NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Chris McGaha has grand visions about how his two-car Pro Stock operation should go with himself and his son, Mason, who has shown impressive skills at the start of his second year.

The breakthrough hasn’t come quite yet, but McGaha believes the team is on the right path, and the four-wide setting at this weekend’s NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals may provide the perfect platform.

M. McGaha advanced to the final quad at the Las Vegas four-wide event earlier this year, and C. McGaha has enjoyed success at zMAX Dragway and the four-wide format over the years, winning in 2017 and advancing to the final quad in three other occasions.

Three of those final-round appearances came in Charlotte, and C. McGaha believes the father-son duo is on a good path heading into the fourth race of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

“I will say it’s exactly where I want to be at the moment,” McGaha said. “It’s come together well. I wanted to make sure we could be competitive when we became a two-car team, so it’s been good. Obviously, I want the blue car [driven by Mason] to be as fast as the silver car. That really is my end goal.”

That would be the perfect scenario, giving the team two fast cars capable of competing for a championship and winning races in the talent-heavy Pro Stock class.

Both struggled on race day at the most recent race in Atlanta, losing in the first round of eliminations, but the early-season momentum is hard to ignore. M. McGaha, who is currently fifth in points, advanced to the semifinals in Gainesville and the final quad in Las Vegas, and C. McGaha is a proven winner with seven career Pro Stock victories.

Getting the cars to perform the way C. McGaha envisions is a constant work in progress, and in Atlanta, he debated swapping motors in each car to see if it would lead to more power for M. McGaha’s blue Camaro.

That change could happen in Charlotte, as the team remains hard at work trying to push forward with their two-car operation.

“It’s been pretty good,” C. McGaha said. “[Mason’s] car is the one that’s done the best so far. That’s kind of been my main focus, to make it the best because he can get off the clutch a whole better than us old guys can.”

The older McGaha laughed at that, but isn’t there just to hang out, either. His desire to win remains as high as ever, and if he gets a victory before his son in 2021 — and possibly this weekend — he’ll gladly take it. In the long run, it will benefit the entire team, and C. McGaha just wants to pile up victories.

The perfect scenario would be both father and son reaching the final quad this weekend in Charlotte, and if that takes place, C. McGaha would be just fine seeing his son out in front.

“I want Mason to win a race, and that’s obviously our agenda,” C. McGaha said. “We just have to try to not beat ourselves. That’s 90% of drag racing.”