DINWIDDIE, Va. (June 22, 2025) – Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster team made their second consecutive final round appearance of the season Sunday at the American Rebel Light Beer NHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. In Funny Car, Daniel Wilkerson in the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang team made a semifinal appearance and Dave Richards in the BlueBird Turf / Versatran hot rod had a quarterfinal exit.
Facing former world champion Shawn Langdon in the finals, the SCAG Toyota had several holes out and blew the blower off. Justin Ashley watched Langdon pull away to a 3.940 second pass at 319.67 mph while the injured SCAG Toyota dragster crossed the finish line in 4.167 at 227.92.
“We have a very hungry team right now. That’s our fifth final round in the first nine races and that’s something we should be very proud of,” said Ashley who was in both NHRA Four-Wide Nationals final quads and finished runner-up at the Route 66 Nationals in Chicago and at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee. “This weekend these SCAG Racing guys were just outstanding. Tough conditions, quick turnarounds and they came through as they always do. We would’ve loved to win the race. We always expect to win the race, but the sport brings out the best in everybody. The good news is that we head over to Norwalk, Ohio in a few days. We’ll try to keep that momentum moving forward and go just one round further. Thanks to all of our amazing sponsors and of course the SCAG users, dealers, and owners all across the country.”
As the No. 9 qualifier, Ashley and the SCAG Toyota dragster kicked off race day with a first-round matchup against Doug Foley. Ashley handled the SCAG dragster to a 3.934 at 315.93 mph to defeat Foley’s 3.999 at 259.71 with dropped cylinders.
In the quarterfinals, Ashley took down four-time world champion Steve Torrence with a 3.925-second pass at 317.64 mph as Torrence started to lose traction and had to shut his dragster off early for a 4.568 pass at 175.96.
The win set Ashley up for an exciting semifinal matchup with former world champion Doug Kalitta. Ashley left the starting line first and had to pedal his way to a 4.422-second pass at 266.69 mph bettering Kalitta’s 5.856 at 143.76 after he ran into tire smoke.
Coming into race day as the No. 14 qualifier, Daniel Wilkerson and his SCAG Ford Mustang team made their second semifinal appearance of the season against veteran racer Jack Beckman. Wilkerson left the starting line first but drove into tire smoke almost immediately coasting to a 6.677-second pass at 145.54 mph. Beckman had a clean pass at 4.113 and 315.64.
“I am so proud of this SCAG Ford Mustang team. They worked through some downright deplorable conditions today, unbearable heat and humidity,” said Wilkerson who won the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday. “Same with our support team from SCAG these folks didn’t have to be out here supporting us, but they did. It fills me with pride to have this group of people surrounding us. I would take this weekend nine times out of ten. Great morale boost, great points weekend, and the guys get a little extra dough. Can’t wait to get to get to Norwalk and hopefully repeat.
Leading into the semis, Wilkerson took down three-time world champion Ron Capps. Wilkerson would have a solid 4.063-second pass at 316.45 mph while Capps, who left first, immediately went up in tire smoke and crossed the finish line in 10.668 at only 63.91.
Wilkerson started his day against SCAG Racing teammate Dave Richards in the BlueBird Turf / Versatran machine. Richards and the BlueBird Turf team made their quickest pass of the weekend at 4.157-seconds and 305.36 mph, but it wasn’t enough for Wilkerson’s 4.062 at 319.67.
“This BlueBird Turf team is working really hard and it’s paying off. We’re making progress, we can see it in more than just track performance,” Richards said. “It was a good race in the heat today, we learn from every run and we’re building. We’re getting there, getting there as a team, getting there with the car and I’m having to step up as a driver. It’s only going to get better and it’s going to get a lot better really soon.”
Richards and the BlueBird Turf / Versatran team entered race day from the No. 13 qualifying spot after running 4.267-seconds at 291.45 mph.
SCAG Racing continues on the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season schedule with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, race 10 of 20, June 27-29.
