The Dubbin Motorsports A/Fuel Dragster will be heading east to the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina. The Team, with driver Kirk Wolf, has never competed in a four-wide event and has never raced at the famed zMAX Dragway.
Dean Dubbin, owner of Dubbin Motorsports, doesn’t think the lack of experience at the zMAX Track will be a problem, “We’ve never run a four-wide race, and we’ve never run in Charlotte. If we stay focused and concentrate on keeping up with the racetrack I think we will do fine”.
“We will be racing from mid-morning to late evening in some cases. We have studied the changes the track goes through, and many times the team that keeps up with the track wins the race,” said Dubbin.
Kirk Wolf, driver of the Dubbin Motorsports A/Fuel Dragster, agreed, “I’m not going to approach the four-wide any differently than a two-lane race. I think some problems in the four-wide format are self-made. When you start to overthink everything, that’s when you get in trouble. We are just going to do our standard starting line program, and stay aware of what lane I’m in so I stage the car on the correct lights. Other than that, it’s business as usual.
“If I do my job I’m sure Clay, Chase, and the KENTEX/DMP Team will have the car flying. I’m really looking forward to racing in Charlotte,” added Wolf.
The NHRA Gator Nationals in March was the last event for the KENTEX Sponsored Team, where a fuel-system issue kept the car from showing its true potential in sea-level conditions. The team discovered a problem in the fuel system that was causing a lean condition early in the run. Even though the car was running well, and the team qualified in the number 3 position, Wolf could sense, and the time slips were showing that the car was not happy early in the run. The problem would surface again in round two of eliminations and ended the weekend for the Dubbin Team when the car experienced tire-shake less than one second into the run.
Dubbin is confident that the fuel-system problem in Gainesville has been fixed and the team is ready to get back to its late-round appearances and race wins – “Kenny, Clay, Trevor, and Don have a great service routine, it’s like clockwork, so with that continuing and Kirk’s driving we should be set to have a good weekend at Charlotte.”
The NHRA 4-wide Nationals get underway on Friday with Alcohol qualifying scheduled for 3 pm & 6 pm. The Alcohol Dragster program continues with qualifying and round one of eliminations on Saturday at 11:30 am, 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm. Sunday eliminations start at noon with Top Fuel, and round two of Top Alcohol is slated for 1:00 pm.
This story was originally published on April 22, 2024. 
