lane that everybody said was bad. Never once did I feel like we were in a disadvantage because we were in a bad lane. I think losing twice to Alexis in the finals this year motivated him a little bit to push it. But, the way he races my car was not on the edge in the final. It just was tuned up enough to hopefully go up there and get the win if I did my job.”

This was Hight’s second win this season – he also was victorious at Gainesville, Fla. – and his 31st career win. Hight has been in four final rounds in five races this season as he was a runner-up at Phoenix and Las Vegas to DeJoria.

“The way Alexis has been running and winning races, I knew it was no gimme,” said Hight, who has now won the Four-Wide Nationals twice, the other time coming in 2012. “This has been a great weekend, we love coming to zMAX. We are trying to sell sponsorships and what a better place to bring potential sponsors than this facility.”

Although Hight was focused on winning Sunday he wasn’t worried about who was in the other three lanes.

“I don’t look at it like John is over here and Alexis is over here and Wilkerson is over there,” Hight said. “That is too much thinking. All you do is you go in there and stage your car and you watch them all light up and you leave.”

Hight admitted the database JFR collects at tracks like zMax also is extremely beneficial.

“It is all relevant and we all still look at runs from the past,” Hight said. “You have to know how you got here because it evolves and it changes. We still look back at data because every race track has its own idiosyncrasy. This one the starting line is a little funny. It is not flat, so the wheelie bar needs to be adjusted differently here. You always go back to previous runs and try to learn and put yourself at an advantage.”

ALUND GETS HISTORIC PRO STOCK VICTORY - On Feb. 1, Jimmy Alund was given an unexpected opportunity.

That day it was announced four-time NHRA world champion Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson would sit out the first three months of the season while recovering from heart surgery which he had on Feb. 6.

On Sunday, Alund, who is from Norrkoping, Sweden, captured a historic win at the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in his Summit Racing Camaro.

Alund clocked a 6.562-elapsed time at 2211.59 mph to defeat Shane Gray (6.563 seconds), Vincent Nobile (6.667) and Erica Enders (11.719).

Alund became the first European winner in Pro Stock and only the fourth non-American winner in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

“It means a lot,” Alund said about his place in NHRA history. “It really has not sunk in yet. I have a lot of wins in Europe, but this is something special.”

Alund’s confidence also has never wavered in his team since he replaced Anderson.

“I knew if I did my best I could do much more,” said Alund, an eight-time FIA European Drag Racing Pro Stock champion. “These guys are professionals and they gave me a good race car. It took awhile for us to work well together. In this format (Four-Wide) everybody wants to go in there and stage first and be ready and that actually fits me a little bit better because over in Europe when I race it doesn’t take as long as is does here (in the United States). They are setting the wheelie bars and rolling in and for me doing it that way takes forever. This weekend felt natural and I think it helped me a little bit.”

Anderson is expected to miss the first six races of the season. The sixth race is the Spring Nationals April 25-27 in Houston. The seventh race is the Southern Nationals May 16-18 in Atlanta.

“I was actually running out of opportunities, so I better grab this one,” Alund said.

Alund became the 58th different driver to win an NHRA Pro Stock race and he was clutching the Wally while answering questions in the pressroom.

“To outrun nine cars in one day and the people in those cars and teams you have been looking up to when you’re racing in Europe, it’s pretty awesome,” Alund said. “I remember the first race at Pomona, Greg (Anderson) said drive it (the car) like I stole it, and I’m actually thinking about stealing it from him right now. We need red, white and blue (cars).So, we have a white car in the shop and let’s hope Summit puts it out there and I would sure be glad to drive it. My (driving) season in Europe overlaps and to be honest with you we will cross that bridge if we get to that. I have sponsors over there. I have responsibilities. But, I think my sponsors over there are pretty happy.”

WINNING AGAIN - After a year of frustration in uncharacteristic catch-up mode, Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Andrew Hines started to see that flash of hope Sunday.

In winning the Four-Wide NHRA Nationals at Concord, N.C., the Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider took the points lead for the first time since April 2012 and inched toward the top of the class victories list.

What mattered most, aside from earning the 33rd victory of his career, was proving that "these Harleys are going to be tough to deal with" and that "hopefully these Harleys are turning heads."

Hines covered the zMAX Dragway quarter-mile in 6.859 seconds at 196.10 mph to edge teammate and fellow three-time series champion Eddie Krawiec by .0174 of a second, or about five feet or about half a bike length. Krawiec was on his heels with a 6.859, 196.13 effort.

Hines, competing in his third Four-Wide race, was making his first final-round appearance since he won here last September at the start of the Countdown.

In a final round that featured two sets of teammates, Hines and Krawiec bested a pair from the Matt Smith/Stockseth organization.

Scotty Pollacheck, racing in his second final round in as many races this season in search of a career-first victory, was third at 6.996, 191.73.

John Hall, Pollacheck's Matt Smith/Stockseth Racing teammate who was perfect in his previous two finals (at Epping and Indianapolis last season), brought up the rear at 7.547, 133.32.

Hines shared the winners stage with his former Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), and Jimmy Alund (Pro Stock).

With Gainesville winner Steve Johnson failing to qualify for this field, Hines will take the points lead into the April 25-27O'Reilly SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway at Baytown, Texas. The previous time Hines took the points lead was April 29, 2012, 43 races ago, after that 2012 Houston race.

Hines leads No. 2 Pollacheck by 11 points. Johnson's DNQ cost him five places in the standings; he's sixth after two events.

Sunday's success moved Hines into a third-place tie on the Pro Stock Motorcycle all-time victories list with the late John Myers. But Hines said he didn't dwell on trying to equal the stats of Myers or the bike-class leader, the late Dave Schultz, who won 45 times (four more than retired Angelle Sampey Drago).

"Those guys were phenomenal in their time. What they did through the '90s was outstanding. It's cool to be tied with John Myers," he said, reminiscing his childhood when he kidded around with Myers.

"I grew up around drag racing and I remember as a kid, running around, as an 8-9-10-year-old kid, having rubber-band wars with John Myers . . . shooting rubber bands at each other whenever we could. So that's really cool to tie his stat and be associated with that elite group."

This victory was a team triumph, a collaborative effort, he said, happy that their problem-solving skills following Friday's starting-line puzzle with both bikes yielded such terrific results.

"It was a team effort to figure out what was wrong and get the bikes to leave the starting line, because we saw they were running big enough speeds to compete with the guys up front," Hines said. "Saturday was a totally different day, and it translated to Sunday."

History and points leads weren't weighing on his mind, Hines said.

"I was mainly focused on seeing some sort of win light on my side of the track," he said. "That's what Eddie and I wanted to do. We wanted to go out there and be winner and runner-up. It didn't matter—obviously, each one of us wanted to win the race. But as a team, we wanted to take home the winner and runner-up positions."

He gave a nod to the reaction times of Hall and Pollacheck -- .013 for Hall and .020 for Pollacheck – and lamented that he and Krawiec could muster no better than .064 and .066, respectively. He said it looked like neither he nor Krawiec wanted to win the final round.

"Those guys slaughtered us on the starting line," Hines said, "but luckily we found some performance in our V-Rods over the last five weeks and it’s slowly paying off. We've got some momentum right now."

Hines said his Harley-Davidson team has "made tremendous strides," enough to declare himself and Krawiec "close" to the winning form it enjoyed almost for granted until the NHRA slapped some parity-minded rules on them two off-seasons ago. And he was coy about some technical improvements that he said will be coming this summer.

"We ran well here, but it’s only going to get better," he said. "We have some really interesting stuff in the works that we're probably going to bring out around Englishtown (the May 30-June 1 Toyota Summernationals in New Jersey)."

He wasn't specific but said, "It's nothing cosmetic. It's not a new body."

Pressed for details, he gave only a hint, indicating that it's an engine modification.

"You won’t see the parts, because they'll be moving inside the motor. How about that?" he said.

Yes, how about that? How about that Andrew Hines and those Harley-Davidsons back into the Pro Stock Motorcycle mix?

SUNDAY RANDOM RACE DAY NOTES

GOING ON INSTINCT - Shawn Langdon, reigning Top Fuel champion and No. 1 qualifier this weekend, had a scary moment in the semifinal round. The steering wheel in his silver Al-Anabi Dragster came off its shaft 800 feet into the run. He said that at a speed of about 300 mph at the time, he just did what flashed through his mind.

"All I could think of was to grab the steering shaft and try to hold it as straight as I could," Langdon said, adding that he alternated between steering the car by the steering shaft, grabbing the brake, and deploying the parachutes.

