POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 17, 2024) – The first season of the SCAG Racing, NHRA’s first factory team, came to a close Sunday at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip with Daniel Wilkerson’s quarterfinal exit and No. 7 points finish, Justin Ashley’s third place finish and Dave Richards’ 12th place finish.
Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang team wrapped their 2024 NHRA Drag Racing Series season with a quarterfinal exit at the NHRA Finals. Their 3.926 pass at 206.88 would come up short to reigning world champion Matt Hagan’s 3.856 at 333.66.
Wilkerson started the day from the No. 12 position off a 3.903-second pass at 308.92 mph. His first round opponent was fellow Ford Mustang driver Bob Tasca III. Tasca would smoke the tires and pedal his Mustang to a 5.774 pass at 125.85 and watch Wilkerson drive off to a 3.910 at 333.08.
“For some reason I was insanely emotional this morning. I cried like a little baby during the anthem. I think the gravity of this being the last one of the year just kind of hit me all at once,” said Wilkerson who walks away from the 2024 season seventh in points. “I cannot believe the friendships I have made this season with new teammates, our PR team, Metalcraft of Mayville employees, SCAG dealers and distributors. This program is truly amazing for so many reasons beyond drag racing and our on track performance. I’m proud to be a part of it and I can’t wait to keep doing it for a long time to come.
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster team had their fate in their hands entering raced day from the No. 5 qualifying position with a first round matchup against third in points Antron Brown. It would be a side-by-side solid drag race with Brown getting the better of the track going 3.696 at 331.53 to Ashley’s 3.704 at 330.31. Brown would go on to win the event and the world championship when he defeated second in points Shawn Langdon in the second round and two-time champions Brittany Force in the semifinals.
“I thought the first round was a perfect representation of what Top Fuel was about in 2024. It’s a game of inches and unfortunately, we came up just a bit short to start the day. That one round certainly wasn’t a reflection of all that we accomplished this year as a team,” sad Ashley who finishes the season third in points. “I couldn’t be more proud to represent SCAG power equipment, Metalcraft of Mayville, Toyota, Impact, Lucas Oil, Mac Tools, KATO and Phillips. Our team is second to none and they worked tirelessly to put ourselves in a position to win every race. As I reflect, I can’t help but be grateful for what was our best year ever.
Dave Richards and the Bluebird / Versatran team entered the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals on an upward swing over the past two races. Concluding their 2024 season did not go their way. With three qualifying tries, Richards did not qualify to compete on race day. The BlueBird team’s best pass was a 7.543 second run at 85.09 mph to end up No. 18.
“That was definitely not the way we saw our season ending. We had been on a bit of a roll running 3-second runs, we were feeling good. We just had a bunch of small things plague us this weekend, one thing after another,” said Richards who finishes his first full NHRA season No. 12 in points. “This BlueBird team is bummed, but this was a building year. We’ve built up some data for all the tracks and we’re ready to keep moving forward. We’ll keep working hard and next year we’ll be ahead of where we are now. We’re thankful to SCAG Racing, SCAG Power Equipment, Metalcraft of Mayville for the opportunity we have and to be able look ahead to next year knowing we’re going to be out here doing it all again.”
SCAG Racing will celebrate the end of the 2024 season at the NHRA Awards Banquet Monday night before celebrating the holidays and preparing for the 2025 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season.
