If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.

That was the mantra for Vincent Nobile on Sunday as the Elite Motorsports driver went through a trio of engines over the course of the weekend, ending with a surprise win at the 19th annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Nobile bettered KB Racing drivers Deric Kramer and Bo Butner in the four-wide final, posting a 6.690-second pass at 206.80 mph with a solid .019 reaction time in the Mountain View Auto Chevrolet Camaro to drive around Kramer who finished second with a 6.678 at 206.45 mph. Butner finished third with a 6.682 at 206.57 mph, while Chris McGaha finished fourth after going red.

With the win, Nobile snaps a 30-race winless streak dating back to Maple Grove in 2016 to collect career Wally number 11.

“We actually worked our butts off this weekend. That was our third engine of the weekend, which is three too many for a Pro Stock car,” Nobile said. “On Friday we struggled in qualifying which, unbeknownst to us, our engine was hurting. We didn’t necessarily break anything, it was just wearing itself out. Then we put in a second bullet and that thing was more of a turd. Then, finally, after first round we put in our backup-backup and that is obviously the one that should have been in the frame rails from the beginning.

“All-in-all it was a great weekend. I can’t thank my team enough. I know we have a great car, great team, there is no reason we can’t be in the winner’s circle again soon.”

Nobile advanced to his 22nd career final round with a second-place finish in the semifinals behind McGaha, posting a 6.674 to McGaha’s 6.675 to see the pair advance, and ahead of Greg Anderson and Matt Hartford. In the opening round Nobile again was second behind Anderson with a 6.725 to Anderson’s 6.668 to advance, eliminating Joey Grose and Erica Enders.

The crazy finishes were just part of the excitement that is generated from the unique four-wide format, one that forces drivers to abandon their comfort zones and step into uncharted territory.

“My routine changes a little bit,” Nobile said. “The staging process is obviously different. You are staging against two more cars and you have no time to waste. If you don’t get in, you are going to be timed out. That is just one extra thing you have to focus on at these races.”

Nobile had been working his way back toward success this season, taking the top qualifier award in Pomona to start the season and advancing to the semifinals in Gainesville, but this weekend the team was able to put it all together to collect the first Elite Motorsports win since June of last year.

“We sat (the car) at the end of the (last) year to recoup. We got a new Jerry Haas racecar and the thing is working great. The Elite guys went to work over the winter and they definitely found some horsepower,” Nobile said. “The car has been running good, we just haven’t had much luck this year. We qualified first in Pomona, did decent in Phoenix until a relay popped out on me and Gainesville wasn’t too bad with the semifinal finish, and now here we are in the winner’s circle.”

And Nobile said he could feel that extra horsepower behind him, giving him an extra shot of confidence as the rounds ticked off on Sunday.

“It is definitely a confidence booster when you know you have the car behind you. You can only do so much as a driver when we are separated by a few thousandths of a second and if you don’t have the car as well as the driver, you don’t have a winning combination,” Nobile said. “I have to be on my game and the car has to be on its game or you are not going to win the race. Getting our first final for Elite, that is great for the whole team.

“This is also my fifth or sixth final in Vegas and we finally got it done. This place treats me pretty well, we have been knocking on the door for a while now and I am pretty stoked about it.”