Melanie Johnson raced to the second round of the Las Vegas 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
photo courtesy of Melanie Johnson
By: Werner Communications
LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2025) — Melanie Johnson and the McPhillips Racing team made a bold statement at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this past weekend, April 11–13. In her debut at the unique 4-Wide format, Johnson delivered a performance that showcased both her growth as a driver and the strength of the McPhillips Racing Top Alcohol Dragster program.
Johnson started the weekend strong, racing to the top of the qualifying charts on Friday with back-to-back low E.T. and top speed runs of 5.260 seconds at 273.00 mph and 5.270 at 275.00 mph, respectively. While her first run was later disqualified due to a marginally over-limit fuel mixture (0.2% above the 95% threshold), Johnson and the McPhillips team responded immediately with a nearly identical performance in the next session to reclaim the provisional number one spot.
On Saturday, Johnson slowed in the third qualifying session to a 5.369 at 265.43 mph but posted a solid 5.285 at 271.95 mph in the final qualifying session to secure the No. 3 qualifying position heading into eliminations.
On race day, Johnson rose to the occasion in her first-ever 4-Wide elimination round, taking the win in her opening quad with a starting line advantage and laying down the team’s best pass of the weekend, a 5.259 at 273.72 mph. Her time was the quickest and fastest of the group, advancing her alongside runner-up Jackie Fricke (5.263 at 271.57 mph) to the next round.
The momentum, however, came to a halt in round two when Johnson encountered immediate tire smoke at the hit. Despite an attempt to pedal, the car failed to recover, and she was forced to lift, clocking an 8.590 at 113.42 mph. Joey Severance (5.288 at 269.56 mph) and Mitch Myers (5.423 at 262.49 mph) advanced to the final quad.
Reflecting on the weekend, Johnson said, “I’m pleased with the progress we made this weekend. My current goal is to be more consistent at the starting line and while the 4-Wide format is a tricky place to work on that, I’m proud of the focus I maintained there. It was a unique challenge, but I enjoyed the different format – it kept me on my toes. The guys have been doing a great job with the car which has also built my confidence in the seat.”
McPhillips Racing’s track record at this event remained strong, having won it in 2023 with Tony Stewart behind the wheel. While a repeat win wasn’t in the cards this year, tuner and team co-owner Rich McPhillips Jr. remained confident in the team’s trajectory.
“We left Pomona knowing we needed to be more aggressive on the tune up and got right after it in Vegas setting low E.T. and top speed of the first two qualifying sessions here,” McPhillips Jr. noted. “We feel like the car and driver are coming together as we head into our first regional in Indy. Mel is getting more comfortable with every run and it shows. We have to start going rounds and gather up points to stay in the mix.”
With both Johnson and McPhillips Racing aiming squarely at championship contention, the focus shifts to the next event – the first North Central Regional of the 2025 season during Cleetus & Cars at Indianapolis Raceway Park, May 2–3.
