POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 14, 2024) – Dave Richards and the BlueBird / Versatran Funny Car team enter this weekend’s In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip hoping to close out their first full Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season with win lights on Sunday.
Richards and the BlueBird team found their stride at the Texas NHRA FallNationals when they laid down their first three-second run of the season and followed it up with Richards’ career best elapsed time (3.920 seconds).
Most recently at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, the BlueBird / Versatran hot rod made three of four qualifying runs in the three-second range. Despite a first-round loss to eventual semifinalist Blake Alexander, Richards again crossed the finish line with another sub-four second run.
“Overall, this season, I think our team has done well. We’ve kept our heads down and put in the work. We kept fighting and now the results are showing,” Richards said. “We wish they would have come a little sooner in the season, but I’m proud of my team and the future we are building.
Richards is currently sitting 12th in the Funny Car points standings, 85 behind Cruz Pedregon who is sitting No. 10. With points and a half up for grabs at the Finals, reaching the top 10 is not out of reach with a few win lights on Sunday.
“We know it’s going to be a tough field of Funny Cars this weekend, but the car is running well and we’re feeling pretty confident. We’ll see what we can do with the extra points,” Richards said. “It’s hard to believe the season is about to be over. We want to finish this year strong and we’re hoping our SCAG Racing team leaves with a world championship in Top Fuel.”
The In-N-Out NHRA Finals will begin with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 2:00 and 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) on Sunday with a qualifying show at 10 a.m. ET and eliminations at 4:00 p.m. ET.
