A rolling tide of persuasion has washed away the line drawn in the sand by the PRO board when it comes to four-wide racing.

NHRA President Tom Compton announced today there would be four wide racing at zMAX Dragway in 2011 and the event would be a championship points event.

Compton and Graham Light, NHRA Vice President of Racing Operations, sat down with the PRO Board for nearly two hours this morning to discuss issues which were revealed in a letter sent to the NHRA and Bruton Smith, owner of zMAX Dragway by PRO. At the end of the meeting, according to Compton, the drivers and owners sitting on the PRO board understood why the four wide racing format needed to be run again in 2011.

"Let me just cut to the chase," said Compton to open the announcement. "We are going to return to Charlotte next year with the four wide format. We think there are a number of areas we can work on to make the experience better. We know on television there are a number of things we can do to enhance the experience."

Compton also talked about how in the stands the NHRA can do a better job letting fans know how four wide racing actually works. They are also ways to improve on the issues which are important to the competitors - including better sponsor coverage and improvements on the tree.

Attitude Apparel's Competitionplus.com is currently working on a broader story about the four wide racing format.