"When everything happens so quickly like that, your instincts take over, and you don’t think about it.  When the adrenaline starts to wear off, you start to realize what just happened, and it’s scary to think what could have happened," he said.

What did happen was that he won the foursome to earn a berth in the final for the third time at this race – with lane choice, which indicates his car still was moving at a quick pace at the time of the mishap – and he hit the right guard wall in the shutdown area.

“It was pretty scary when the steering wheel came off.  Everything happened so fast," Langdon said. "The first instinct as a driver is, no matter what, to get that car to the finish line and still win the round.  It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but . . . fortunately, we were still able to get the round-win.  It grazed the wall in the shutdown area, but it didn’t really do too much damage to the car.  When I got out of the car, my hands were shaking.  Fortunately, nothing bad happened.  The car is fine, I’m fine, and we were able to get the car back for the final round.  I think we’re very close to a victory.”

The Al-Anabi crew replaced the broken bolt that held together the steering-wheel assembly’s quick-release system and repaired the car easily in time for the final round. Langdon's runner-up finish pushed him from seventh in the standings to fourth as the series shifts to Houston in two weeks.

BACK IN THE ELITE GROUP - Tim Wilkerson made his way to the final of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and left as a semifinalist. He also left in the Funny Car top ten, after moving up from 12th place into a tie for eighth, sharing the spot with Courtney Force.

Wilkerson was joined as semifinalist by Alexis DeJoria.

"I'll tell you what, I didn't want to come in fourth going slow, so we took a chance on the lane holding what we were trying to do and we were a bit too greedy," he said. "We haven't won a race since 2011, but we've been in a bunch of final rounds and we've lost too many of them by being safe by just trying to get down the track. I figured we'd go down swinging, and if the track would hold it we'd have to run another 4.08 or maybe a little bit better. As it turned out, that's what it would've taken (Hight ran 4.074 to win) but the way we went after it wasn't the way the lane was going to let us do it.

"It stinks to have the chance and not seal the deal, but I'm really proud of my guys and we took some huge strides here this weekend. We're better than we were at the last race, and we feel like we've got a shot to win any weekend now. From here on out, this year, we'll only be running one other car at a time. It's tough to try to beat three other great cars in one lap, not to mention doing it three times."

BRING IT ON - NASCAR superstar Clint Bowyer, who has driven an NHRA Pro Stocker, is open to four-wide racing. He was asked if he’d give it a try, “D*** right, why not?”

Kyle Larsen wasn’t as eager.

“I’m out of my element here,” Larsen said. “Maybe a burnout.”

THROWING IN THE TOWEL – Past Charlotte winner Cruz Pedregon won’t have a chance to win at this event. Pedregon made a pulley change and couldn’t get the blower belt back on the car, and as a result couldn’t make the call.

FIRST TIME OUT – Pro Modified racer Robert Patrick, who is racing this weekend in Pro Stock, was the first casualty of the seven-second timer as he was counted out in the first round.

A LITTLE CONFUSION - The interesting thing about four-wide drag racing is the process can sometimes fool the most seasoned veteran. Count Erica Enders-Stevens as one of those fooled in the first round.

When John Gaydosh left too early, Enders-Stevens was unaware he’d fouled.

“I thought I left good but I wondered for a moment how I could have been so late.”

THE STREAK IS OVER – Ever since there has been a Four-Wide Nationals, tuner Phil Shuler has been in the winners circle of the special event. He did it with Cory McClentathan and for the last two seasons with Spencer Massey.

Massey fell short in the second round in losing to teammate Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon.

"I just wish the tires would've stayed hooked up," he said. "We got in the third lane and that was probably the weakest lane out here. It got out there to about the eighth-mile and it started spinning.

"It crossed my mind that maybe I should leg it through to the finish line but the motor was spinning so high and I was kind of thrown forward in my seat so I gave the throttle a slap to try and get it hooked back up and when I did the blower belt broke which means I was a sitting duck.

"It's a gut feeling," he said of his decision. "When the car starts spinning that far down track it's hard to say what you should do. The car has enough momentum you could just keep it going but the way it smoked the tires I felt like the motor might blow and I felt like I needed to get the tires hooked back up. It's a split-second decision. I'm kind of kicking myself but it is what it is and I learned from it."

ONE AND DONE - Qualifying No. 1 in Funny Car didn't provide a provisional win for Ron Capps.

"We just got outran," Ron said of his opening 4.125 at 309.98 mph. "Rahn Tobler was very confident especially after winning the pole and having lane choice in our quad. Last night and this morning we talked and he said we were going to have to run good. We thought we'd have to run at least a (4.07) or .08.

"The car chattered pretty good trying to lock the clutch up around half-track and that gave away some ET there. The car we have now should have run .05 or .06. That's what he planned on doing."

Moments after the disappointing run, the NAPA crew began working on their car.

"What I love about Rahn Tobler is that he and our NAPA guys already are out here tearing the car apart trying to figure out what happened," Ron said. "We went up to fourth in points coming in here, won the pole and had a great weekend up to this point."

MISTAKEN IDENTITY – Last minute lane changes can lead to confusion if the changes aren’t conveyed to race officials. Hector Arana Sr. won, lost and won again when he and Shawn Gann swapped lanes prior to their race.

When the Arana Sr. crossed the finish line in round one, the win light showed him advancing to the second round but the announcer said otherwise. After a scoring correction was made, Arana did move on to the next round to face son Hector Arana Jr., Eddie Krawiec, and Andrew Hines.  

"I had a very up and down weekend of emotions, especially after the confusion in the first round of eliminations," Arana said. "I heard them announce Shawn Gann as the winner of our round and for that split second I hesitated. I knew that I had crossed the line before he did, but I wasn't really paying attention to what the announcer was saying.

"It wasn't until one of my crewmembers showed me the ticket with the mistake; they had swapped mine and Gann's numbers. In what seemed like forever, an NHRA official had to call the tower to confirm that I was in fact moving to the second round."

STRANGE DAY, INDEED - The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway often brings strange occurrences to the sport's top drivers. Jeg Coughlin Jr. found this out the hard way.

Coughlin won his first-round quad after one driver [Robert Patrick] was timed out during staging, causing confusion and late reaction times for the remaining three. Then in the next round, Coughlin was bitten by a rare red-light, sending him home much too early.

"Unfortunately, we didn't light the win-light," Coughlin said. "But we'll pick up the pieces and head to Houston."

DADGUM THAT WAS A WILD ONE - Pro Stock driver Rodger Brogdon overcame a bizarre starting-line procedure to contend for the round win. Then, he was in position to advance to the second round at the eighth-mile mark, and finally, Brogdon can be pleased that he brought back an intact Chevrolet Camaro after it danced wildly toward the finish line.

"Dadgum, that was a wild one," Brogdon said. "First off, we were all dead late because (Robert) Patrick got timed out, but once we got going the car ran pretty decent, and we were right there but then it went all crazy."

Brogdon's car, in the far left lane, started sliding right as he continued to stay in the throttle, but as it sped to the finish line, the rear end began to waggle, and at 200 mph that's not a good thing.

"She started going all over the place, and I pushed in the clutch as quick as I could," Brogdon said. "Like those NASCAR guys say, we wrecked but we just didn't hit anything. I'm glad I was able to drive it back to the pit area, that's for sure."  


Brogdon's elapsed time was 6.947 seconds at 165.56 mph, trailing Shane Gray and Jeg Coughlin Jr.

SOUNDING LIKE A COUNTRY SONG – Jack Beckman just cannot get a break.

"We lost by .000. We just needed to do something one-thousandth of a second better," said Beckman, whose last event title was in September 2012, a span of 33 events.

"It's frustrating. We made a good run and are headed in the right direction but our win light hasn't come on. At some point these decisions need to translate into win lights. It's frustrating for everybody.

"We're five races in and we haven't seen a semifinal yet.

"I'm optimistic. I think we have all the parts and the talent here to get this done. We need to get a better handle on the predictability of the car. Once we get that there isn't any reason why we can't be one of the quickest cars out here again."

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

LANGDON LOW QUALIFIER - Current Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon completed two dominating days in preparation for Sunday’s eliminations at the Four-Wide NHRA Nationals at zMAX Dragway, posting his second No. 1 qualifying position of the year. He earned nine of a possible 12 qualifying bonus points throughout four sessions to lead the field for the second straight time at this event and 15th time overall.

MORE ROUNDS, STEVEN SPIELBERG – The Four-Wide has gone through a refinement process since being introduced in 2010.

Spencer Massey, who has won the event the last two seasons, wouldn’t mind seeing the event conclude with a measure of traditional drag racing.

