Chris McGaha drove the Harlow Sammons Chevrolet Camaro to the final round quad this weekend at the 19th annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals for the second consecutive time. McGaha was the winner at the last four-wide formatted event contested at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina last season.
McGaha came into raceday in the No. 4 qualifying position and the fondly-known “Silver Bullet” took on its competition in the form of Matt Hartford, Alex Laughlin, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. McGaha won his quad by setting low elapsed time of raceday when he crossed the finish line first with a 6.650-second pass at 207.59 mph. Hartford’s 6.685, 207.30 advanced to the next round with McGaha over Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s troubled 10.415, 121.10 and Laughlin’s 6.708, 206.10.
“It feels incredible to be one of the only independent teams out here creating some serious power,” McGaha beamed.
Second round, McGaha let his driving abilities at the starting line do the talking when he crossed the finish line first once again with a small holeshot win over Vincent Nobile; McGaha clocked in with a 6.675, 206.51 to Nobile’s 6.674, 206.35. Matt Hartford’s 6.720, 205.72 and Greg Anderson’s 6.680, 207.62 did not advance to the next round.
“The second round was just awesome,” he added. “I won the race on a holeshot and Vincent and I both beat Greg [Anderson] so he couldn’t double-up this weekend. That’s always fun.”
Being the reigning Four-Wide Pro Stock event champion, McGaha went into the final round quad in familiar territory. Choosing the same lane as when he won the title in Charlotte last season, McGaha was ready to collect his seventh Pro Stock career win.
In the finals, McGaha ran low of the session with an impressive 6.665, 206.67 but a small red light thwarted his dreams of a back-to-back Four-Wide win. Vincent Nobile’s 6.690, 206.80 went on to win the event.
“Even though I’m kind of disappointed about going red, I’m really amped up about how fast our Harlow Sammons Chevrolet Camaro is going,” he smiled. “I think the competition really knows we’re out here and we’re a threat to win every race. I guess my seventh win will have to wait for another time but we head to my home state of Texas next and I can’t think of a better place to win.”
McGaha leaves The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway No. 2 in the overall Pro Stock point standings.
CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS CHEVROLET CAMARO
ELIMINATION RESULTS:
First Round Quad: MCGAHA (6.650, 207.59) and Matt Hartford (6.685, 207.30) defeated Jeg Coughlin Jr. (10.415, 121.10) and Alex Laughlin (6.708, 206.10)
Second Round Quad: MCGAHA (6.675, 206.51) and Vincent Nobile (6.674, 206.35) defeated Matt Hartford (6.720, 205.72) and Greg Anderson (6.680, 207.62)
Final Round Quad:
Winner: Vincent Nobile (6.690, 206.80)
Runner-Up: Deric Kramer (6.678, 206.45)
Semifinals: Bo Butner (6.682, 206.57) and MCGAHA (6.665, 206.67)
PRO STOCK POINTS (4 OF 24 EVENTS)
- Bo Butner, 322
- Chris McGaha, 293
- Deric Kramer, 289
- Vincent Nobile, 283
- Jason Line, 268
- Greg Anderson, 253
- Drew Skillman, 242
- Tanner Gray, 229
- Alex Laughlin, 212
- Erica Enders, 198
SR DRIVEN MEDIA PR
