Bo Butner's JHG Chevrolet comes alive in Las Vegas Four-Wide qualifying

LAS VEGAS (April 2, 2022) – Bo Butner was grinning widely after qualifying on Saturday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and rightfully so. His Johnson's Horsepowered Garage Chevrolet Camaro hadn't yet shown its full potential, so when he made the second-best run of the session in the third round of qualifying for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, he knew he was good and ready for raceday. 

"I'm very happy," said Butner. "I was excited coming here after a really good test session, and we made two good, safe runs on Friday. We tried a newer engine for today, and it was good, so we're definitely looking forward to Sunday."

Butner's first pass out of the gate was a 6.693-second journey down the quarter mile at 204.57 mph to take a position in the top half of the field. In the next session, he clocked a 6.683, 205.19 to end the day in the No. 8 spot.

Heading into Saturday with a fresh bullet in the engine compartment, Butner and his #JHGDriven crew were eager for the first session of the day to really assess what they had.

"It barely shook, but it was just enough to make it happy," said Butner, who raced to a 6.662, 204.82 and claimed two bonus points as the second-quickest of the round. "We're happy, but we're still trying, so that second run today [6.696, 205.57] was more aggressive at the hit and didn't make it through there very well. It shook a little bit more, and we gave it up. But it was like a raceday test for us this weekend. We haven't had a car we could count on until now. So yes, I'm very happy."

The four-wide format calls for four drivers at a time to race one another, and No. 3 qualifier Butner's first-round quad will include No. 14 Chris McGaha, No. 6 Dallas Glenn, and No. 11 Fernando Cuadra Sr. The two quickest cars of the quad will advance to the second round.

"I love four-wide," admitted Butner, the 2019 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals winner who claimed the first triple holeshot in drag racing by leaving first and getting the trophy despite a slower elapsed time than those of his three opponents. "Don't get me wrong, you want to win every round, but in four-wide racing you can either be first or second place and move on. The day goes by fast, and that just means if you win there's more time to celebrate."

Sponsor Jason Johnson was elated after Saturday's good showing for his Johnson's Horsepowered Garage Pro Stock car.

"I'm thinking it's going to be a good race tomorrow," he said. "The whole crew is doing a good job of making sure we get down the track as fast as we can, and it's going to be competitive. I like the four-wide – the day goes by quick, but how could you not like seeing that much horsepower at once on the track? We're looking forward to it, for sure."

Final eliminations for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will take place on Sunday, April 3, 2022, beginning at noon PT.

Qualifying results:

Q1: 6.693, 204.57 mph (No. 7)

Q2: 6.683, 205.19 (No. 8)

Q3: 6.662, 204.82 (No. 3, +2 bonus qualifying points)

Q4: 6.696, 205.57 (No. 3)