“I’d like to see a fourth round,” Massey said. “Running four cars in a third session is neat, but I would like to see the quickest two come back for a fourth and final round. But then again, I have won the last two events here, so I don’t know if I would really want to change anything.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Steve Johnson would love to have an outsider, with entertainment experience, analyze the specialty event and offer ideas to make it a household hot topic.

“I’ve sat in the stands and listened to the fans, and I’m all about exit surveys and polling the fans,” said Johnson. “I’m all about listening to the people we are trying to reach. They seem to have a hard time keeping up with what’s going on. I’ve sat there and watched four 300 mile per hour cars and it’s hard to focus on one. I would ask Steven Spielberg to come watch a race and ask him how to put this on television. How would you convey this to the fan watching it.”

NO THANKS - NFL football player Steve Smith was a special guest of Top Fuel racer Antron Brown. The Baltimore Ravens receiver, along with son Boston, experienced four-wide drag racing.

Smith was given the opportunity to sit inside Brown’s enclosed cockpit as his team fired the 10,000-horepower engine prior to a qualifying run.

“I’ve been behind the wheel of a NASCAR car but I think this is more advanced with all the details and the margin for error is a lot less,” said Smith. (Being in the cockpit) is more of a confined space. Being an athlete and seeing all the things go on behind the scenes, there’s so much more of a science to it. I gained a lot more respect for them ... not that I didn’t before from watching it on TV but seeing everything that goes into it you don’t know until you know. Now that I know I’ll watch in so much more differently. Seeing how much teamwork it takes in a short period of time.”

Smith is an aggressive athlete but would he drive Brown’s race car?

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Smith. “We talked about that. (If I crashed the car) Antron would bill me and he knows I’d be able to pay for it so I’m not ready to buy him a new car and go down that road.”

HO-HUM Q3 - The only movement in the third overall qualifying session happened in the middle of the pack. Richie Crampton improved his best time of the weekend from 4.941 seconds to 3.855, moving him up two positions and sliding both Leah Pritchett and Clay Millican down one spot.

Ten of the 16 dragsters lost traction in Saturday's opening session. Besides Crampton, five others made it down the track under power: Antron Brown, JR Todd, Doug Kalitta, and the Al-Anabi duo of Shawn Langdon and Khalid alBalooshi, who had identical E.T.s at 3.828 seconds.

TAKING ADVANTAGE – A field of barely 16 Top Fuel cars might be less than ideal for the NHRA, but it worked out perfectly this weekend for Artivinco Dragster owner-driver Sidnei Frigo and his crew chief, Mike Kloeber. "We have been using this event as a test, so to speak, because there are only 16 cars," Kloeber said. "We haven't been doing mad science. We are trying to focus on the early part of the run, where Sidnei's car is off the most. So far no luck and lots of smoke!" That has kept Frigo last in the order through three qualifying sessions. He said for the final run Saturday he would "put the normal set-up in the car." That gained Frigo a couple of spots, to No. 14.

His first-round foursome has a distinct international flavor. The Brazilian will race alongside Khalid alBalooshi, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Richie Crampton, a native Australian; and lone American Tony Schumacher.

ALL-TIME QUAD: WHO CAN YOU LEAVE OUT?! - Antron Brown called this event "our battle-royal, NHRA’s version of an all-star race" and promised, "You’re going to see some extremely good racing, with the heavyweights going toe-to-toe -- not just two at a time but four racing at once."

Brown used a 3.794-second pass at 320.89 mph in Q4 to slip into the No. 4 slot, just one-thousandth of a second slower than No. 3 Khalid alBalooshi. That puts him in a first-round grouping with Clay Millican, Brittany Force, and Leah Pritchett.

"If you can hoist that Wally, you know you did something special. That’s what we’re shooting for. We’ve made it to the final foursome but haven’t got the job done yet. We’re hoping this time we’re the last ones standing and can check winning the Four-Wide off our must-do list."

Brown, who enjoys the sport's history and enjoys a fun racing fantasy now and again, pondered which former and/or current drag racers he would most want to be grouped with in a Four-Wide race elimination quad. "The hardest part," he said, "was limiting it to just three other drivers to race at once. I started with ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits because he’s my hero. And then Kenny Bernstein and Joe Amato came to mind. And then it hit me that racing my crew chief, Mark Oswald, had to be part of it. And, before you know it, I was thinking, ‘Man, it would be so cool to race all the former champions and see really who the best of the best is.’

"It’s such a fun weekend and the fans only get to see it happen once a year at zMAX. It’s a showcase event for our sport," Brown said.

HMMM… - Racers will say they don’t care who's lined up against them for eliminations. And focusing solely on one's own lane truly has been the key to staying clear-headed in this four-abreast format. The fans, at least, will keep a close eye on one grouping for the first round that might bring some drama or stir some emotions. JR Todd will go against former boss Bob Vandergriff Jr., whose organization he left just before this race for greener pastures at Kalitta Motorsports. And he'll compete directly with his new Kalitta Motorsports teammate, Doug Kalitta (Gatornationals winner who has two top qualifiers and one victory in three final-round appearances). Filling out that foursome will be veteran driver Pat Dakin.

ON PARADE – Top Fuel's Brittany Force, along with her Funny Car driving father John and sisters Ashley and Courtney, was the subject of a Q&A-style article by Dr. Nancy Berk published online March 25 ("A Driving Force: Meet The First Family of NHRA Drag Racing"). It registered as the most popular story on Parade.com for a couple of days, JFR spokesman Elon Werner said, "thanks to some good social-media buzz." All Brittany Force was focused on Saturday is qualifying her best and focusing on the tricky four-wide format for eliminations, where she'll start by racing Antron Brown, Clay Millican, and Leah Pritchett.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS? - Terry McMillen can't seem to escape pal Steve Torrence. In the three events for which the Amalie Oil/UNOH Dragster has qualified, McMillen has lost twice to Torrence in the first round. By dropping down to the No. 16 berth on the grid in the final session, he got the privilege of facing Torrence in the first round once more – along with top qualifier Shawn Langdon, the reigning class champion, and Spencer Massey, who will be trying to win this race for a third straight year.

Massey said, "Shawn and Steve are some of the best leavers out there, so I'll have to be on my game and that's the best for me. I love that pressure and knowing that I have to cut a good light. It's definitely going to be a great race. We're going for our third [Four-Wide trophy]. I know I've never won three times at any track, so I'm definitely after that three-peat. That would be pretty cool."

SPECIAL GUESTS – Antron Brown had a couple of special guests in his Matco Tools Dragster team pits this weekend. Three-time All-Pro NFL wide receiver Steve Smith, of the Baltimore Ravens, and his son Boston came out to zMAX Dragway for both qualifying days. Smith plans to arrange for a sideline pass for Brown this fall when the Ravens come to Indianapolis to play the Colts. Brown lives near Indianapolis and his Don Schumacher Racing team is headquartered at Brownsburg, Ind., a Westside suburb. "It was just a pleasure to have him out here for the NHRA Mello Yello race," Brown said. "We're just kicking back and having fun."

FUNNY CAR

CAPPS CAPS NO. 1 - Ron Capps maintained the No. 1 qualifying position after the fourth and final qualifying session in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte Motor Speedway.

His time of 4.059 seconds at 314.24 mph on Friday's last run earned him the 16th pole of his career and first of the season. It's his first No. 1 qualifying position since the 12th event of 2012 when he was on the pole to start the event at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago, a span of 16 races.

"We didn't get down the track on Saturday but (crew chief) Rahn Tobler was working on tune-ups for Sunday when it's supposed to be hot like today," he said. "That's what was great about that run the NAPA team put out there Friday; it gave Tobler two runs on Saturday to get ready for eliminations."

Capps has never won the Four-Wide and his best finish in the event was in 2012 when he advanced to the championship-round foursome but did not finish in the top-two. Later that year, Capps won the traditional two-lane title in the fall with Tobler, who won the Four-Wide in 2011 with Capps' Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman. Tobler and Beckman were runner-up at the track in the fall during the 2011 and 2010 seasons.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT – One of the keys to a smooth NHRA Four-Wide experience is to know the tendencies of your opponent.

“A lot of times you know people who are going to take a little longer and you’ll take a while to fire up,” said defending Funny car champion Matt Hagan. “For instance, Robert Hight is always ready to go. We fire up quick, we do our burnout quick … it’s almost like a race to see who can get backed up first and stage. But then, you get someone like John [Force] who takes a day and a half to stage. You just have to know the drivers and who you are racing.”

Losing focus can be detrimental to your race car’s well-being.

