FOUR-WIDE RACING: A “COOL IDEA FROM ONE OF THE GREATEST TRACK DEVELOPERS OF ALL TIME”

YPSILANTI, MI – Bruton Smith, the late founder of Speedway Motorsports Inc., once had a vision of NHRA racing four-wide, and he followed that vision with action building drag strips in Concord, N.C. and Las Vegas that could accommodate four-wide racing, which returns this weekend. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes April 14-16, 2023 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Mac Tools Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta, the owner and president of Kalitta Charters, knows a thing or two about innovation and what it takes to be successful. It is that understanding and respect of the late SMI founder’s vision that fuels Kalitta’s desire to win a four-wide race.

“I look forward to racing in the four-wide events because it’s a cool idea from one of the greatest track developers of all time, Bruton Smith,” Kalitta said. “I mostly just love supporting one of his visions and one of the coolest innovations in the history of drag racing. It’s the same as far as getting to the finish line first to win the race, but it’s kinda nice on race day when the top-two cars advance to the next round. I think the fans really like these events, too. I’d love to win one of these one day – we raced in the final a couple years ago; maybe this weekend will be our time.”

Kalitta has two Las Vegas wins in seven final-round appearances, and while the Mac Tools team hasn’t won a race yet this season, a feeling of inevitability surrounds this team – a win should be a matter of when, not if.

“We’re just three races into the season, and I feel really good about what we can accomplish in 2023,” the 49-time race winner added. “One thing I know for sure is that this Mac Tools team is an awesome group of guys with a great work ethic. All the work my guys did over the winter, in testing and through the first three races is going to pay off, and we all know it. Most teams had a little down time since we raced, and I think everyone will be ready to go when we get to Las Vegas this week.

“I like racing in Las Vegas and have had some success there. They usually get great crowds, and it seems like the fans are all having a really good time. There’s so much to do there so I think the fans take pretty good advantage of that – they come to the races during the day and get to enjoy all the fun things you can do in Las Vegas at night so it’s a really fun weekend for the fans.”

Race Information:
NHRA 4-Wide Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev.
TV Schedule:
Qualifying 1: 9:30-11 p.m. Friday, April 14 on FS1
Qualifying 2: 9:30-11 p.m. Sunday, April 15 on FS1
Finals: 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Sunday, April 16 on FS1

2022 NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 6 but lost to Leah Pruett and Shawn Langdon in the first round.

Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 569 events, 741 round wins, 49 wins, 107 final rounds, 52 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gatornationals: Qualified third; defeated Spencer Massey, Antron Brown; lost to Steve Torrence
Phoenix: Qualified No. 1; defeated Rob Passey, lost to Shawn Langdon
Pomona: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown in the first round.

Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters Las Vegas in seventh place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, sixth-place Shawn Langdon, by 14 points and leads eighth-place Antron Brown by five points.