BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 17, 2025) – Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang team went to the quarterfinals Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Teammates Dave Richards in the BlueBird Turf / Versatran Ford Mustang Funny Car and Justin Ashley in the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster each had first round exits.
Wilkerson and the SCAG Ford Mustang team started their day from the No. 9 qualifying spot thanks to a 3.934-second pass at 324.75 mph. Wilkerson lined up against Ford Performance teammate Bob Tasca III in the first round.
Wilkerson left the starting line first and never trailed rallying to his quickest pass of the weekend at 3.919-seconds at 332.34 mph for the win while Tasca III ran into tire smoke and had to shut off for a 4.780 at 180.04.
In the semifinal round, Wilkerson matched with veteran and former world champion Jack Beckman. The race was decided at the starting line with Wilkerson going -.013 red giving Beckman, who ran into tire smoke at the hit and coasted to a 7.659-second pass at 83.86 mph, the victory.
“On Saturday night I said if we could get our Friday night front half with our Saturday back half, we have a mid 3.80 -second car. I guess we’ll never find out if that’s the case here in Brainerd after the second-round mishap,” Wilkerson said. “I will go to my grave swearing that yellow light was on before I stepped on the gas. I heard Beckman next to me rev his car up, but I guess I just went on his throttle blip. Just a bizarre deal, I guess that’s racing.
“We chipped away at our package, ran a bit faster and I’m confident we will have something for them in Indy,” Wilkerson continued. “Appreciate the support of our SCAG Racing family, all our dealers and customers that came out, we had a great time as always and can’t wait until we get to do it again and hopefully celebrate in the winners circle.”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Toyota dragster team entered race day form the No. 9 qualifying position after they ran a 3.758-second pass at 332.84 mph in the final session on Saturday afternoon. The effort earned him a first-round pairing with veteran Clay Millican.
Ashely would make his best run of the weekend with a 3.740-second pass at 332.84 mph, but it wasn’t enough for Millican’s 3.693 at 330.80. It is only the third time Ashley has had a first-round exit in 2025 and the first time since the NHRA Winternationals at the end of March.
“Every race is a challenge and this one in particular got the best of us,” Ashley said. “We put a string of great races together in the middle of the year but have struggled a bit more than we would’ve liked over the last few. That’s okay. It’s a process to be the best and that’s what we are focused on. Mike Green, Tommy DeLago, Dustin Davis, and our whole SCAG team are dialed into running fast consistently. It’s coming.”
Racing from the No. 16 spot after struggling through qualifying, Dave Richards and the BlueBird Turf / Versatran team line up against veteran racer and former world champion Jack Beckman in the first round of eliminations.
Richards would have a slight starting line advantage and make his best pass of the weekend crossing the finish line in 4.002-seconds at 319.90 mph but it wouldn’t be enough for Beckman’s 3.895 at 319.37 mph.
“Still working on fine tuning our set up. It’s getting really close, and it makes me really excited for the future of this team. We’re staying here tomorrow to test, which is exciting, hopefully we get some good laps and be ready for the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in a few weeks,” Richards said. “Today was a good race for our team. We kept Beckman and that John Force Racing team honest, we would have been there if they had slipped up. Wasn’t meant to be today but we’re happy with the numbers we’re seeing.”
The three-car SCAG Racing team next head to the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series regular season finale, the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29 – Sept. 1.
