NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The fourth stop of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series brings with it the first of back-to-back four-wide events, beginning with this week’s race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Following an action-packed weekend in Phoenix, which also featured the conclusion of the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals from Pomona, NHRA teams will arrive in Las Vegas for the first of two straight events featuring the four-wide format.

For more than a decade, the prospect of four-across racing, where both the winner and runner-up from each quad advance, has presented a unique challenge for NHRA Pro racers. Last year, Antron Brown, Matt Hagan, and Dallas Glenn managed to navigate the tricky format and earn Vegas victories in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock, respectively.

In Top Fuel, the early favorite would have to be Shawn Langdon, who has already banked early-season wins in Gainesville and Phoenix and comes into the event as the championship leader. The Kalitta Air driver has extensive experience in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, including multiple Super Comp world titles, which helps give him an edge on the starting line.

Langdon will have his hands full with a stacked Top Fuel field that also includes Pomona winner Justin Ashley, reigning world champ Doug Kalitta, Brown, the father-son team of Billy and Steve Torrence, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, who earned his first round-win as an NHRA Pro last weekend in Phoenix.

Three races, three different winers in Funny Car, including J.R. Todd, John Force, and Austin Prock, who joined the short list of drivers with wins in Top Fuel and Funny Car last weekend in Phoenix. While any one of the three could repeat, the four-wide event could also present an opportunity for perennial contenders Matt Hagan, Ron Capps, and Bob Tasca III to get their first wins of the season. Alexis DeJoria also has reason for optimism after driving her Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota to a runner-up finish last weekend.

Given the unpredictable nature of the four-wide events, it’s also quite possible that Daniel Wilkerson, Paul Lee, Buddy Hull, or Dave Richards collect their first wins.

The Pro Stock class has also featured three wins in three races by Erica Enders, Dallas Glenn, and Greg Anderson, and they remain among the favorites this week. Enders appears especially strong as she’ has double-digit wins in Las Vegas.

So far this season, the qualifying spread in Pro Stock has been especially tight with 16-car fields separated by less than a tenth of a second, which proves the old adage that anyone who qualifies can win the track. That includes Jeg Coughlin Jr. and his nephew, Troy Jr., Matt Hartford, Deric Kramer, Aaron Stanfield, or any one of the three Cuadra brothers, Fernando Jr., Cristian, and David.
 
Fans who attend the Las Vegas event will also witness history as the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals marks the long-awaited first official event for the Holley EFI Factory X class. The Factory X class features late-model muscle cars from Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge with supercharged engines and manual transmissions. During exhibition events last season, Factory X cars flirted with the six-second zone at speeds in excess of 200 mph. Currently, there are eight of the new entries expected to compete in Las Vegas, the first of eight events in the inaugural campaign.

In addition to the Mission Foods Series and Holley EFI Factory X class, winners will also be crowned in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown and nine different Lucas Oil Series Sportsman categories.

2023 EVENT WINNERS
Antron Brown, Top Fuel; Matt Hagan, Funny Car; Dallas Glenn, Pro Stock

TRACK RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.652 seconds by Brittany Force, Nov. '19; 338.17 mph by  Force, Nov., ‘19.
Funny Car - 3.816 seconds by Robert Hight, Nov. '23; 335.90 mph by Jack Beckman, Nov. '19.
Pro Stock - 6.552 seconds by Kyle Koretsky, Oct. '23; 210.28 mph by Erica Enders, Oct. '10.

NATIONAL RECORDS
Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. ‘19, Reading, Pa.; 338.94 mph by B. Force, Nov. ‘22, Pomona.
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd, Minn.; 339.87 mph by Hight, July ’17, Sonoma, Calif.
Pro Stock - 6.450 sec. by Erica Enders, Mar. ’22, Gainesville, Fla.; 215.55 mph by Enders, May ’14, Englishtown N.J.

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, April 12: Lucas Oil Series qualifying and time trials at 8 a.m.; Pro Stock qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at noon and 2:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, April13: Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8 a.m.; Pro Stock qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at noon and 2:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, April 14: Pre-race ceremony, 10 a.m.; eliminations begin at noon.

TELEVISION

FRIDAY, April 12: FS1 will televise one and half hours of qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, April 14: FS1 will televise one hours of qualifying highlights at 11 a.m. (ET)
SUNDAY, April 14:  FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 7 p.m. (ET).