Doug Kalitta had always enjoyed four-wide racing, even if the results didn’t show ultimate success. But the reigning Top Fuel world champion checked off another milestone victory earlier this month, winning his first career four-wide race.

The standout veteran now has a chance to sweep the pair of unique races for the first time in his stellar career at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte. It’s the “Bellagio of Dragstrips” and the originator of four-wide racing, which has long been considered one of the wildest spectacles in motorsports.

Kalitta has enjoyed the special spotlight the distinctive four-wide racing has created but had never won a four-wide event until doing so less than two weeks ago at Las Vegas in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster. Riding high off that victory, where Kalitta ran low E.T. of each of the three eliminations rounds, the defending world champion is eager to quickly try and get a second victory in as many races in the four-wide format.

“We’re going to try to sweep (the four-wide races),” Kalitta said. “We’ve got some hungry guys on this team and I’m just as hungry as they are, so we’ll see what happens. Charlotte is an incredible facility and we’re looking forward to getting there. Bruton and Marcus (Smith) have put together some great facilities and we’re just fortunate enough to get a chance to race there.”

Austin Prock (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Deric Kramer (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) claimed victories in 2023 and this event will again be broadcast on FS1, including eliminations at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday. It is the fifth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and Kalitta Motorsports couldn’t have asked for a much better start.

Coming off of Kalitta’s first world championship to close out 2023, the team has enjoyed a spectacular 2024 thus far. Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon and Funny Car’s J.R. Todd both won in Gainesville, giving the team its first-ever double-up, while Kalitta’s victory in Las Vegas gave the team its fourth win already this year. All three drivers are in the top four in points in their respective classes, with Kalitta also earning the No. 1 qualifier spot in Vegas.

Last season, Prock collected his first win from zMAX in Top Fuel, but this season he has hopped into the Funny Car field and is the current points leader against a group that includes reigning champion Matt Hagan, three-time champ Ron Capps, Bob Tasca III, Chad Green, Cruz Pedregon, Gainesville winner J.R. Todd and teammate John Force.

Kramer’s win last season gave him his second Charlotte victory. If he wants to make it three, he’ll need to get past the four-time and reigning Pro Stock champion Erica Enders as well as Dallas Glenn, Cristian Cuadra, and five-time champs Jeg Coughlin and Greg Anderson, who picked up a win at the Charlotte fall race.

Pro Stock Motorcycle phenom Herrera dominated the category last season. His 2023 campaign featured 11 wins, including both Charlotte races. He is already off to a hot start in 2024 with a win at Gainesville, taking on six-time champion Matt Smith, three-time Charlotte winner Steve Johnson, Angie Smith and Hector Arana Jr.

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, April 26 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, April 27 at 12 and 2:15 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 28. Television coverage includes qualifying on FS1 at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday and then eliminations action at 6 p.m. ET to follow.

w/ NHRA Communications