Toyota NHRA Four-Wide Preview
BROWN LOOKS FOR THIRD FOUR-WIDE CROWN – Antron Brown will attempt to become the first driver in 
NHRA history to earn three Four-Wide Nationals titles this weekend. The reigning Top Fuel champion won back-to-back in 2014 and 2015 and was the runner-up a year ago. Brown also is looking to earn his own version of “Four Wide” this season as he pursues his fourth Top Fuel title. The Matco Tools Toyota driver has earned world championships in 2016, 2015 and 2012. After winning at Las Vegas, Brown has now registered at least one win every season he’s competed in Top Fuel (10). The most dominant driver in major U.S. auto racing today, Brown has won three world championships and 31 Top Fuel races in the past five+ seasons – almost double the next highest total of 16 by Tony Schumacher.
LANGDON SHOWS NO SIGNS OF RUST – Despite not having been in the seat of a Top Fuel dragster for more than six months, Shawn Langdon showed no signs of rust at Houston. The 2013 world champion notched the quickest reaction time in the Top Fuel field on race day with a .044 – one of three lights he had in the .04s over the weekend. The long-time Toyota driver made his first run with Kalitta Motorsports on Friday and ended up qualifying tenth before being eliminated in the first round by just .002 seconds.
PEDREGON GAINING STEAM – After signing renowned crew chief Aaron Brooks in the off-season as part of a major overhaul and going through some expected early season struggles, Cruz Pedregon had his strongest showing of the season at Houston. The two-time Funny Car champion placed his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry in the top four overall in three of his five runs down the track before being eliminated on a holeshot on Sunday. In addition, he registered a career-best with 3.897-second pass on Friday to qualify a season-best fifth.
TOYOTA DRIVERS SHINE IN CHARLOTTE – Four of the eight Toyota-sponsored drivers competing this weekend have previously won at Charlotte in either Top Fuel or Funny Cars. Antron Brown leads the way with five wins at zMax Dragway, including a pair of Four-Wide triumphs. Del Worsham has registered two wins at the North Carolina track, winning the 2011 Four-Wide in Top Fuel, while also winning the 2015 fall Funny Car event. He holds the distinction of being the only driver in zMax history to win in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Both Shawn Langdon (TF-2012) and Cruz Pedregon (FC-2010) have each been victorious in the fall.
Antron Brown: “Charlotte is a track we really like and usually do well at. I’m excited to get out there. The Four-Wide is a crazy race with a lot going on. It can be a difficult race to tune for, but I think that’s a part of the reason that we do well there. We’ll be focused on the task at hand and to make sure to make good decisions.”
Shawn Langdon: “I’m looking forward to Charlotte. The Four-Wide is always a good race. It’s something a little different. We just need to take what we learned this weekend and apply it at Charlotte and hopefully we can get the results we’re looking for. It should be a little bit easier because we have everything set up now. It’s just a matter of making the proper calls on the car and getting the car to make some good runs.”
Cruz Pedregon: “The Four-Wide is one of my favorite races. I very much look forward to it. I think a lot of drivers were skeptical at first, but I think most of them have come around. It’s one less round, if you finish second prior to the final you can still advance, which gives everyone a little more equal chance. To get the win there, though, it’s going to take a good car, but we definitely have the car to do it. There’s a few tense moments in staging, but you don’t know if you’ve advanced or not until you pull off the track.
