Charlotte, N.C (April 26, 2026) — SCAG Racing concluded the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway with second-round appearances in both Top Fuel, led by Justin Ashley, and Funny Car, powered by Dave Richards. Teammates Will Smith and Daniel Wilkerson were eliminated in the opening round.
Will Smith and the BlueBird Turf Top Fuel team delivered a strong performance in qualifying at zMAX Dragway, securing the No. 7 position with a 3.775-second pass at 331.94 mph. On race day, Smith lined up in a competitive quad alongside No. 2 qualifier Leah Pruett, No. 10 qualifier Ida Zetterström, and No. 15 qualifier and teammate Justin Ashley. Smith posted an impressive .033-second reaction time, launching second-quickest off the line behind Ashley. In a tight side-by-side run, Smith clocked a 3.748-second pass at 330.47 mph. Despite the strong effort, it was not enough to advance to the second round. Ashley led the quad with a 3.699 at 336.74 mph, followed by Pruett, who secured the second transfer spot with a 3.673 at 333.16 mph. Zetterström also came up short, running a 3.803 at 334.90 mph.
“Well of course we wanted to get our first round win here at the four wides, but we topped it off with another career best,” said Smith. “We are making progress with every run, and we are all just so happy the car is going in the right direction. I’m so happy for Glen, Scotty, and our entire BlueBird Turf team. We came up a little bit short but it was a great weekend for us and we already know the changes we need to make for next week. I can’t wait for Q1 next week at South Georgia Motorsports Park. It will be another great weekend spending time with our dealers and customers in that area as well. They all make this possible.”
Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Funny Car team faced a challenging weekend after posting a 3.993-second pass at 305.70 mph during the opening qualifying session on Friday. This positioned Wilkerson 10th heading into race day. In the first round of eliminations, Wilkerson lined up in a quad alongside No. 2 qualifier Jordan Vandergriff, teammate Dave Richards in the No. 7 spot, and No. 15 qualifier Jeff Diehl. Wilkerson was quickest off the starting line with a .060-second reaction time, but encountered tire smoke early in the run and was unable to recover, crossing the finish line third with a 6.333 at 175.37 mph. Vandergriff advanced with a strong 3.874-second pass at 326.63 mph, while Richards secured the second transfer position with a 4.965 at 267.11 mph. Diehl also lost traction early, resulting in an 8.013-second run at 91.45 mph.
“Our race car is closer than it looks,” said Wilkerson. “It actually turned the corner, but she just had too much motor to get through the shake zone. She has been slow and stuck and we got on the other side of it today. Now we can drag her to Georgia and shoot for the middle. Proud of all my teammates this weekend. This SCAG Racing team is definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Dave Richards and the BlueBird Turf Funny Car team delivered a strong qualifying performance, securing the No. 7 position with an impressive 3.939-second pass at 332.59 mph under the lights during Friday night’s second session. That effort paired Richards with No. 2 qualifier Jordan Vandergriff, No. 10 qualifier and teammate Daniel Wilkerson, and No. 15 qualifier Jeff Diehl in the opening round of eliminations. Richards advanced to the second round with a 4.965-second pass at 267.11 mph, outrunning Wilkerson (6.333 at 175.37 mph) and Diehl (8.013 at 91.45 mph), while Vandergriff led the quad with a 3.874 at 326.63 mph. In the second round, Richards faced Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, and Vandergriff. Richards posted a 4.257-second run at 222.88 mph, initially finishing second and appearing to advance to the final round. However, contact with the wall just before the finish line resulted in a disqualification. Hagan advanced with a 3.948 at 323.74 mph, joined by Beckman, who moved forward with a 4.367 at 304.05 mph. Vandergriff finished fourth with a 9.698-second pass at 72.35 mph.
“Overall, I’m really proud of our BlueBird Turf team this weekend,” said Richards. “We showed we have a competitive car, especially with that run under the lights in qualifying. On race day, we were able to take advantage of opportunities and make it down the track when it counted. Unfortunately, things got away from us there at the finish line in the second round. It’s a tough way to end the day, but I’m thankful for the hard work from this whole group. We’ll regroup, learn from it, and come back even stronger at the next one.”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team faced a challenging qualifying effort, ultimately securing the No. 15 position with a best run of 3.842 seconds at 329.34 mph. On race day, Ashley lined up in a competitive opening quad alongside No. 2 qualifier Leah Pruett, No. 7 qualifier and teammate Will Smith, and No. 10 qualifier Ida Zetterström. Ashley delivered a standout performance off the starting line with a .032-second reaction time, then powered to a 3.699-second pass at 336.74 mph to advance to the second round. Pruett secured the second transfer position with a 3.673 at 333.16 mph, while Smith posted a 3.748 at 330.47 mph and Zetterström ran a 3.803 at 334.90 mph, both falling short of advancing. In the second round, Ashley faced off against Pruett, Doug Kalitta, and Maddi Gordon. Once again, Ashley was quickest on the starting line with a .036-second reaction time, but was unable to maintain the lead downtrack. Kalitta drove to the round win with a 3.707 at 339.02 mph, while Pruett secured the second transfer spot with a 3.749 at 333.66 mph. Gordon recorded a 3.767 at 333.16 mph, and Ashley crossed the finish line in 3.774 seconds at 331.61 mph.
“It was a valiant effort for our SCAG Power Equipment team this weekend,” said Ashley. “We struggled a bit more than expected during qualifying but bounced back with a quality raceday. That speaks volumes of our guys. The weather has been varying from race to race and that’s given us the opportunity to learn even more. I love that. Thanks to Power Tool and all of our SCAG Power Equipment guests for making this race so special.”
The four-car SCAG Racing team, backed by SCAG Power Equipment and BlueBird Turf, now turns its focus to the NHRA Southern Nationals in Adel, GA, set for May 1–3.
