NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway marked the fourth race of 23 in the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, and it offered thrills like no other. Here are five big takeaways from the event.

CAN ANYONE OR ANYTHING STOP MATT HAGAN?

Matt Hagan extended his points lead with yet another win on the season in his Haas AutomTION-branded Tony Stewart Racing nitro Funny Car. In the first four races, Hagan has carted off the trophy three times, and his points lead over reigning world champion Ron Capps is now 105 marks. Hagan qualified in the No. 3 position in Las Vegas — his best start of the year — and clocked low elapsed time of the day with a 3.943 in the final round, and even broke a 10-year drought in four-wide events.

At the conclusion of the event, Hagan, who doubled up with Top Alcohol Dragster first-time winner and team owner Tony Stewart, readily gave credit to the boss and every member of the crew. 

He also attributed much of the team's early success to crew chief Dickie Venables, calling him an innovator and acknowledging the advantage of not having to share data with other teams as they did with the four-car Funny Car setup as part of Don Schumacher Racing. Hagan expressed that Stewart's permission to try new things and Venables' visionary mind and proven skill were the now not-so-secret weapon. Based on the results of the first four races, the competition will have their hands full all season long with Hagan and company. 

TOP FUEL WILL BE WIDE OPEN TO THE FINISH

So far in 2023, there have been three different winners in four events. Although Justin Ashley has been a powerhouse, his back-to-back victories are bookended by those of Gainesville victor Mike Salinas and this weekend's Top Fuel winner Antron Brown.

Not only is Ashley the only driver to have multiple wins in the class, he's also the only one to reach more than one final round. Second place has been reserved for a different driver at each race with Steve Torrence (Gainesville), Shawn Langdon (Phoenix), Auston Prock (Pomona), and Brittany Force (Las Vegas) all coming up one win light short. The number of competitive cars and able drivers will likely keep this category intriguing all season long. 

TONY STEWART IS A WINNER

We all knew it was coming. Tony Stewart has won 28 times as a team owner, and his 13 driving championships have covered Stock cars, Indy cars, and Midget, Sprint, and Silver Crown cars. When he finished the 2022 season with a runner-up in Top Alcohol Dragster in his class debut, the world of drag racing took note. 

This weekend at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Stewart sealed the deal in only his fourth start, hoisting his trophy in the winner's circle alongside Funny Car winner and TSR teammate Matt Hagan. The playful vibe amongst the team in the festive winner's circle showed evidence that not only is Stewart here to win, he's here to enjoy it. That's a killer combo. 

DALLAS GLENN IS 2023’S PRO STOCK STAR

There are many talented drivers in the ranks of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and in Summit Racing's bracket series who dream of racing Pro Stock. Dallas Glenn was among them, wheeling anything he could in NHRA's Pacific and Northwest divisions and making a name for himself. He finally got a shot to work in Pro Stock as a crew member for KB Racing (now KB Titan Racing) in 2012, and nine years later, he earned his first chance to drive a Pro Stock car for the team. Glenn debuted in 2021 and earned rookie of the year honors, as well as a new nickname with a nod to his starting-line skills: "Double-0 Dallas."

He didn't have the season he wanted in 2022, however, and came to the plate for 2023 determined to be dialed in. So far, so good for Glenn, who was the provisional low qualifier on Friday in Las Vegas, then powered his KB Titan machine to a second-consecutive victory to extend the points lead he took over – for the first time in his career – at the Winternationals. 

While reigning world champion Erica Enders battles to get back on track during an exceptionally tough start to the year, and as five-time world champion (and the boss at KB Titan Racing) battles similar challenges, Glenn has emerged as one to watch. There is no doubt that there are several in the class that could steal some of Glenn's sunshine, but for right now, he's enjoying the spotlight.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN WHEN WE GO FOUR-WIDE 

Right off the bat, upsets were the norm on raceday in Las Vegas. Top Fuel kicked off the surprising string of events as Rob Passey advanced from a quad that held back incoming points leader Justin Ashley. Ashley had seemed unstoppable; after winning Phoenix, he claimed two victories in Pomona with the Mission #2Fast2Tasty win and the Winternationals title. His winning streak ended at The Strip, however, and Passey claimed the second round-win of his career. 

Another Top Fuel upset was experienced Sportsman and Pro racer Shawn Langdon's foul start in round two when he failed to complete the staging process within the seven seconds of allotted time. At the top end, Langdon was fiery but turned the blame toward himself. "I know better than that," he said.

The first round of Funny Car produced an upset as Jeff Diehl ran a career-best 4.00 to advance to round two alongside Hagan, but Diehl's triumph was three-time world champion Robert Hight's loss. Hight, who laid down top speed of the event with a 330.23 mph pass in qualifying, etched a second-consecutive first-round loss after winning the Phoenix title.

Pro Stock part-timer Steve Graham moved ahead as second-best in his first-round quad to illuminate his first win light of the year, while three-time four-wide finalist and Gainesville runner-up Mason McGaha rattled the tires and Kyle Koretsky left .017-second too soon. Another Pro Stock surprise was nine-time Las Vegas winner Erica Enders exiting in the second round. Although she has struggled so far in 2023, she has seldom failed when the chips were down in Las Vegas.