NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

A large crowd of racing fans packed into zMAX Dragway in order to witness the Professional classes in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series compete in the unique four-wide format at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods. Though the race itself is a spectacle, the headlines were shared by each of the winners with dominant and memorable performances.

Three of the four winners came in first in each of their quads in every round. Top Fuel winner Brittany Force, Funny Car winner Tim Wilkerson, and Pro Stock winner Jason Line left no doubts in their victories by not only reaching the finish line first in all three rounds but also running low e.t. of each round. Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Andrew Hines may not have had the start-to-finish domination of those he shared the stage with in the winner’s circle, but he was impressive in his own right with a clutch performance in his third consecutive win at this event.

Among the dominant performances, Wilkerson’s may have been the most surprising considering his middle-of-the-pack qualifying position and the fact that he is in a completely different race car than the one he drove to a win at the Phoenix event. It is also a major feat that — five events into the 2016 season — the driver, owner, and tuner of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang has as many combined wins as the seven drivers from major organizations John Force Racing and Don Schumacher Racing.

The wide tuning window of Wilkerson’s combination and the veteran racer’s ability to adapt to changing conditions helped him withstand everything that was thrown his way on race day. It began with a lane swap before his first-round quad that had the appearance of a game of musical chairs. Having moved to the less-preferred Lane 2, Wilkerson made a statement by winning with a 3.934 e.t. that equaled the track record.

The racing surface exceeded 120 degrees for the only time at the event in the second round, and Wilkerson knew just what to do to run 3.993 seconds while many of his opponents lost traction. In the final, there was a great race for second place between Cruz Pedregon, Ron Capps, and Matt Hagan, and the trio was more than a car-length behind Wilkerson.

"I got this off my bucket list," said Wilkerson. "I've been in the finals at this one twice, so I am really happy to get it done. I am excited about it. The whole year has really been exciting, especially with the new TV package and the way everything has been going. My buddy Brittany [Force] has won twice, so that's really cool, too. I was happy to see her win. The Four-Wide is really a neat deal, especially since I won."

Less than two rounds out of the points lead, Wilkerson is off to one of the hottest starts of his career. He has won multiple events in a single season for the first time since 2010.

Force to be reckoned with: It took Brittany Force 75 races to score her first career Top Fuel victory. She only had to wait two events to reach the pinnacle of her class once again.

She began the season with high hopes after acquiring the services of tuning consultant Alan Johnson and crew chief Brian Husen. The Monster Energy team that also includes newly appointed assistant crew chief Jason McCulloch is off to an even better start than they could have imagined due to how quickly the driver and crew have bought in to and found cohesion within Johnson’s system.

Force had been challenged this season to change her procedures behind the wheel, and the four-wide format threw another wrench at her that resulted in one of the best race-day performances of her career. During the final qualifying session on Saturday, a red-light by quasi-teammate Steve Torrence distracted her and caused her to wait on the starting line long after the Tree came down in what resulted as a wasted run. Johnson and Husen instructed her on what to focus on and what to ignore on the Christmas Tree the next day, and the team rallied around her to instill confidence.

"It's big enough that we won, but we did it at the Four-Wide, where it wasn't easy for me,” said Force. “It was a struggle. I didn't sleep last night. I had nightmares coming off [the final qualifying round], and you know you have to clear your mind and come into it, so to be able to overcome that and have a decent light in the final round when we really needed it, it feels good."

Force dominated on Sunday. Not only did she beat Las Vegas winner and two-time world champion Antron Brown in the final, but she did it three times with the Matco Tools driver finishing second in every quad. Force ran low e.t. of the event with a 3.734 in the first round. In the final quad opposite Brown, Doug Kalitta, and Clay Millican, Force never trailed any of the other three drivers with a spectacular .042 reaction time and a 3.764 on the track.

Force has now been to three of the last four finals, winning twice. She has gone from the preseason question of whether or not she was going to earn her first win to being the points leader and a possible favorite to win the championship.

First in Line: Pro Stock points leader Jason Line has been in every eliminations round in his category this year, including the K&N Horsepower Challenge special event. His 42 career wins now include his first in the four-wide format.

The KB Racing team has been dominant thus far in 2016 since the beginning of the EFI era. Perceiving the challenge to change their engine package being greater than that of their competitors, the team turned their concern into hard work and 500-550 dyno pulls this winter that had them prepared for battle the first time the Christmas Tree came down in February.

With the exception of Phoenix runner-up Chris McGaha, all of the final rounds this season had been attended by Line alongside teammates Greg Anderson or Bo Butner. A starting-line snafu in round two kept Anderson out of the final-round quadrant, but it was another 1-2 finish for team owner Ken Black with Line winning and Butner coming in second.

"We are taking a lot of pride in it," said Line. "We had more engine changes than anybody else. It's tough to win at home, and I've never won the Four-Wide. I consider myself a middle-of-the-road driver, so this race has always been tough for me. So to win this race is pretty gratifying."

Good Charlotte: Some venues just seem to be agreeable to certain drivers. For Andrew Hines, he can do no wrong in Charlotte.

The four-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion won this event for the third consecutive season, and it is his fifth win in Charlotte in his last six attempts and sixth overall victory.

"This racetrack just agrees with me; I feel very comfortable here," said Hines. "It is almost a calming effect it has on me with everything that is going on up there because it makes me focus that much more."

The biggest challenge in Hines’ path to the winner’s circle was Harley-Davidson teammate Eddie Krawiec, who he raced in both the second round and the final. Krawiec finished first in front of Hines during the second-round quadrant, but Hines made sure that he never trailed when it counted. Hines pushed the Christmas Tree and left the starting line with a .002 light that padded his 6.844 e.t. in front of Krawiec, Chip Ellis, and Matt Smith.

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Special Awards

Driver of the race: Brittany Force
The Monster Energy driver is growing in front of our eyes. In a final-round quadrant against three proven commodities, she cut a .042 light that shot her out of the gate first and guided her 10,000-horsepower dragster to the stripe for her second win in three events.

Crew chiefs of the race: Tim Wilkerson/Richard Hartman
Wilkerson drove and tuned his new Murf McKinney-built hot rod to low e.t. of every eliminations round despite factors such as lane swaps and the warmest track temperatures of the event. The width of Wilkerson’s tuning window displayed so far this season bodes well for him heading into the summer month.

Best run of the event: Alexis DeJoria’s 3.934, Funny Car Q4
The Las Vegas event winner set a new track record during Saturday qualifying with the quickest run of her career.

Best race: Courtney Force vs. Cruz Pedregon vs. Del Worsham vs. John Hale, Funny Car round one
You know it’s an exciting quadrant when the driver who finishes last does so with a career-best e.t. (John Hale: 4.031). Pedregon led early and dropped some cylinders late in the run, but his holeshot start was enough to hold off the quicker Worsham.

Biggest upset: Jeff Diehl vs. Tim Wilkerson vs. Robert Hight vs. Alexis DeJoria, Funny Car round one
Jeff Diehl scored his first career round-win in his 39th event. While Tim Wilkerson got to the finish line first with low e.t. of eliminations following a lane swap, Hight and DeJoria both lost traction. “The Surfer” got the second win light and moved on to the next round.

Stat of the race: Greg Anderson has made 304 consecutive starts with a DNQ since the last time he missed the 16-car field at the fall Las Vegas event in 2002, surpassing former boss Warren Johnson for second on the all-time list. He trails only 16-time Funny Car champ John Force’s career-best total of 395 consecutive races without a DNQ.