Tasca Battles to Semi-Finals at 2025 NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals

The 2025 NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals delivered the kind of drama fans expect at zMax Dragway, and Bob Tasca III and the Tasca Racing team proved they were ready for the challenge. Campaigning the Ford Racing nitro Mustang Dark Horse Funny Car, Tasca strung together four consistent qualifying passes before advancing to the semi-finals in Sunday’s eliminations. 

From the opening session on Friday, Tasca established himself as a contender. A smooth 3.966-second run at 326.79 mph put the Mustang in the No. 4 spot early. Later that evening, despite dropping a cylinder past the 330-foot mark, Tasca managed a 3.956 at 319.29 mph, ending Friday seventh overall. 

On Saturday, the team sharpened its performance under brutal track temperatures. Tasca clocked a 3.949 at 327.66 mph in Q3 before unleashing his best pass of the weekend in Q4 — a blistering 3.917-second lap at 330.31 mph that secured the No. 6 qualifying position. “Four for four down the track. Very consistent this weekend. Feeling good going into Sunday,” Tasca said, heading into eliminations. 

Advancing Through Eliminations 

Sunday’s first-round quad featured Austin Prock, Hunter Green, and Alex Laughlin, but Tasca left no doubt in delivering a 3.93-second pass at 331.69 mph to advance to the semi-finals alongside Prock. 

The next quad, however, was loaded with Prock, Ron Capps, and Ford Racing teammate Daniel Wilkerson standing in the way of a final-round appearance. Pushing for every thousandth, Tasca left too soon, turning on the red light with a -0.002 reaction time. His 4.014 ET, 318.92 mph effort was disqualified, ending the weekend short of the final. 

“I went for it, trying to get as much out of the car as I could. Just left too soon by two thousandths,” Tasca said afterward. “It was still a great weekend for this Mustang Funny Car. We’ve got more racing to do in this Countdown, and we’re ready for it.” 

Countdown Momentum 

Despite the red-light exit, the weekend reinforced Tasca Racing’s position as a serious contender in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. With every qualifying session producing full pulls down the racetrack, the team leaves Concord with valuable data and confidence as the series heads deeper into the postseason.