Four-Wide Fury: Stewart & Hagan Charge Into Charlotte

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads back to zMAX Dragway this weekend for one of the most unique events on the calendar – the NHRA Four-Wide Carolina Nationals. For Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Dodge Direct Connection duo, Tony Stewart in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car, it’s another chance to chase down a championship as the Countdown to the Championship heats up.

This weekend’s stop in Charlotte marks the 16th race of the 20-race season and the second event in the six-race Countdown. It’s also the first time the fall Carolina Nationals will be contested in the four-wide format. That twist adds another layer of strategy and nerves as teams square off against three opponents at once instead of the traditional head-to-head.

A High-Stakes Weekend For TSR – 

Tony Stewart comes in second in the Top Fuel standings, just 18 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. That gap is razor thin in drag racing, where a single round can swing the standings. Stewart knows that means there’s no margin for error.

“Charlotte is going to be an interesting weekend,” Stewart said. “It’ll be the first time we’ve had a four-wide event in the Countdown. We’ll have to bring out a backup car. It’s a car that’s ran before, so Monday we tested with Leah [Pruett] behind the wheel just to make sure all the systems ran correctly. It’s an unfortunate situation, but I have a lot of confidence in PBRC (Precision Built Race Cars). They build repeatable cars, so going from one to another is no drama. If we have a race to rebound, this is the one to do it at.”

On the Funny Car side, Matt Hagan sits fifth in the standings, 55 points out of first. For a driver with Hagan’s pedigree – four wins at zMAX Dragway, including two at the Carolina Nationals – that deficit is far from insurmountable.

“The four-wide events create their own challenges because you can’t see when the other two cars leave the starting line,” Hagan explained. “In the Countdown, you have to go to the end. Whether your car has a hole out or it’s on fire, you have to go to the end. Everything will count. We stayed over in Reading to test, so that gave us a better idea of where the car is at heading into Charlotte.”

Four-Wide Format: A Wildcard – 

For fans, four-wide racing is a sensory overload: four 11,000-horsepower machines blasting down the track at the same time. For drivers, it’s a mental game. Reaction times become trickier because you can’t rely on your peripheral vision the same way as in a two-lane setup. Instead, focus and discipline decide the race.

For Stewart, the format holds special meaning. His first-ever drag racing win came in a four-wide Top Alcohol Dragster event in Las Vegas back in 2023. Two years later, he claimed his first Top Fuel victory at the same track – again in a four-wide format. Earlier this year, he reached the final quad at Charlotte’s spring four-wide event. Simply put, four-wide has been kind to Smoke.

Hagan, meanwhile, has built a legacy at zMAX Dragway. He’s logged four wins here – two at the Carolina Nationals and two in the Four-Wide Nationals. He also holds the distinction of being the first Funny Car driver to break the four-second barrier with a 3.995-second run in 2011 at Charlotte. That milestone is still commemorated on the retaining wall near the starting line.

TSR’s Momentum And Challenges – 

Last weekend in Reading, Stewart suffered a crash that forced TSR to roll out a backup chassis. But thanks to PBRC, Stewart is confident the switch won’t slow them down. “They build repeatable cars, so that’s a strength for us,” Stewart noted.

On the Funny Car side, Hagan has leaned into experience and confidence. With 368 career starts under his belt – including 32 at Charlotte – there’s little he hasn’t seen. His track record speaks volumes: more quad wins and more final-quads than any other driver in four-wide history.

Hagan’s combination of raw power and adaptability is why his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT HELLCAT Funny Car is always a threat when it rolls into North Carolina.

How To Watch – 

Fans who can’t make it to Charlotte can still catch all the action live and on television. All qualifying and eliminations will be streamed on NHRA.TV, while FS1 will carry television coverage on Sunday.

• Friday, Sept. 19 – Nitro Qualifying (Q1 at 4:45 p.m. EDT, Q2 at 7 p.m. EDT) – NHRA.TV

• Saturday, Sept. 20 – Nitro Qualifying (Q3 at 12:30 p.m. EDT, Q4 at 3 p.m. EDT) – NHRA.TV

• Sunday, Sept. 21 – Eliminations (Round 1 at 11:30 a.m. EDT, Round 2 at 1:30 p.m. EDT, Finals at 3:20 p.m. EDT) – NHRA.TV

• Sunday, Sept. 21 – Qualifying Recap Show, 10 a.m. EDT – FS1

• Sunday, Sept. 21 – Finals Show, 12 p.m. EDT – FS1

As the Countdown to the Championship rolls on, Charlotte’s four-wide spectacle promises drama, horsepower, and plenty of Mopar thunder. Stewart and Hagan are both aiming to make zMAX Dragway another landmark in their storied careers – and fans won’t want to miss a single run.