“You’re not only looking at the tree and trying to figure out what bulb is yours, you have to also know the tendencies of the other drivers. You have to figure it all out. At the end of the day, you have seven seconds to stage or you get counted out. It’s really critical in regards to getting your clutch hot, sitting there and being light on fuel, these crew chiefs really push it to the max. We like to try to have everything as close as possible.”

Spencer Massey, the only Top Fuel driver to win a double holeshot, said the staging process is very time critical.

“These cars burn so much fuel, and it is down to the wire,” Massey said. “You have about a gallon-and-a-half to two left in the tank at the end of a run. If we get held up that’s going to mess up the way the car runs. Am I gonna burn the car up in the lights? Or am I going to get the clutch too hot? There are so many different situations just to make the run. As a driver, you really cannot think about too much of it. You just have to go up there and do your job. You see all of these trees and stage bulbs, and it looks confusing because it can be. If you do your homework, know your lane and leave out on everyone and get there first and hopefully your win light will come on.”

Focus and knowledge can help, but for Erica Enders-Stevens, she believes Pro Stock racing four abreast is the toughest.

“I feel like it is,” said Enders-Stevens. “I believe the Top Fuel guys are a little more courteous to one another because they can’t hang one another out because of their starting line procedures. The crew chiefs will raise their hands to one another to let them know they are ready to stage. Pro Stock guys will just roll up there and turn on two bulbs and hang someone out. It’s a bit different.

“I do feel it’s a bit more challenging because in the fuel cars because everyone is staged and waiting on the tree to push the gas,” said Enders-Stevens aid. “In Pro Stock, you’re all the way in on the clutch and you’re waiting for everyone’s stage bulbs to be lit. Then you deck the throttle, and it’s controlled by the rev-limiter. If you go on the chip too early, you are sitting there at 7,200 rpm. You have to really pay attention to what everyone else is doing. I feel like it is the most challenging.”  

CREW CHIEFS PUT ON SHOW - Ron Capps suggested Beethoven. Maybe for the video the top Funny Car qualifier at this weekend's Four-Wide Nationals is envisioning, a little player-piano music – à la Charlie Chaplin or the Keystone Cops silent flicks – would be more appropriate.

While many drivers are strategizing how to handle this four-abreast set-up that the NHRA uses just once a year and only at zMAX Dragway, Capps couldn't help but see the entertainment value of it. He wasn't thinking about 40,000-horsepower blasting off at once or the pageantry of it. Just in watching the crew chiefs scurry about during qualifying Saturday, what struck him was the slapstick vibe to the starting-line routine. It was vaudeville comedy at its finest.

And the NAPA Dodge Charger driver said the media add to the amusement by missing the best story of the weekend. "It's funny," Capps said. "All the drivers have been quizzed by the media about the Four-Wide and 'How . . . this and that?'  . . . 'Is it distracting?' . . . and 'What goes on in your mind?' They should have been talking to the crew chiefs. It's hilarious to watch the crew chiefs up there!"

The spectacle of watching them have to raise their hands when they're ready, like grade-schoolers, and watching them rocked from their routines had him laughing Saturday as he sat strapped into his car at the Concord, N.C., dragstrip.

"Somebody needs to do just cameras on the crew chiefs tomorrow. I'm telling you – it's hilarious. I was laughing in my helmet today," Capps said. "I've never seen crew chiefs so frazzled. They're worse off than the drivers. They should play some kind of Beethoven or something and just show footage tomorrow – because it'd be a waaaay better TV show."

Even his own crew chief, Rahn Tobler, wasn't exempt from Capps' cackling.  

"Tommy Johnson had an issue backing up, and they thought he was going to shut his car off. So the NHRA officials are running in front of my car. And I see Tobler. He has a radio. He can talk to me. But he's up there giving me signals: 'T . . . J's . . . broke . . . and . . .' – like I'm going to try to read his lips. Then . . . apparently they fixed the problem." He said Tobler ran back over to him and mouthed, "He's . . . O . . . K . . .' And I'm just laughing: 'You've got a radio – talk to me!'

All the gesturing and scrambling outside the cars might have occupied him and erased any uneasiness about going down the track with three other drivers instead of the customary two. Whatever – Capps hardly could stop saying, "It's hilarious!"

WILK FINISHES STRONG, QUALIFIES 5th - Tim Wilkerson publicly admitted that he was "trying some stuff" during Saturday's first qualifying session, by doing some in-race testing. In the final session, he went back the same standard set-up that had run 4.128 and Friday's 4.084. The final session netted him the third-quickest run of the session, earning him his second bonus point on the weekend.



HOW THEY PAIR UP - Group A: 1) Ron Capps, 16) Chad Head, 8) Del Worsham, 9) Alexis DeJoria; Group B: 4) Bob Tasca, 13) Cruz Pedregon, 5) Tim Wilkerson, 12) Blake Alexander; Group C: 2) Robert Hight, 15) Tony Pedregon, 7) Matt Hagan, 10) Jack Beckman; Group D: 3) Tommy Johnson, 14) Jeff Arend, 6) Courtney Force, 11) John Force

NEW CREWMEMBER - The Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots team has an extra crew member this weekend at the 5th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

Nolan Lopez, a seventh-grader from Sanford, N.C., befriended Matt Hagan and the team at the Four-Wide event at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte Motor Speedway last year when they invited him to ride in the tow vehicle.

Hagan went on to win the event and ever since the team has considered Nolan their lucky charm.

The Mopar team went on to win five NHRA Mello Yello events in the 2013 season and 12-year-old Nolan was there for three of them - Charlotte, Chicago and the season finale in Pomona.

"The kid is a rock star," Matt said. "He's like having a leprechaun around, he's super lucky. It's just one of those deals, we love having him."

BONUS POINTS - Courtney Force picked up three additional bonus points today on the fourth and final qualifying pass when her Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car ran the best ET of the session. She posted a 4.088 at 316.01 mph to pick up the points and keep her No. 6 qualifying spot. She will go up against John Force, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Jeff Arend in the opening round on Sunday.

The 2012 Auto Club Rookie of the Year was fastest overall in the Funny Car category on Friday, but bumped up that number to 316 mph today on the final pass.

“In Q4, the car did exactly what we wanted it to. Running that 4.08 put us low of the round so we picked up three bonus points which is awesome. We even increased top speed to over 316 mph, which is fastest of the weekend so far,” said Force.

For the past two years, the 25-year-old has qualified No. 12 at the Four-Wide events and has gone out in the first round on race day, but Force says she thinks her team has stepped it up quite a bit and is ready to take on the competition.  

“We’re excited. We’re going into race day with second pick of lane choice. Unfortunately, we’re in a quad with my dad, but hopefully both of us can move on to the next round. We’re going to do the best we can. We have a good car and we know which lanes we like best and we just have to get around the other guys first and hopefully a JFR team takes home the win tomorrow,” said Force.

JUST EMBRACE IT - Lanes 3 and 4 at zMAX Dragway come alive for the Four-Wide NHRA Nationals each spring, but that means those far right-side lanes are more "green" than the other two that get more use year-round. The logical question is whether drivers should have the chance to come to Concord, N.C., prior to the event and get a chance to break in those seldom-used lanes, lay down some rubber, and develop a better sense for the "lay of the land." Ron Capps votes no.

"Maybe some crew chiefs would like to," the NAPA Dodge driver and No. 1 Funny Car qualifier said Saturday. "The far two lanes definitely had a thinner path of rubber. But where were we when we ran low E.T. and ended up with the No. 1 qualifier? We were in the far right lane." He mentioned that Courtney Force ran an outstanding 4.088-second elapsed time in Lane 4 in the final qualifying session.

He said, "We're going to have lane choice [for Sunday eliminations], and I'll bet you a dollar that we'll be in Lane 4."

In just a few hours, Capps will find out if he gets to make a dollar or has to fork over one. But it doesn’t matter. "Having less rubber is not a bad thing, I don’t think."

Capps always has been one to defend the quirkiest of racetracks, enjoying the idiosyncrasies of each. He said Saturday, "I think it's interesting that with the four lanes, we get only one run per lane. I think it’s kind of a unique thing. We're used to having two runs in each lane prior to race day on a normal weekend."

And he acknowledged that zMAX, like any other facility, has lanes with their own characteristics.

"The track is a bit downhill. So when you’re backing up from the burnout, when you get close to the tree and the guy's guiding you back, that last couple of feet before he gives you the stop sign, the horizon disappears. It's a strange feeling in a Funny Car to stage a car and not see any track surface in front of you. It's almost – and I'm exaggerating a little bit – there's a slight jump. It's a strange feeling: you've got this injector right in front of you. Now you can’t see anything," Capps said.

