NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

For more than five decades, NHRA National Dragster's famed Tricky Tipster has tested his prognosticating skills prior to each national event, putting odds on the top eight racers he thinks have the best shot at victory in Tricky Tipster. This week, Tricky Tipster handicaps the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.

TOP FUEL Funny Car | Pro Stock | Pro Stock Motorcycle | Pro Mod
	Leah Pritchett • Papa John’s Pizza Three wins in the first five races pretty much speaks for itself. This team is going to be there for the long haul. Only question is the four-wide format. ODDS: 3-1
	Antron Brown • Matco Tools Reigning world champ figures to be among the favorites anywhere, and he’s got a fondness for Charlotte, where he’s won five times including the fall event. He’s also got Four-Wide wins in 2014-15 and a runner-up last year. ODDS: 7-2
	Steve Torrence • Capco Contractors Made four runs in Houston between 3.74 and 3.77; only thing he missed is the trophy. Performance and consistency are definitely there. ODDS: 5-1
	Doug Kalitta • Mac Tools One would think that the addition of a third Kalitta Top Fuel car would help make the entire team a bit stronger. Although he’s never won the Four-Wide, he figures to be the least likely driver to be confused by the format. ODDS: 6-1
	Tony Schumacher • U.S. Army The Army team has two wins at zMAX Dragway, but neither of them have come at the Four-Wide. In fact, this might be the only piece of unfinished business left in an amazing career. ODDS: 7-1
	Clay Millican • Parts Plus/Great Clips Now that Bo Butner has his first Pro win, this guy has to be next. This car is just too good for this to continue much longer. ODDS: 9-1
	Brittany Force • Monster Energy The defending Four-Wide champion should be up for another side-by-side-by-side-by-side adventure. She’s also just about a lock to qualify in the top five. ODDS: 10-1
	Shawn Langdon • Global Electronic Technology Rusty after a five-month layoff? Not this guy. Came back in Houston with a .044 light in the first round. He’ll start winning some rounds again very soon. ODDS: 12-1
FUNNY CAR
	Ron Capps • NAPA Dodge Been an interesting year so far for the reigning champ with a little bit of everything, but Houston win could be the start of something good. Remember last year he got on a roll at midseason. Entirely possible he does that again. ODDS: 3-1
	Robert Hight • Auto Club Chevy Much like Capps, he had a “get-well” weekend in Houston with a runner-up finish. The Auto Club car also set top speed of the race at over 331 mph. ODDS: 4-1
	Matt Hagan • Mopar Express Lane Dodge Going to assume his first-round loss in Houston was an anomaly that won’t be repeated anytime soon. Then again, this is the wide-open Funny Car class, and we are talking about the Four-Wide race. Anything is possible. ODDS: 5-1
	Tommy Johnson Jr. • Make-A-Wish Dodge Apparently, what happened in Vegas (a win) stayed in Vegas. Now, he’s hoping what happened in Houston (tire-smoking round-one loss) stayed in Houston. ODDS: 7-1
	John Force • Peak Chevrolet Remember the first Four-Wide race in 2010 when this guy was clearly confused by the staging lights yet somehow managed to win anyway? It’s just part of the legend that is John Force. ODDS: 8-1
	Jonnie Lindberg • Head Racing Toyota With seven round-wins in three events, one can no longer chalk this up to pure luck. The smooth Swede clearly has some talent, and he’s going to make a run at the top 10. ODDS: 10-1
	Courtney Force • Advance Auto Parts Chevy After three straight first-round losses, a semifinal in Houston was a welcome relief. The Advance team gets the job done in qualifying, so all that’s missing is a bit of consistency. ODDS: 12-1
	Tim Wilkerson • Levi, Ray, & Shoup Ford How’d he land the final spot over Beckman, Todd, DeJoria, Worsham, and Pedregon? Simple: he’s the defending champion, and that counts for a lot at this race. ODDS: 14-1
PRO STOCK
	Jason Line • Summit Camaro Riding a seven-round win streak at zMAX Dragway after sweeping both Charlotte events last season. It won’t be easy, but a third win isn’t out of the question. ODDS: 5-2
	Greg Anderson • Summit Camaro The Summit drivers have occupied the top two spots here for a long time. That might not continue much longer, but for now, they rate a slim edge at their home event. ODDS: 3-1
