CONCORD, N.C. — For the first time, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship playoffs will feature a four-wide race at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals, and current Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn is looking to stay red-hot at zMAX Dragway.
Glenn, driver of the RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, resides in Mooresville, N.C. and won both the fall race a year ago and the spring four-wide race this season.
With his impressive success at four-wide races and five wins on the season, Glenn is eager for this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals.
“There’s a few things with the four-wide races that are the biggest difference for the driver,” Glenn said. “The whole staging procedure gets pretty chaotic and you’re throwing two extra lanes. Normally, it’s like, ‘Hey, are we going to the left, are we going to the right?’ Well, now it’s like, ‘Hey, are we taking one through four?’
“There’s chaos before the run, but when you get to the staging lanes, instead of being fifth or sixth or seventh or eighth pair, now at the most, you’re going to be fourth. So, you need to make sure you get into the car quicker. Everything moves a little quicker while you’re up there.”
Last year’s NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals saw Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), Glenn (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) each claiming wins.
It is also the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship. Glenn secured NHRA’s first regular-season championship at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
After coming up just short of the 2024 world title to teammate Greg Anderson, Glenn knows the importance of running well to open six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Coming off a win in Reading, he has confidence on his side, currently holding a 62-point lead over Anderson and a 121-point advantage over Matt Hartford.
“The main thing is as long as I’m prepared, do my job and make sure I get in the car early enough where I can kind of calm everything down and just kind of try to stay focused up there, that’s key,” Glenn said. “With a four-wide, you never know if somebody’s going to go red or get timed out or let their foot slip up and jump through the beams. It just kind of throws a whole chaotic mix into it. At any time, any quad can get kind of really discombobulated really quickly.”