"The far right lane doesn’t seem to have that [phenomenon] quite as much. It disappears but not as much," he said. "The left lane seems like it’s got it more.

"Every lane's got something a little bit different," Capps said. "I find it unique. It's going to be interesting to see guys fighting for what lane they like."

PRO STOCK

MCGAHA STAYS TOPS - Chris McGaha claimed the second No. 1 qualifying position of his career with his 6.523 pass at 213.10 mph on Friday.  The Odessa, Texas, native purchased Mike Edwards’ equipment following the end of the 2013 season and is seeing the results he was expecting after the acquisition.

"I absolutely hoped that we'd be able to do this when we bought Mike's operation," Said McGaha. "I know there were a lot of doubters who didn't think that we could have instant success but I don't think we'd have done this deal if we didn't think we'd be where we are now."

McGaha will race his Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevy Camaro against Jimmy Alund, V Gaines and Larry Morgan to open Pro Stock eliminations.

GUNNING FOR TWO IN A ROW - The last time reigning world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. raced zMax Dragway, he went home with the trophy. Now the 56-time national event winner and perennial crowd favorite will be looking to make it two in a row at Bruton Smith's home track when he lines up his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Dart in Sunday's NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

Coughlin qualified a lofty fifth in a very competitive 16-car field with a best pass of 6.538 seconds at 212.13 mph, which he posted Friday afternoon. Under the unique four-wide format, Coughlin will open race day eliminations against No. 4 qualifier Shane Gray (6.534 at 212.26 mph), No. 12 qualifier Rodger Brogdon (6.577 at 210.80 mph), and No. 13 qualifier Robert Patrick (6.616 at 209.33 mph).

"I feel confident no matter how tomorrow shakes out," Coughlin said. "We've had a chance to survey and run down all four lanes now, so we know what to expect. Generally, lanes 1 and 2 are the best because they're run on the most in the normal course of racing here, but NHRA has come in and done such an awesome job of preparing all four lanes that I don't see a big difference between them. That'll make for some awesome racing tomorrow."

LIKE RIDING A BICYCLE – Dave Connolly will start from the No. 3 position on Sunday and will race Justin Humphreys, Jason Line and Vincent Nobile in the first of three elimination rounds.
 
Connolly last raced in the unique four-wide format in 2012 and was a finalist at the event in 2011. Although it has been awhile since the 23-time NHRA Pro Stock winner has raced four-across, he hasn't had any difficulty adjusting.
 
"It was interesting," said Connolly following the last qualifying round. "It's crazy; you have twice as many drivers on the starting line, and everyone’s trying to get ready. There is a lot going on. But the whole staging procedure went pretty smooth for all the qualifying runs, and we made some pretty good runs today. I think we have a really good Sunday racecar. I like our chances."

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

KATIE, BAR THE DOOR - Katie Sullivan broke into the field of 16 in Saturday's first session (third overall). With her 6.961-second, 190.83-mph pass, she booted Gatornationals winner and points leader Steve Johnson off the grid. He was 17th at 6.998 seconds with one more chance to regain a berth in Sunday's eliminations.

She held onto the bump spot, sending Johnson from hero to zero in just one race. But he earned mention in the NHRA record book. According to Drag Race Central, this marks the first time in the 356-race history of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class that an event winner has failed to qualify at the following race.

Sullivan will start eliminations Sunday in the pack that includes Mike Berry and the two Star Racing riders: top qualifier Michael Ray and Chaz Kennedy.

OOOF - Matt Smith's Buell broke Saturday just as he launched in Lane 3 during the third session, so he had no time for that run. His 6.871-second E.T. (at a track-speed-record 198.32 mph) kept him in the No. 5 spot. With Andrew Hines moving into the top three, Smith settled for a No. 6 start for eliminations, although he got a better E.T. from his Smith/Stockseth Buell, a 6.856-second effort.

Two quads later in the third session, also in Lane 3, Shawn Gann experienced some sort of trouble and pushed back off the starting line. He held onto the No. 10 position with one final chance to get into the top half of the field. Lane 2 didn’t prove any luckier for Gann, for in the final session he also pushed his bike from the starting line. He slipped down one rung on the ladder, to No. 11.

Smith and Gann are grouped in the opening-round quad with Andrew Hines and Hector Arana Sr.

ONE OUT, ONE IN - Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson racer Andrew Hines said in his "On The Run" column for National Dragster that this will be the last road trip, at least for awhile, for Scott Sceurman, whom he called "my main crewman since 2005." Sceurman will remain with Vance & Hines, staying back at the engine shop at Brownsburg, Ind. Mike Mullaney has joined the team. Hines said from late January through February, his bike had 260 turns on the dyno – when the number for the entire 2013 season was 305. Hines ended qualifying Saturday with the No. 3 starting spot – with a huge leap in the final session from 13th place. He'll be in the quad with Hector Arana Sr., Matt Smith, and Shawn Gann.

OTHER QUARTETS – Scotty Pollacheck, Jerry Savoie, John Hall, and Adam Arana will line up against each other in the first round of eliminations. Comprising the other quad will be Hector Arana Jr., Jim Underdahl, Eddie Krawiec, and Angie Smith.

CLOSE BUT NO QUALIFYING SPOT – Sweden's Elvira Karlsson clocked a career-best elapsed time of 7.007 seconds in the last qualifying session but still failed to make the field of 16. She was 18th. Joining her and Steve Johnson on the DNQ list were Freddie Camarena, Justin Finley, Joe DeSantis, and Junior Pippin.

ENGINE THE ONLY QUESTION MARK - Adam Arana said he isn’t unsettled by this event's four-wide line-up. The only thing bothering the sophomore rider of the ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Buell is how his new engine will behave in eliminations Sunday. Qualifying wasn't perfect, because he said he broke a motor in his Q3 run. But his was one of only a few bikes to make more than two consistent passes throughout the entire qualifying process as he made the field at No. 12. He'll battle Scotty Pollacheck, John Hall, and Jerry Savoie in the first round.

"Unfortunately, we broke a motor in Q3 and had to bring out a brand-new motor for Q4," Arana said. "Because of that, I really wasn't able to make a good pass for my last run. This isn't what we wanted to deal with at all this weekend. Now we're at a point where we don't know the potential of this motor. This season we're having crank issues again, and we don't know what the crank is really going to be like until we run. We're behind the competition, and that's just frustrating. In regards to Sunday's final eliminations, I'm not worried about having a riding issue. I just don't know how my new motor is going to perform."

He said, "I really like this event. My reaction times haven't been too bad all weekend. I'm really confident in my riding skills and am comfortable on the bike, compared to where I was last year when I was a rookie."

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

GETTING IN THE SWING - As in golf, the low numbers in drag racing are the desirable ones. And avid linkster Shawn Langdon was in golf mode early Friday, staking his Al-Anabi Dragster to the No. 1 spot in the opening qualifying session at zMAX Dragway. He had been No. 2 in the first session.

Langdon and his team general manager, Brandon Bernstein, attended the first round of golfing's famed Masters Tournament at August, Ga., Thursday. Their first visit to Augusta National Golf Club was as guests of the Coca-Cola Company, sponsor of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Langdon's 3.802-second pass was one of just two 3.8s in Friday's first session. Antron Brown, .021 of a second behind Langdon, had the other. Top performer JR Todd was the lone driver at 3.7 seconds. But Langdon said team manager Alan Johnson and crew chief Brian Husen "were trying to go for that No. 1 spot and felt very confident with our tune-up. Alan and Brian made an excellent judgment call."

And his Al-Anabi Dragster, which hasn't always been so co-operative this season, behaved fabulously, even with a couple of cylinders out downtrack. "We still have a little bit left in it," Langdon said.

He said the team "changed a couple of things from Las Vegas" and that they're "trying to work in a couple of areas that we've been missing and struggling with on Sunday. And it responded well."

Langdon was No. 1 qualifier at this race last year on his way to a seven-victory championship season. Although he didn’t win either zMAX Dragway event in 2013, he still has a fondness for the facility.

Langdon recorded the first of his eight victories at Charlotte, where he said his team "always seems to do well. Every track has different characteristics. Sometimes the way a team runs the car with its setup just makes it easier to adapt to certain tracks. There’s really no rhyme or reason to it – it just seems to work out that way. Charlotte is definitely one of the tracks we seem to get along with; we can make some excellent runs there. Last year at the Four-Wides, we had a great race car."

