LAS VEGAS (Nov. 03, 2024) – Daniel Wilkerson took the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang team to the quarterfinals at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Justin Ashley and the SCAG Toyota Top Fuel team maintained their points lead with a second-round exit and despite bowing out in the first round, Dave Richards and the BlueBird / Versatran team have found some momentum and consistency.
Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Ford Mustang team qualified eleventh for the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals with a 3.924-second pass at 326.40 mph for a matchup with four-time reigning world champion Matt Hagan. Wilkerson would have a stout run at 3.869 and 328.62 to better Hagan’s 3.901 at 327.66 for the round win.
In the quarterfinals, Wilkerson lined up against Paul Lee. Lee would get the victory on a holeshot with a .071 second reaction time and 3.897 pass at 328.46 to Wilkerson’s .094 reaction-time with a 3.896 pass at 3328.62. The second-round exit puts Wilkerson seventh in the points standings with one event left in the season.
“We had a blast with a lot of folks from Ford Performance all week-long starting Wednesday with a customer race. It was also an honor to be involved in the Summit ET bracket finals banquet on Thursday and then of course hung out with our friends from SCAG all weekend,” Wilkerson said. “We were very proud of our SCAG Mustang’s performance today. Really disappointed in myself to be the weak link second round. I’ll be mad about it for 24 hours pick myself up, dust myself off and be ready to whip ass in Pomona, California.”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Toyota team maintained their Top Fuel points lead despite a second-round exit at The Strip. Ashley started his race day from the No. 7 qualifying spot off the efforts of a 3.705-second pass at 331.94 mph. Racing against Spencer Massey first round, Ashley handled the SCAG dragster to a 3.711 pass at 329.67 to take down Massey’s 3.735 at 323.66.
In the quarterfinals, Ashley faced off with No. 3 in points, Shawn Langdon. Ashley, who is known as a stellar leaver, would get beat on a holeshot with a .052-second reaction to go with his 3.698-second, 329.26 mph pass. Langdon had a .047 reaction time to go with a 3.701 at 328.94 for the win.
“I truly believe the competition in Top Fuel is the best it’s been in NHRA history. That second-round loss is on me. I have to be better. But big picture it really speaks volumes about the high level of talent across the entire category,” Ashley said. “Truthfully, it’s an honor to just be a part of it. Now, we’ll shift our focus to Pomona. Mike Green, Tommy DeLago, Dustin Davis and the team are the best in the business. We’re in this position for a reason. It’s time to bring our A-game both on and off the racetrack for our SCAG Racing family.”
Dave Richards and the BlueBird / Versatran team entered race day from the No. 13 qualifying spot after running 3.966 seconds at 317.42 mph. Richards stayed consistent in the three second range handling the BlueBird machine to three sub-four second runs through qualifying. On race day, Richards lined up against eventual Blake Alexander. The BlueBird team would give Alexander an honest run for his money with a 3.960-secpnd pass at 315.56 mph to Alexander’s 3.876 at 323.97.
“We really want to get those Sunday win lights. But honestly, the way we’re running, you can’t really be upset. This BlueBird / Versatran team has had six out of the last nine runs in the 3.90-second range and nine out of 10 of the runs have gotten all the way down the track,” Richards said. “I’m loving it, and we’ll get there. I’m proud of this team. We’re running well, it’s what we’ve been looking to do all season and we were right there if Blake had any sort of mishap.”
The 2024 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season comes to a close with the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, November 14-17 in Southern California.
