John Force is incredibly out of this world as he set yet another NHRA record to become first of it’s kind….read more.

At the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte on Friday, John Force broke the previous track record at the zMAX Dragway and raced to the provisional top spot.

During the 14th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, on Friday, Funny Car icon John Force broke the track record at the zMAX Dragway and took the provisional top spot.

During the fifth race of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers.

Force broke the track record set by teammate Robert Hight last September when he drove his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS in the final Funny Car quad of the evening, clocking in at 330.96 mph in 3.820 seconds. Force, who won the Winternationals in Phoenix earlier this year, would receive his first No. 1 qualifying in 2024 and his 167th overall if it remains true. Force has had a great start to the season. This weekend, at zMAX Dragway, he hopes to win for the fifth time in his career after setting the 10th-fastest run in Funny Car history on Friday.

It moved quickly.89 the previous run, and they declared they would rely on it as things were improving,” Force remarked. “They leaned on it and yelled, ‘Hang on,’ but it moved faster than they anticipated. I felt really good about it and we’re excited about tomorrow. It moved on me, and I thought I was going to lose it.

“I’m enjoying myself immensely as I go down the track. I’m here, and at the moment, my hot rod is broken. This game involves a lot of luck, and I’m not quite done yet.

After finishing at 3.849 at 335.32, Bob Tasca, the winner of the 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas two weeks ago, is currently in second place. Alexis DeJoria is in third place with a time of 3.859 at 331.69. The track speed record was set earlier in the day by Ron Capps, who ran 335.40.

Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta had a fantastic start on Friday in Charlotte, two weeks after winning his first-ever four-wide race. He made the fastest run in each session, culminating in a 3.691 at 337.92 in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster to end the evening. As he maintains his strong momentum, the run also positions Kalitta to win his second consecutive No. 1 qualifying and his 55th overall. For the first time, he won the four-wide match in Las Vegas by being the fastest in each round of eliminations, and Kalitta appeared to continue where he left off two weeks prior.

“All of my guys are excited about this. It’s always a nice thing to keep AJ [crew chief Alan Johnson] happy, Kalitta added. “It’s evident that the guys are giving it their all at work. The automobile drove off straight and strong. I have participated in a few races with this car. It drives pretty well, right down the middle of the track, and this is a new chassis.

With a night run of 3.698 at 332.18, Antron Brown moved up to second, while Billy Torrence is now third going into Saturday with a run of 3.716 at 329.34.

Greg Anderson of Pro Stock put on a strong performance in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to start the weekend, going 6.500 at 210.90 to capture the provisional top place. Anderson races near the KB Titan Racing team shop. It positions the seasoned driver—who also happens to be Pro Stock’s most successful driver—for his first No. 1 qualification of the year and the 125th of his incredible career. Anderson, a 104-time tournament winner, is presently third in points after a strong start to the season. In an attempt to win the Charlotte 4-Wide for the first time since 2012, Anderson and his squad want to keep improving after winning the Lucas Oil Winternationals.

“We had a great first quarter,” Anderson remarked. Pro Stock vehicles thrive in situations like these, where the weather is cool. You must arrive prepared. It is impossible for you to be bashful. We used everything we had, so you had to run with what you received. The song is amazing and has everything.

We experienced a computer issue tonight [Q2], but I’m still not sure what it was. I’m hoping that’s all the bad luck for this weekend. That nobody was able to avoid me astounds me. It should be good tomorrow, and I think we’ll need to keep getting better.