As for the tricky format, Langdon said, "The Four-Wide Nationals is a once-a-year event, and it’s always nice to change it up a little bit and do something different. With how the Al-Anabi team has started the season, having a little bit of a change might be a good thing for us. Going back to a track like zMAX Dragway - where I won my first Top Fuel race and where last year we had a great car through qualifying and eliminations until the final where it smoked the tires – could be a very good thing for us.

"To me the format doesn’t matter. Doing whatever it takes to draw more attention to the sport works for me," the reigning Top Fuel champion said. "To me, as a driver, it really doesn’t matter if we race two-wide or four-wide. You don’t really notice anything different as the driver. You just do your same thing and stay with you routine. It’s a matter of getting all four cars ready to stage in a timely fashion so nobody gets hung up on the starting line, but other than that, there's really no difference to it. I think the fans are starting to warm up to the format."

NOT MESSIN' AROUND - With the other drivers in his foursome losing traction, JR Todd clocked his career-quickest elapsed time at 3.781 seconds, 325.06 mph, in his first run as the fulltime driver of Connie Kalitta's Optima Batteries Dragster. That gave him the early Top Fuel lead. Shawn Langdon passed him in the next session, but he found himself second at the end of the day, sandwiched between Langdon and his fellow Al-Anabi driver, Khalid alBalooshi.

IT'S KIND OF FAMILIAR - GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Richie Crampton hasn't driven in the Four-Wide Nationals before and called this weekend's experience "another stepping-stone in all the various things I have to learn about driving these cars." However, he isn’t unfamiliar with the complexities of staging in this event. As a crew member for Morgan Lucas before replacing the team owner in the seat, Crampton guided Lucas into the staging beams at each of the previous four Four-Wide races.

"I paid close attention to all of the other three cars that we raced against and how that staging procedure works," he said. "From a crewmember standpoint, I think I understood it well, so I think I have a pretty good idea on it. I'm still learning, but it's definitely going to be a little different. I'll lean on Morgan for advice on how to handle the Four-Wide race."

He said he has noticed that even veteran drivers "put a lot of pressure on themselves and overthink a regular race with two vehicles. Definitely, four-wide racing adds a whole other element, and that's where you see veteran drivers who don't get rattled by anything shine the best. When there's something a little different going on, they rise to the occasion."

That staging process, Crampton said, is the only part of the equation with a question mark. He said one he made his first qualifying pass "it will be smooth sailing." He improved from 15th to 13th Friday.

BAH, HUMBUG - Steve Torrence has reached the semifinal round at each of the season's previous four races, and he knows if he is to advance to his first final round of the season he's going to have to ditch his personal feelings about the this uniquely formatted event.

“I hate going there,” the Capco Contractors Dragster owner-driver said, despite earning his first No. 1 qualifying position there in 2012. "But I know I’ve got a car that will run well -- and if we can go three rounds, just like we have been doing all year, then we just might win a race.”

He has calculated that if he wins two elimination rounds Sunday, he’ll be racing for the victory. With a No. 7 effort in each of Friday's two sessions, he's off to an encouraging start.

“I've been trying to work on my focus and concentration,” Torrence said. “You really need that when you go to the Four-Wide. You don’t change your game plan. You just have to concentrate a lot more, because there’s so much going on. If you think about it too much, you’ll confuse yourself. So I don't change my routine. You just have to focus on your bulb and the rest them will come on when they come on.”

HIGH HOPES FOR 100TH - Spencer Massey is looking for three victories in a row at the Four-Wide Nationals, but most of all he's eager to turn this 100th start into one that breaks his dubious streak of three quarterfinal finishes.

The Battery Extended Dragster driver said, "We definitely need to get out of that second round" but said he believes crew chiefs Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara "made huge gains [at the previous race, Las Vegas]. Phil and Todd are definitely getting a handle on this car. We had a great test session after Vegas, and I think we've turned the corner with this race car." He obviously has no trouble lining up against three other drivers instead of just one.

"Racing in the Four-Wide requires a lot of focus as a driver and I look forward to it. It's a challenge that I seem to do well at," Massey said. "You just have to focus on your light and your lane and let the rest play out." He's ninth in the order as he awaits Saturday's remaining two opportunities to take aim at the top half of the field.

Massey set the national speed record (332.18 mph) at this race in 2012, and zMAX Dragway joins The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (another Bruton-Smith owned racetrack) and Denver's Bandimere Speedway as facilities at which Massey has won twice. He has event trophies from 11 different NHRA facilities.

And he said he's grateful to be drag racing for a living: "I went to my first drag race in Texas when I was four, and this is just a dream come true. I'm not sure I ever could have imagined this when I was a kid. Back then, I knew I wanted to drive one, and that's all I've ever wanted to do since then. It's very special. I have to thank Don Prudhomme and Don Schumacher for giving me the opportunity to do something that I love. I feel like someone should pinch me."

MOVIN' ON UP - Brittany Force leaped from ninth place to fourth Friday in the Castrol EDGE Dragster. After smoking the tires in her first attempt, she rebounded at 3.8-flat at 325.61 mph. We definitely made up for it in the second session," Force said, adding, "I am excited to be in Charlotte for the Four-Wide. It is always a great show for the fans. You get to see four races cars at once go down the track, and that is always exciting. It was louder than I remembered from last year.

WANTS TO KEEP MOMENTUM GOING - Tony Schumacher, winner of the most recently completed race, at Las Vegas, is fifth so far, one-thousandth of a second in front of Doug Kalitta, the man he defeated in the final two weeks ago.

"Not too many other teams could’ve withstood that kind of pressure and continued fighting for ways to win, despite not being in a final since Chicago. That’s a long time for the Army car to not have a chance at victory," he said, looking back to his latest triumph. "We never lost sight of our goal, and that’s to win championships. And because of that, you can get through the tough times together. Winning Las Vegas was incredible, because it came at a time when we really needed it. I have a real strong feeling it’s going to make the rest of the season go well."

Schumacher said winning this Four-Wide event will require "a lot of the same things it took in Las Vegas: timing, perseverance, being able to get off the line early. These U.S. Army guys have the fresh taste of victory, and I know I want to taste it again. The Four-Wide is a race that I haven’t won, and there’s intense pressure just trying to win it. It’s the only time all season where you’ll have cars on each side of you. And when you do, you feel like the sky’s falling on you. It’s so loud and pretty intense.

"We’ve been extremely close the last two years and just barely got beat. We love racing there, and having four cars going at once is a huge show for the fans," he said. "We still have to go out there and be at our best each time down the track. It’s a unique event, but there’s still only one Top Fuel team celebrating at the end of the day Sunday, and we’re hoping to be that team.”

FUNNY CAR

RON CAPPS ISLAND - Ron Capps unleashed a 4.059 second elapsed time at 314.24 mph which was 0.015 seconds better than the next quickest Funny Car during Friday qualifying. The last time Capps qualified on the pole was in 2012 at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.

"I felt like jumping up and down when I got out of the car, like we had just won a race," said Capps.

Capps said he was taken aback by crew chief Rahn Tobler’s aggressiveness during first day qualifying.

"I wish I could have seen Tobler's face when the (time) came up on the scoreboard because I know he didn't mean for it to run that good.

"Traditionally those right lanes (3 and 4) have less rubber and that affects traction, and the crew chiefs know that. That being said, we didn't make it down the track on our first run in the far-left lane and that usually has the most rubber.

"We went up for the last run and Tobler told me and everyone else that he was backing it down because he didn't think the traction would be that good (in lane No. 4). I can tell you I yelled out inside my car 'You're a liar Rahn Tobler' after 300 feet of that run because it planted me so hard in the trunk. I couldn't believe it didn't pull the tires loose or smoke the tires. It felt like a low 4.0 or 3.90. Then it stayed stuck and stayed stuck. I kept waiting for it to come loose."

THIS JUST AIN’T NORMAL RACING – Matt Hagan is the defending NHRA Four-Wide Funny Car champion but it doesn’t mean he thinks this is the way drag racing ought to be run.

“This four-wide [drag racing] is crazy … tricky,” Hagan said. “What we do is about repetition. Most people think we just get in the car, stand on the gas pedal and pull the parachute, but there is so much to it. Everything has to be the same from the burnout to the way you work the clutch. Even staging the car to making sure you maintain the same temperature in the clutch for your crew chief. You start throwing three other cars and soon your variables get mixed up some.

“It’s hard enough to get a guy and a girl with a huge ego to stage much less add two more into the mix. It’s kind of tough. We have a lot of fun and it’s really something you cannot see anywhere else. Forty thousand horsepower … that’s just crazy.”

