Tasca Racing Shows Speed Early at NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte

Bob Tasca III and the Ford Performance Mustang Funny Car team headed into the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway with one goal: reestablish consistency. The Charlotte event delivered flashes of speed and promise early in qualifying, even if race day didn’t go as planned.

In Friday’s Q1 session, Tasca posted a strong 3.893-second run at 329.26 MPH, immediately putting the team in the top five. “We needed to make a full pull out of the box,” Tasca said. “This run was exactly what this team needed.”

Tasca followed that up in Q2 with an even faster 3.867-second pass at 336.65 MPH, showing the Ford Performance Mustang had top-tier speed. “Booming speed,” said Tasca. “The plan this race weekend is consistency. That’s how we win.”

Saturday proved more difficult. The Mustang overpowered the track in both Q3 and Q4, resulting in tire smoke and aborted runs. Despite those setbacks, Tasca maintained the No. 6 qualifying position heading into Sunday.

In the first round of eliminations, Tasca launched with a quick .051 reaction time, but the car lost traction at around 450 feet, handing the win to JR Todd and Hunter Green. Tasca crossed the line in 4.119 seconds at 272.78 MPH.

Despite the early exit, the weekend demonstrated that the team has the horsepower to contend. “We’ve got the speed — now it’s about making it count on Sunday,” Tasca said.

Next up: the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, where Tasca Racing looks to convert qualifying performance into eliminations success.