The most unique event on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule, the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, will take place Sunday, April 15 at zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The third-annual event is the fifth of 23 on the 2012 schedule and the only one to be decided four-wide. These six drivers from the ranks of Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock are the ones to watch for this upcoming weekend.
Spencer Massey - Massey is a two-time winner in 2012, and won the last Top Fuel event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 1. Currently sitting third in points, just eight points between leader Antron Brown and four points behind second-place Morgan Lucas, Massey hopes to keep his momentum going at zMAX Dragway: "It's extremely important (momentum). It gives you that much more boost going to the next race," Massey said recently. "You want to go into Charlotte and have that going behind your back because a win is a win and what you want to do is win every race. That's hard to do; but it's what I want to do now, obviously. It would be nice to double it up and win at the Four-Wide."
Tony Schumacher - Schumacher is looking for a win - anywhere. He's currently fourth in points, just 13 out of first, but he hasn't won since October 2010. He did set the national speed record at Charlotte in the fall two-wide race last year, so he knows how to get down the track - he just needs some luck to turn those final-round eliminations the other way.
Robert Hight - the hottest driver in the NHRA, Hight has won the last three Funny Car races on the schedule - his boss and father-in-law, John Force, is the only other winner this season in the category. Can he make it four in a row? Again, it's all about momentum: "I definitely hope four is a magic number in Charlotte," said Hight. "This is huge because I always fear that when you have a couple weekends off, you're going to lose that momentum, and like it or not, momentum does play a big role in this. It gives you confidence, just as a driver being able to get in the car every week and run."
Alexis DeJoria - DeJoria is a rookie in Funny Car this season, but she has a voice of experience behind her: 2011 Top Fuel champ and 4-Wide Nationals winner Del Worsham is her crew chief at Kalitta Motorsports. This is DeJoria's first trip to zMAX Dragway, and she knows it will be exciting: "I've never experienced four-wide before in Charlotte - I've never even raced in Charlotte before," said DeJoria. "This is all new to me… I'm excited to do this, to do the Four-Wide. It's great to see on TV, the fans absolutely love it."
Allen Johnson - Johnson comes into the 4-Wide Nationals after winning at Las Vegas, and is yet another driver looking for his momentum to continue - but he knows he's not the only one with it: "There's about four or five of us that got momentum going into Charlotte," said Johnson. "Any win is great, especially heading towards Charlotte…Momentum and confidence is very key."
Jeg Coughlin Jr. - Coughlin Jr. returned to the Pro Stock ranks after taking a year off in 2011. Now he needs to regain his championship form - after making it to the finals in the season-opening Winternationals, he hasn't made it out of the first round in two other events and missed qualifying for a third. He currently sits 12th in points, 198 back of leader Greg Anderson.
Paula is a long-time auto racing fan who also covers the NHRA for Examiner.com.
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