DINWIDDIE, Va. (June 23, 2024) – Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang team advanced to the quarterfinals of the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals Sunday at Virginia Motorsports Park to lead the three-car SCAG Racing team.
Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang team qualified No. 8 with a 4.071 second pass at 307.30 mph on Saturday. They would match up with Paul Lee in the first round. Wilkerson would have a 4.799-second pass at 174.55 mph after smoking the tires down track. Luckily Lee smoked the tires early coasting to a 6.193 at 108.60.
“We survived this weekend. We were actually really proud of yesterday, improved every run in qualifying. We thought we were in a good spot for today,” Wilkerson said. “We got really lucky first round and thought we knew what to do to be ready for the second round. We just had too much. We will take what we learned this weekend to one of our favorite places, Summit Motorsports Park for the Summit NHRA Nationals.”
After qualifying No. 9 with a 3.950-second pass at 311.70 mph, Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota dragster team faced off with four-time champion Steve Torrence in the first round. The SCAG Toyota dragster put a cylinder out early in the run for Ashley to cross the finish line at 4.499 seconds and 187.65 mph, not enough for Torrence’s 4.010 at 298.34.
“This SCAG Power Equipment Toyota team had a tough first round matchup and just fell short against another good competitor. We expected to perform better today but ultimately these things are going to happen throughout the course of the season,” Ashley said. “We are determined to make the most of this weekend so we’ll stay and test tomorrow with the hopes of gathering more important information. Every day at the racetrack is a good day especially when you can spend time with the SCAG Racing family and all of our SCAG Power Equipment dealers and distributors. We also had a great time this weekend with KATO and our Phillips guests. We are all very blessed.”
Dave Richards and the Versatran / BlueBird Funny Car team entered this weekend’s Virginia Nationals after front-halfing their Funny Car following the Thunder Valley Nationals. The Versatran / BlueBird Funny Car team would qualify on their last attempt in the No. 16 position with a 4.476-second pass at 268.28 mph. Lined up against Bob Tasca III in the first round, Richards and the Versatran team would have their best run of the weekend with a clean 4.183-second run at 302.28 mph but come up short to Tasca’s 4.063 at 306.83.
“This was a tough weekend. This Versatran / BlueBird team worked so hard between now and Bristol. It took us a little time, qualifying was rough, but first round, we got down the track clean, that’s what we were looking for,” Richards said. “We’ll test on Monday and continue to make progress.”
SCAG Racing will continue on the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park next weekend, June 27-30.
