Blake Alexander at Z-Max and 4-Wide Nationals

Courtesy of Paul Smith Racing

CONCORD, NC – Funny Car rookie Blake Alexander has been through some trying experiences in just his first few races in the nitro-breathing Auto Service Plus car. His season of wild rides continued at the 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway last weekend. Blake’s first qualifying pass ended in a fiery mess.

“We had it set up to run a 4.16 or 4.18. I had my hands full on the second half of the run, trying to keep it straight with a hole out. Once I started to slow down, the supercharger back-fired and lifted the body up. I could feel the heat before I could see the flames. I got it stopped and shut everything down. Flames reached the fuel tank and lit the fuel on fire. Ultimately it was a parts failure that caused a lot of damage,” said Alexander, who ran a career-best 4.18 at 302 mph, his first official 300 mph pass.

Tuner and car owner Paul Smith had the Auto Service Plus Funny Car running consistently through qualifying, giving Blake the power to run 4.19 and 4.18 in the final two sessions. Blake would square off with fellow rookie Alexis DeJoria, Johnny Gray and Mike Neff in the first round of eliminations. He came up close at the finish line, just nine thousandths of a second from moving on to the next round. His 4.215 wasn’t enough to best Neff or Gray. Alexander feels that he handled his first 4-Wide experience well.

“I adapted to the staging process fairly well. I didn’t cause anyone else problems or myself problems, which is the goal heading into it as a rookie. Once your top two staging bulbs are lit, it’s just like any other race,” claimed theVirginiaresident.

The Paul Smith Racing team tested on Monday, trying a new supercharger in preparation for the team’s next race inAtlanta.

“The car ran some of its fastest numbers to the 330 foot mark (atCharlotte), so that looks promising. We’ll get the body fixed and ready forAtlantain a few weeks,” said Blake.