NHRA Circle K Four-Wide Results, Updated Points: John Force Completes Dream Weekend

• John Force earns 155th NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car victory.

• Mike Salinas joins Brittany Force as two-time winner this season.

• Four-abreast racing causes some confusion still.

John Force said during pre-race ceremonies Sunday at the Circle K Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, “I love four lanes. It’s mass confusion for the crew chiefs or the drivers. But see, I have an advantage there, ’cause I come in confused, anyway.”

By the end of the day at Concord, N.C., neither he nor the Funny Car field was confused – Force was the king of the class once again. He earned his NHRA-record-extending 155th victory, his second in a row and fourth overall at this facility.

Force joined Mike Salinas (Top Fuel) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) in the winners circle.

He quipped Sunday that “I don’t maintain focus. I’m screwed up all the time.” If that’s the case, he did an extraordinary job of navigating the complex system that is four-wide racing to repeat history from just a year ago, when he was top qualifier and won the event.

“I’m trying to find myself on the Christmas tree. That’s always a job for me. I’m a mood-swinging person, and I’ve got to keep a lid on it. You can have the best car and lose, and you can have the worst car and win, because I’ve proved it,” Force said. What he proved is that he still can put together a team that can help him win and that he still can capitalize on it behind the wheel.

The 16-time champion will turn 73 years old on May 4, and he said, “This gave me confidence. I think that I can race. I’m still out here winning races.

“Let’s keep this sport alive. That is my ultimate goal,” he said. “People ask me what I’m trying to accomplish; I want my grandkids, if they wish, to see what I’ve loved for over 40 years of my career. I just love it out here.”

Force, fourth in the Funny Car standings, said, “Things just seem to happen where you’re destined to win. It was amazing. On some days, magical things just happen. Things went right, and we were able to win the race. It was like it was destiny, and it was a great weekend for my team. To finally get a win this year gives me a lot of confidence.”

He has more four-wide victories than anyone in his category. Top Fuel’s Steve Torrence has six, and Pro Stocks’ Erica Enders has three. This is the 34th season in which Force has won at least one race.

Force dedicated the victory to eldest daughter Adria Hight, who is recovering from a medical issue.

Mike Salinas Wins Again in Top Fuel

Salinas had problems on the first three of his four qualifying attempts but had himself and his Pep Boys/Scrappers Dragster on point Sunday when it counted.

In his initial qualifying opportunity Friday, Salinas performed his burnout but couldn’t get his dragster in reverse. NHRA officials told him repeatedly to get out of the car in order not to hold up the other three racers at the starting line. He complied. Then in his next turn Friday, he was docked five points for crossing the center line. Saturday didn’t start much better, with tire smoke in his third overall session. Finally, he set the quickest pass of the session in his last chance and settled on the No. 5 starting position.

He zipped away from Cam Ferré, Josh Hart, and Spencer Massey in the final round of eliminations Sunday to record his second victory this season and his first at zMAX Dragway. He moved up to second in the standings, just 17 points behind leader Brittany Force as the Camping World Drag Racing Series heads north to Virginia Motorsports Park, south of Richmond, in two weeks.

This was only the seventh time in the past 26 races that neither Steve Torrence nor Brittany Force appeared in a final round.

“We have a very, very consistent car," Salinas said. “The consistency of the car, the crew, everybody on the team, it's amazing. Rob Flynn is an amazing crew chief. All our runs (in eliminations) were in the 70s. We’ve worked so hard to get here. Most people don't understand this stuff is hard, We're racing the best guys in the world. But if you believe you belong here, do the right things to stay here, you're going to be here, and you're going to win."

Steve Johnson Goes Back to Back in Bikes

Steve Johnson has just 11 Wally statues for winning in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. But giddy after claiming back-to-back success both at Charlotte and on the tour (following his triumph a week ago at Houston), he warned, “I’m comin’ after you, Force, you and Anderson.”

John Force, who joined him on the winners podium, has an NHRA-best 155 victories. Greg Anderson, whose Pro Stock class was not on the schedule, is next on the all-time list at 99 victories.

“These bikes, they’re so hard to ride perfectly,” Johnson said. “We made some good runs today, but it’s never going to be an easy day in this class. For us to win, it’s special and this track is always a special place. Anytime you can win and win a race at a Bruton Smith track, you’re killing it and doing a great job.”’

Johnson won the first event ever at this venue, in the fall of 2008, so this is his third victory at the circuit’s newest racetrack.

Even After a Dozen Years, Four-Wide Racing Still Has Issues

The concept of four-wide racing, which Bruton Smith introduced to the modern era in 2010 at zMAX Dragway then expanded it to his Las Vegas property in 2018, still has its hiccups.

Maybe the most glaring in Sunday’s eliminations was the messy Pro Modified final round. Stan Shelton rolled his Mustang past the starting line, then backed up, and staged again. That automatically disqualified him, because rules state that a driver cannot cross the starting line twice. (It happened at Reading last fall to Pro Stock driver Alan Prusiensky, in two-wide format, too, so it’s not exclusive to four-wide racing.)

Shelton’s mistake appeared to have had a domino effect. Rickie Smith then left the starting line before the Christmas tree (electronic starter) activated. So he was disqualified. Kris Thorne and Lyle Barnett waited and were rewarded by being the drivers of record, but they had abysmal reaction times. Thorne, despite his uncharacteristic .320 light, won the trophy. Barnett, whose .150 start was way off a perfect .000, was runner-up.

The first round of Top Fuel eliminations also had an unexplained timing malfunction. No. 1 qualifier Justin Ashley clearly won in that foursome and No. 16 Cam Ferré was right behind him. They advanced, but they had no elapsed times for their runs. That affected lane choice for the semifinal round. For some reason, Ferré was given the right to select his lane before Ashley. Ferré ended up finishing second to Mike Salinas in the Top Fuel final.

Results, Updated Standings

Sunday's final results from the 12th annual Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway at Concord, N.C. The race is the sixth of 22 in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:

Finals

Top Fuel -- Mike Salinas, 3.708 seconds, 330.47 mph def. Cameron Ferre, 3.986 seconds, 272.56 mph and Josh Hart, 9.949 seconds, 84.21 mph and Spencer Massey, 13.713 seconds, 74.83 mph;

Funny Car -- John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.914, 328.86 def. Robert Hight, Camaro, 4.038, 267.85 and Ron Capps, Toyota Supra, 4.253, 225.11 and Mike McIntire, Toyota Camry, 9.391, 82.53;