John Force and his BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS team enter this weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway looking to put the first three races of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season behind them. What better way than with a win in the first four-wide event of the year?
Since the debut of four-wide racing at Charlotte in 2010, no one has won more quads than John Force. His 14 quad-round wins include three overall four-wide race wins. Despite his most recent three consecutive second quad exits at The Strip, Force has two victories at the spring event in Las Vegas, 2010 and 2015, both before the transition to four-wide racing, in addition to four wins in the fall competition. Force has two No. 1 qualifying positions in the spring at The Strip and has started each of the last two years from the No. 2 position.
“Four-wide racing in Las Vegas, the perfect place to put on a show. I’ve had some success there, it’s a Bruton Smith track, but really, I’m just really ready to get back into my BlueDEF Chevy,” Force said. “The team, Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, Mac Savage, they’ve evaluated everything and looked over the car closely. We’ll be ready to race. Get things started with four qualifying rounds, make some clean runs and then see how things go on race day. I’m excited, though.”
Force and the BlueDEF Chevy are currently sitting 13th in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Championship points standings, the lowest the 16-time champion has ever been after three races. Force started the season with a quarterfinal exit at the NHRA Gatornationals after qualifying No. 2. At the final event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, Force qualified eighth before falling in the first round to eventual race winner and teammate Robert Hight. At his hometown track, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip for the Winternationals, Force had a string of bad luck with two centerline infractions that put him in the No. 16 qualifying spot and then had tire smoke for a first-round loss.
The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway begins with four rounds of qualifying with sessions on Friday and Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at noon. Television coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) begins with qualifying shows Friday and Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air on FS1 Sunday at 9:30 p.m.
