Langdon (TF), Capps (FC), McGaha (PS) and Ray (PSM) pace first day of NHRA Four-Wide Nationals qualifying - MotorSportsTalk

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) and Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were the fastest qualifiers Friday for Sunday’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.

Langdon, the defending 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel champion, drove his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to a stout best run of 3.753 seconds at 321.81 mph.

Langdon was No. 1 qualifier for this event last season and hopes to finish what he started in Sunday’s final eliminations. He has yet to reach a final round in this season’s first five races.

“I don’t know what it is, but I like it,” Langdon said of zMAX Dragway, where he won the 2012 NHRA fall event there. “I wish we could race all 24 here.

“There are some tracks that you go to that it just seems to work your way, and there are some tracks that you go to that you just can’t seem to do anything right. zMAX, fortunately, has been one of those tracks where I was able to get my first victory, and the Al-Anabi car has just run good every time we’ve come here.

“The Four-Wide last year we had a great-running car and smoked the tires in the final. We just like the track. We’re able to make good runs, and we’re able to really put the power down to the track here. It’s a great racing surface.”

J.R. Todd, who took over the Kalitta Motorsports Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster two weeks ago at Las Vegas, was the fastest in the first qualifying session earlier in the day, but his 3.781 seconds/325.06 mph mark was good enough to keep Todd second in Friday’s qualifying.

Although he won the conventional two-lane fall 2012 race at zMAX, Capps has never won the four-wide configuration. On Friday he paced all Funny Car drivers with a 4.059 second pass at 320.58 mph.

Robert Hight was second fastest in Funny Car at 4.074 seconds at 311.99 mph.

In Pro Stock, McGaha led the field with a run of 6.523 seconds at 213.10 mph. Not only was that an outstanding achievement, it also occurred in the first time McGaha has ever raced in the Four-Wide Nationals.

“That was an experience,” McGaha said. “I guess I got fortunate as I got to go out on lanes one and four so the end lanes helped a lot. I noticed when I got up there it takes some guys longer to stage. We will see how I do when I run lanes two and three (on Saturday).”

Ray is in pursuit of his second No. 1 qualifier spot of the season, having done so last month at Gainesville, Fla. His best run Friday of 6.816 seconds at 197.02 mph topped all other Pro Stock Motorcycle riders.

“When you come out to the Four-Wide Nationals, the conditions are really different,” Ray said. “Being the first pro category, you can get a greener track than you would like.”

Matt Smith, who won the PSM season championship in 2013, set a new track record with a run of 198.32 mph in his second qualifying effort Friday.

The final two rounds of qualifying take place Saturday at 1:15 pm ET and 4:15 pm ET.

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Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the Fifth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway, fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Two more rounds of qualifying will be contested Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.753 seconds, 323.35 mph; 2. J.R. Todd, 3.781, 325.06; 3. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.793, 324.98; 4. Brittany Force, 3.800, 325.61; 5. Tony Schumacher, 3.815, 321.73; 6. Doug Kalitta, 3.816, 322.42; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.818, 322.81; 8. Antron Brown, 3.823, 319.45; 9. Spencer Massey, 3.827, 321.42; 10. Pat Dakin, 3.841, 313.15; 11. Leah Pritchett, 3.856, 318.77; 12. Clay Millican, 3.904, 270.54; 13. Richie Crampton, 4.941, 97.52; 14. Bob Vandergriff, 4.949, 145.08; 15. Terry McMillen, 6.484, 106.58; 16. Sidnei Frigo, 6.543, 104.17.

Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.059, 314.24; 2. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.074, 311.99; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.079, 308.57; 4. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.080, 311.70; 5. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.084, 312.06; 6. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.086, 314.75; 7. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.088, 310.91; 8. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 4.097, 284.56; 9. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.113, 308.43; 10. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.119, 303.84; 11. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.145, 306.05; 12. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.167, 261.42; 13. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.206, 286.80; 14. Blake Alexander, Charger, 4.317, 220.80; 15. John Force, Mustang, 4.441, 204.08; 16. Dale Creasy Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.690, 195.28.

Not Qualified: 17. Chad Head, 4.968, 157.95.

Pro Stock — 1. Chris McGaha, Chevy Camaro, 6.523, 213.10; 2. Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 6.524, 213.13; 3. Dave Connolly, Camaro, 6.531, 212.59; 4. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.534, 212.79; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Dart, 6.538, 212.69; 6. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.542, 212.73; 7. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.546, 212.49; 8. Jimmy Alund, Camaro, 6.550, 212.39; 9. V. Gaines, Dodge Avenger, 6.560, 212.63; 10. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.564, 211.93; 11. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.577, 211.46; 12. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.577, 210.80; 13. Robert Patrick, Ford Mustang, 6.616, 209.43; 14. Justin Humphreys, Pontiac GXP, 6.690, 208.36; 15. John Gaydosh Jr, GXP, 7.327, 145.45; 16. Larry Morgan, Mustang, 15.375, 66.92.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Michael Ray, Buell, 6.816, 197.02; 2. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.825, 196.24; 3. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.843, 197.91; 4. John Hall, Buell, 6.846, 196.07; 5. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.871, 198.32; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.873, 195.19; 7. Mike Berry, Buell, 6.873, 193.29; 8. Chaz Kennedy, Buell, 6.874, 195.31; 9. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.875, 194.02; 10. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.892, 195.59; 11. Adam Arana, Buell, 6.900, 194.10; 12. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.926, 192.69; 13. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.933, 197.48; 14. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.954, 193.99; 15. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.956, 194.46; 16. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.998, 191.08.

Not Qualified: 17. Freddie Camarena, 7.030, 193.88; 18. Elvira Karlsson, 7.060, 188.33; 19. Joe DeSantis, 7.164, 186.54; 20. Justin Finley, 7.273, 186.69; 21. Junior Pippin, 7.331, 164.03; 22. Katie Sullivan, 7.765, 125.29.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”