Drag racing returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Drag racing makes its return to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend as the NHRA holds its Four-Wide Nationals.

Las Vegas is one of only two tracks that has the capabilities of going four wide which makes this event a favorite for the drivers and the fans.

Drag racing is a sport that is best experienced in person because of the sights, sounds and smells.

“It’s something you have to experience in person,” driver J.R. Todd said. “It touches all of your senses. TV and FOX does a great job of covering it for us, but TV just doesn’t do it any justice. Zero to 330-plus miles per hour in less than four seconds, 11,000 horsepower. It’s like a small earthquake when we hit the throttle of those things.”

“Once you get that feeling, the smell of the nitro, the vibrations, everything,” driver Alexis DeJoria said. “It’s unlike anything on the planet and we accelerate faster than anything on the planet.”

As exhilarating as it is for the fans, Antron Brown said being in the driver’s seat when the light turns green is the rush of all rushes.

“That right foot goes down and you’re unleashing the beast,” Brown said. “Close to 12,000 horsepower is getting unleashed right no on the strip and a lot of people in Vegas think an earthquake is going on and all we’re doing is unleashing that 12,000 horsepower thunder going down that racetrack. It’s one of those deals that hits you not just in your chest or you mind. It hits you right in your gut and you feel it. It touches your backbone when you feel that 6 G’s of acceleration going down that strip.”

Racing takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at “The Strip” at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.