	Jeg Coughlin Jr. • JEGS Mail Order Camaro The five-time champ looked like his old self in Houston with low e.t. of the race and a strong runner-up finish. zMAX is one of the few places where he does not have a win. ODDS: 5-1
	Bo Butner • Butner Auto Camaro Now that we’ve got that big first win out of the way, it will be interesting to see what happens. Entirely possible that he strings together a few more wins before the season is over. ODDS: 7-1
	Tanner Gray • Gray Manufacturing Technologies Camaro He didn’t seem fazed by his little off-track dust-up in Houston. Next challenge is the unique four-wide format. Guessing he’ll figure that out quickly. ODDS: 9-1
	Erica Enders • Elite Motorsports Camaro Houston red-light was indeed an anomaly; she’s much better than that, and the Elite Camaro is almost back to 2015 levels. That’s going to spell trouble for the rest of the class going forward. ODDS: 10-1
	Vincent Nobile • Mountain View Camaro No way this team should be 3-5 this season. Far too much talent here for that. If he doesn’t make the final quad, it will be shocking. ODDS: 11-1
	Shane Gray • Gray Manufacturing Technologies Camaro If he does indeed park this car after this event (which may or may not happen), wouldn’t it be nice to go out with a victory? That is certainly a possibility. ODDS: 14-1
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
	Andrew Hines • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Defending Four Wide winner became a new dad again this week, and brining home another Wally would be a great way to celebrate. ODDS: 3-1
	Eddie Krawiec • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson For the last four years, he’s left zMAX as a Four-Wide runner-up. That should be a clear sign that he’s overdue for a victory. ODDS: 4-1
	Jerry Savoie • White Alligator Suzuki This crew never stops working, which means their Suzuki should be even better than it was in Gainesville, and it was pretty good there. ODDS: 5-1
	LE Tonglet • Nitro Fish Suzuki If you had to vote for one rider who is least likely to make a mistake in four-wide racing, this guy would be a good choice. He rarely gets caught off-guard. ODDS: 6-1
	Joey Gladstone • San Marino Excavating Suzuki Before you mark your rookie-of-the-year ballots for Tanner Gray, Jonnie Lindberg, or Troy Coughlin Jr., take a look at this kid. He’s got comparable talent to any of the above. ODDS: 8-1
	Matt Smith • Polaris Magnum Admittedly, there is still much work to be done on the new Polaris bike, but it’s going to be a winner, and that will likely come sooner rather than later. Smith is also well-suited for the Four-Wide. ODDS: 9-1
	Hector Arana Jr. • Lucas Oil Buell The Aranas have had a month to forget about a disastrous Gainesville race. Expect a much-better effort from both Lucas bikes this time around. ODDS: 11-1
	Angie Smith • Denso Products Buell This was a really tough call with Chip Ellis, Steve Johnson, Hector Arana Sr., Scotty Pollacheck, and Karen Stoffer in the mix, but Mrs. Smith earned it with a strong run in Gainesville. ODDS: 14-1
PRO MOD
	Mike Castellana • Al-Anabi Performance Camaro Figure on a small performance adjustment before kick-off time, but this still figures to be the strongest car in the field. ODDS: 3-1
	Steve Matusek • Aeromotive Camaro The only thing surprising about his Houston win was how long it took. The second one will come much-much sooner, perhaps even back to back. ODDS: 4-1
	Jonathan Gray • Vallem Camaro It’s borderline blasphemous that Rickie Smith isn’t racing in the first four-wide Pro Mod event, but Gray is a very capable substitute. He should make the final quad. ODDS: 6-1
	Mike Janis • Jan-Cen Engines Camaro Runs low 5.8s at will with the potential for a bit more. That and some steady driving will make you one of the favorites. ODDS: 7-1
	Danny Rowe • Agave Underground Corvette Not sure what feat was more impressive in Houston: his 5.80 run or the fact that he deadlifted teammate Matusek in the winner’s circle. Car and driver are brutes. ODDS: 9-1
	Troy Coughlin • JEGS.com Corvette Turbo cars are off to a bit of a slow start this season, but it’s early, and this is still a world-class outfit. ODDS: 10-1
	Shane Molinari • S&T Truck Repair Firebird The latest driver to make his Tricky Tipster debut is here because he was outstanding in Houston. Would likely have won the race if not for an issue in the final. ODDS: 12-1
	Steve Jackson • Bahrain1 Camaro Coming off a DNQ in Houston, he’s going to have a chip on his shoulder at zMAX, and he might have a few things to say as well. ODDS: 14-1