STRONG START - Robert Hight opened the event with two strong runs and a provisional No. 2 qualifying spot on Friday. For his efforts, he picked up four qualifying bonus points by posting the second quickest runs of each session.

“When (crew chief Mike) Neff starts out good like he did today he is pretty steady and pretty tough. I like our chances this weekend,” said Hight.

“It is double the cars but it is not that big of a deal. I just try and get in there and get ready. The biggest thing is you don’t want to pay attention to all the other cars. You don’t want to think (Alexis) DeJoria is in lane three and John (Force) is in lane two and someone else is in lane one. It doesn’t matter who is over there. You can’t go until we are all in and ready to go. I just watch and when the last person lights the light you go on yellow. I try and make it as simple as possible,” said Hight, the current Funny Car Mello Yello points leader

“I like (Four-Wide) because in all honesty you get two second chances on Sunday. All you have to do is be the second quickest car in the first and second round and obviously you want to be the quickest. If you are the second quickest you get to move on. There are only three rounds. This is a great race to capitalize and gain some points. We got four bonus points today.”

THE INIFINITE HERO – Jack Beckman’s Dodge Charger Funny Car will carry the Infinite Hero Foundation paint scheme for six races in 2014 thanks to a combined donation from Terry Chandler and Don Schumacher.

The Infinite Hero Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing critical funding to programs that combat the most difficult front line issues – mental and physical – facing returning military heroes and their families, was founded by corporate partner Oakley.

Beckman’s schedule includes stops at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals near Houston April 25-27, the Toyota NHRA Summer Nationals in Englishtown, N.J., May 30-June 1, the Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Denver July 18-20, the NHRA Carolina Nationals near Charlotte Sept. 12-14, the AAA Texas Fall Nationals near Dallas Sept. 19-21 and the Toyota NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

“The Infinite Hero program honors us by letting us help their wonderful foundation,” Don Schumacher Racing team owner Don Schumacher said. “We have worked closely with our friends at Oakley for almost two decades, and partnering with them to help the Infinite Hero program is what makes being involved in NHRA drag racing with Oakley even more special. We hope to raise money to help Infinite Hero help the men and women of our military who sacrificed so much for us. Having Infinite Hero on Jack Beckman’s Dodge Charger R/T for six events will bring more awareness to the Infinite Hero Foundation.”

STILL ROLLING ALONG - Alexis DeJoria is enjoying a breakout season, fresh off of her second Funny Car career win. She looks to this weekend as an opportunity to pick up her third win and possibly make another sub-four second run.

“I’m very excited to be at the infamous Four-Wide race, especially after the success we’ve been experiencing thus far,” said DeJoria, who is currently the winningest nitro driver of the 2014 season, claiming victory at two out of the first four events. “If the conditions are right I’m confident we can get this Toyota Camry back down into the three’s again,” she said referring to the team’s history making 3.997-second run, achieved at the season opening event.

“We’ve got a fast car, and as long as we continue to be consistent, we should have another successful weekend, continue to pick up points, and hopefully get this Patrón XO Cafe Toyota Camry back in the winners circle again.”

DeJoria was No. 9 after two sessions with a 4.113.

NOT WHAT THEY HAD IN MIND – Last season Chad Head qualified No. 1 at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and reached the finals. Friday he was on the outside looking in after two sessions of qualifying.

Defending series champion John Force didn’t fare much better as he also struggled during qualifying. After two sessions, the 16-time Funny Car champ could only manage a 4.441 elapsed time at 204.08 MPH and is currently in the 15th spot.

“This Four-Wide is a whole different ballgame. It’s good for a TV package as you can get more in less time for a show and the fans are loving it because it’s 40,000 horsepower of nitro and smoke in the stands and they can’t breathe up there, it’s spectacular,” said John Force.

Force had a best 4.441 elapsed time.

PRO STOCK

IT’S MCGAHA TIME - Chris McGaha drove his way to the top with a 6.523-second elapsed time at 213.10 mph run on Friday.

“This is my first time I have raced at the Four-Wide,” McGaha said. “I guess I was fortunate because I got to go out on lane 4 and lane 1. The end lanes helped a lot. I noticed when I got up there it takes some other guys longer to stage. You don’t want to go on the two-step too quick. We will see how good we do (Saturday) when I do (lanes) 2 and 3.”

McGaha edged Erica Enders-Stevens, who ended Friday as second with a 6.524 seconds pass.

“We have been trying to re-invent the wheel I guess you could say and we went by the book,” said McGaha about his approach to qualifying at the Four-Wide Nationals. “It is kind of hard not to go by the book, it’s right there in black and white.”

McGaha was definitely consistent as he ran identical elapsed times in the first and second qualifying sessions Friday.

THAT’S JUST WRONG - Erica Enders-Stevens believed she had made history as the first female driver to win a Pro Stock national event during the 2012 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Her scoreboard illuminated as the winner and he team celebrated on the starting line.

“My guys came on the radio screaming and yelling,” Enders-Stevens recalled. “It was all I could do to fight back the tears. I came around the corner on the turn off and the cameras made their way over to me.”

The video replay told a different story. Greg Anderson had actually reached the finish line first but the scoreboard malfunctioned.

“I bent over to take off my Hans Device and when I looked up, everyone was gone,” Enders-Stevens said. “I thought to myself, ‘Where did they go? About that time I heard Greg Anderson hooting and hollering with the trophy.”

Enders-Stevens admits she could only look on in disbelief.

“I just stood there and said, ‘You have got to be kidding me.”

NHRA officials came over and explained the scenario to Enders-Stevens.

“It was a rollercoaster of emotion, that’s for sure,” Enders-Stevens said.

“I was looking for Ashton Kucher because I thought I had been punked.”

 

WELCOME BACK – Larry Morgan unleashed a fury of phone calls but it was a simple text message which got Justin Humphreys’ attention. Morgan wanted to know if he would come to Charlotte to drive his second Mustang.

Humphreys said yes and hasn’t slept since.

After a quick trip to Rockingham Dragway to update his license, Humphreys was at zMax Dragway on Friday where he was 14th quickest.

“It was really the last thing I ever expected,” said Humphreys. “Ever since I left four years ago, I dreamed of being able to come back but it was tough finance wise.”

Humphreys understands drag racing, Pro Stock racing specifically, is addicting.

“I’ve already relapsed in a bad way,” admitted Humphreys. “I had been sober for four years before Larry called me. Once it’s in your blood, it is hard to get out. Financially, it’s hard to see me doing this full-time again right now. The top teams have pretty much priced the lesser funded teams out of here. I don’t know how you could fix it. For a smaller budget car to come out and compete with those guys is next to impossible.”

Humphreys has one national event victory to his credit, the 2008 NHRA Carolinas Nationals, hosted by zMax Dragway in Concord, NC.

THE LAST RACE – V. Gaines has completed his new Dodge Dart but without proper time to test the new Mopar, he’s racing this weekend with the car he’s driven to two finals this season. Gaines said if all goes well in testing he could debut the car in Houston.

DOUBLE VISION - Dave Connolly is pulling double-duty this weekend, driving both his Charter Communications Chevrolet Camaro Pro Stocker and the GMPartsNow.com COPO Camaro in Stock Eliminator.

"I'm definitely excited to run the COPO again," said Connolly. "The last time I raced Stock Eliminator was in Charlotte at the fall race last year, and I always enjoy bottom-bulb racing. I've been a bracket racer for pretty much my whole life, and I like the format. It's a little different than Pro Stock, but it's also very enjoyable."

Connolly is used to being versatile behind the wheel.

"I got plenty of practice jumping between the two cars earlier this week when we were testing," he said. "Looking at the schedule for the weekend, I really don't think it will be too much trouble.”

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

RAY ZIPS TO TOP OF PACK - Self-described "bonehead maneuvers" aside, Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Michael Ray had a spectacular opening day at the Four-Wide NHRA Nationals at Concord, N.C.

The 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series class runner-up used a 6.816-second elapsed time at 197.02 mph on the zMAX Dragway quarter-mile to make a down-payment on his second No. 1 qualifying position in as many races.

He soared from 20th place to first Friday and fell just seven-thousandths of second short of erasing Eddie Krawiec's September 2011 track-record E.T. He also took an indirect swat at keen rival Matt Smith by dislodging Smith teammate John Hall from the early top spot and outshining the Smith trio that also includes Scotty Pollacheck.

Pollacheck and Hall – both of whom used to ride for Ray's Star Racing team and owner George Bryce – and Smith closed the day 3-4-5 in the line-up.

And so Ray, forced to wear a shirt at the previous bike race declaring his inferiority to Smith because he lost a bet with the reigning champion, got the latest jab in their mock feud (which is genuine when it comes to on-the-track supremacy).

