CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 18, 2025) – 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. This season’s race will again be broadcast on FS1, including live coverage of eliminations beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21.
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.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith is also after his third straight win in Charlotte, all after moving into the points lead in Reading to open the playoffs. John Hall rolled to the victory, claiming his second win of the season and throwing a huge wrench into the title chase. He won his first career playoff race, defeating back-to-back champ Gaige Herrera in the second round and then Smith in the final round.
“I just keep thinking there are way worse things I could be doing on a Sunday afternoon than possibly losing in a final at a national event on a Pro Stock Motorcycle,” Hall said. “So I keep pretty calm. I don’t get all worked up. It’s going to be what it’s going to be — go out there and do your job. We all know how to do it. Sometimes you’re better than others.”
The win sent Hall into a tie with Herrera for second in points, just six back of Smith. With Richard Gadson only nine points out, it should be a thriller in Charlotte as someone in the two-wheeled category attempts to gain an advantage in the championship chase.
In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta grabbed the points lead in Reading, but he leads regular-season champ Tony Stewart by less than a round. Shawn Langdon, who won the four-wide race in the spring, is right behind in third, while other standouts include Brittany Force, Indy winner Justin Ashley, Clay Millican and reigning world champ Antron Brown.
Prock won last year’s Carolina Nationals when he defeated Matt Hagan. The John Force Racing standout remains in the points lead, but the reigning champ is just 25 points ahead of teammate Jack Beckman. Ron Capps is only 29 points behind, while other stars include Reading winner Cruz Pedregon, Matt Hagan and Paul Lee.