What you need to know for NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte on FS1
For just one event each season ... 10,000 horsepower NHRA Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters ... side by side by side by side ... 40,000 horsepower in less than four seconds!
In the one and only event of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season pitting four cars against each other at the starting line, FS1 delivers three hours of final round coverage of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods on Sunday, April 24 (4:30 p.m. ET), along with two hours of four-wide qualifying coverage on Saturday, April 23 (10:00 p.m. ET).
After the season's first four events, viewing of FOX Sports NHRA events is up 22% over 2015 (771,000 viewers vs. 633,000) according to Nielsen Media Research. Viewership for the NHRA's previous event -- the Denso Spark Plug Nationals at Las Vegas -- averaged nearly 1.3 million viewers and peaked at more than 1.5 million.
Dave Rieff (@DaveRieff) and analyst Tony Pedregon (@TonyPedregon) call the action for FS1, with Bruno Massel (@BrunoMassel) and Jamie Howe (@1JamieHowe) reporting from the pits.
"The first thing I do is watch and listen to what happens," Rieff said of the unique format. "Side-by-side drag racing is intense enough, but when four cars take off, each with 10,000 ponies, you can't take your eyes off of the track for a second. Why? A thousandth of a second can advance you to the next round.
"I love the challenge of dissecting the numbers from four cars, trying to figure out who advances, and then seeing what the numbers tell us," Rieff added. "After all, this is the only race you can win with a triple hole-shot!"
Pedregon, in his first year as a full-time NHRA television analyst, is preparing for the challenging setup from a new perspective.
"I'm watching lots of old four-wide coverage to prepare," said Pedregon, a two-time NHRA Funny Car champion. "As a driver, my time was always occupied setting the car up and trying to make the necessary adjustments that we will see drivers make in all the pro categories. The biggest challenge for them will be figuring out what lights stage their car on the starting line. Surprisingly, after several years of the four-wide event, it still confuses some drivers, causing them to lose races because of the additional three cars that line up to race."
Entering this weekend's event, Brittany Force (307 points) leads defending champion Antron Brown (269) and Doug Kalitta (267) in the Top Fuel division, with Robert Hight (341 points) on top of Funny Car over John Force (294) and Ron Capps (289).
Both nitro categories have been wide open to start the season, with multiple event winners across the first four races. In Pro Stock, teammates Jason Line (463 points), Greg Anderson (415) and Bo Butner (331) continue to be the class of the field.
"As far as the trend (in the nitro categories), I see no reason why it shouldn't continue," Rieff said. "Thirty years ago, the fully funded, top dogs of each class enjoyed a performance advantage. But in the 21st century, the gap between the top of the qualifying sheet and the bottom has shrunk considerably. Add in the additional pressures that come with staging a car correctly, reacting as quickly as possible and then keeping the ensuing stampede in the groove ... today's NHRA is as cutthroat as ever."
For more information on NHRA drag racing, please visit: www.NHRA.com. To follow the event on Twitter: #NHRAonFOX, @NHRA, @FOXSports, @FS1