"I feel like now I'm in his head. He watches what I do. He knows we're here and what we're going to do," Ray said of Smith.

He said it was gratifying "for our team, with all the financial woes, the ups and downs of our offseason, to come back out with a smile on our faces and kick his butt, to show everybody that that was our championship last year, that we just came up a few rounds short. I'd like to see him next door, frowning and upside-down. I like to be the young kid that's coming in and making that old man a little mad."

Ray is 29, Smith only 41, but that verbal pinch is just part of the rivalry and the fun of it all.

"There's nobody out there I like racing more [than Smith]," Ray said. "He's a champion. He's one of the guys who signed off on my license. He and George Bryce have a great rivalry."

Perhaps that eagerness to show up Smith again (he said it felt great to upstage Smith as low qualifier at the bike debut at Gainesville, Fla., because Smith "was really excited, thinking he was going to be the man") was what caused Ray to make a costly error in the first session.

"I had a really bad 'push-reset' rookie mistake in the first round," Ray said. "So to come back and be able to redeem myself is great. I was not going to sleep well tonight, I promise."

His blast in the second session, which put him in position to earn his career fifth top starting spot, had him fluffing his pillow.

"We started off with a sticker tire and I just made a bonehead maneuver when I popped the clutch," he said. "It spun the tire, and naturally you want to feel it out and let it fish its way through the 60-foot cone. I just really made a couple of aggressive moves early, and it cost me the run. I had to abort the run."

This event, he said, carries "a lot of expectations and a lot of big, big momentum rolling" following the Gatornationals. "So you want to roll of the truck and run well." But he said, looking back at his early Friday mistake, "When I screw up, I feel personally just horrible" for ruining the hours of preparation by the shop hands and the on-site crew. "So I want to make sure I go back out and do my job."

He did, after his crew decided the conditions mimicked those they had at Gainesville and switched out that rear tire for one they had trusted at Gainesville. With a hearty "Let's go back out!" he said, considering a run in Lane 2 was "just another day in the office" (even with at least one lane occupied on each side of him).

His Buell, he said, "just ripped through the gears" in Q2. "I saw my win light come on. I knew it had to be pretty good." He said he saw Hector Arana Jr. ahead of him run a 6.82[5-second E.T.], so I don’t know if it'd be fast enough [to top] him. Fortunately there was somebody letting me know that I'm No. 1 in their heart and No. 1 in the books."

"I'm really championship racing this year," Ray said. "Last year I wanted to win races and be involved in this. I've been blessed to do it, but I want to win a championship."

His next step will be to hold onto that No. 1 qualifying position through two Saturday runs and navigate the tricky four-wide format.

CLEANS UP HIS MESS – Hector Arana Jr., winner of this race last season, called zMAX Dragway "a beautiful prestigious track" and declared its racing surface "immaculate." Thanks to a problem with his Lucas Oil Buell, it wasn't so immaculate at the tail end of his class' qualifying in the first pro session Friday. Arana Jr. was left at the starting line, his bike leaking fluid, while points leader Steve Johnson and Scotty Pollacheck got their baseline runs. He showed his more formidable form in the second session, improving to No. 2 overnight with a 6.825-second elapsed time that was only nine-thousandths of a second slower than first-day leader Michael Ray.

PLAYING CATCH-UP CAUTIOUSLY - Hector Arana Sr. wasn't saying he couldn’t tune his Lucas Oil Buell, or those of sons Hector Jr. or Adam, by the seat of his britches. But he certainly didn’t want to have to do that in the Pro stock Motorcycle class' season debut at Gainesville – not when this modern era of racing has the RacePak data-collection system. However, he was forced to compete "the old-fashioned way" there because his RacePak was on the fritz. So he had no data to guide his decisions. He decided he didn’t want another weekend of that stress and uncertainty, especially considering this weekend's Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte would have enough confusion of its own.

So he tested earlier this week at Rockingham, N.C., hoping he'd get some quantifiable numbers to help him land lane choice in the first round of Sunday's eliminations. He had to take a ninth-place start at the Gatornationals. Arana Sr. lost in the opening round there with a mechanical glitch he said he might have detected if he had had some data.

"We need to make up for that," Arana said. "You're afraid to make a bigger move without the data. You make small changes so you can be a little bit better, but you also know that you need more than what you've got. You don't want to get in left field if you make that big change."

The four-wide format has had him being more cautious than usual, and it has caused him to make an extra investment in coaching his sons. "I was having a conversation with Adam about this," he said. "I warned him to stay focused and worry about what's going on and what everyone is doing so you don't get left behind. I told him to notice the little things, like if you're pre-staged and everyone else is staged or if you're the first one to stage. You've got to be focused on your Tree, but you have to also be aware of what everyone is doing so you can find yourself staged and be ready for the light."

Race day presents another type of concern, Arana Sr. said. The most difficult part of four-wide racing is the staging procedure, especially on race day. "You might not see it during qualifying, but in eliminations someone can be playing the game to throw people off," he said. "It's a lot easier to play games, because there's a lot more going on. So that's why you have to be careful on Sunday."

YOUNG AND RUSTLESS - Star Racing's young Chaz Kennedy was an impressive fifth-quickest early Friday as the last of the racers in the 6.8-second range. The Ormand Beach, Fla., native, rode his Buell to a mark of 6.874 seconds at 194.80 mph right off the trailer. He didn’t improve with his second run and slid down to eighth place with two more chances to move up.

POPULAR CLASS - The two-wheeled class has the most entries among all the professional categories, with 23. So far, Freddie Camarena, Elvira Karlsson, Joe DeSantis, Justin Finley, Junior Pippin, and Katie Sullivan remain unqualified with two more chances Saturday to break into the lineup of 16 for Sunday's eliminations Camarena, at 7.030, is in 17th place, only .032 seconds behind No. 16 Steve Johnson.

NOT ALWAYS GLAMOROUS – Steve Johnson, the Gatornationals winner and points leader, got a rude awakening Friday at this track where he was the first Pro Stock Motorcycle winner. The Suzuki racer went from being the class' top dog to the tentative No. 16 qualifier, hanging onto his spot in the lineup by a mere .032 seconds. He'll be racing Sunday for the right to retain his points lead if he can stay in the field through Saturday's final two qualifying sessions.

LOVES THIS TRACK AND HIS CHANCES - Matt Smith, who won the Four-Wide inaugural at zMAX Dragway in 2010, said, "Since this track has been built I’ve probably made the most passes on it than anybody out there." He can test there more often than others because he lives just about an hour away in King, N.C. That's one reason he said earlier this week that he feels "confident we’re going to run well. It’s a really big race for us and we’re going to hit it hard and go for that No. 1 spot right away in qualifying. We’ve got a target on our back this year but the best thing we can do is throw our best shot out there.”

His opening-session shot was stout enough to give him the No. 2 slot with a 6.871-second E.T. on his Matt Smith Racing/Stockseth Racing Buell. He was just two-thousandths of a second ahead of longtime track record-holder Eddie Krawiec and Colorado veteran Mike Berry, who had identical times, and a mere three-thousandths quicker than Chaz Kennedy. Smith's teammate, John Hall, headed the tightly bunched leaders after Q1 with a 6.846-second run.

Although Smith ended the day No. 5 in the order with that 6.871, he set the track speed record at 198.32 mph. That was almost two miles an hour faster than the mark Krawiec set at 196.79 in September 2011.

What else has Smith energized are two brand-new motors and a commitment to better reaction times. "I messed up on the tree at Gainesville," he said, "and the biggest thing I wanted to work on since Gainesville is my reaction times. We've got a good baseline on these new motors now, and it should be a really good weekend."

Helpful, as well, is his attitude toward the non-traditional format that isn't popular with some competitors. "I love the Four-Wide race," Smith said. "It's just one of those races where I felt comfortable right off the bat. The key to being successful is running your own lane. If you focus on your lane and do your job, it can be just like any other track. Once you start overthinking at a track like this, that’s when you’re going to be in trouble. We have a great team that doesn't make a lot of mistakes. We've been consistent at going down the race track, and that's huge in a race like this."

LEAPFROGGING HALL - John Hall dropped from first to fourth in the second session. His 6.846-second E.T. topped everyone in the opening session but Michael Ray sped ahead of him with a low-qualifying time of 6.816, Hector Arana Jr. fixed his early mechanical problems and took the No. 2 spot, and Hall's own teammate Scotty Pollacheck ran three-thousandths of a tick quicker. That made the Matt Smith contingent 3-4-5 overnight.