READING, Pa. (Sept. 10, 2025) – Dave Richards and the BlueBird Turf / Versatran Ford Mustang Funny Car team recognize the opportunity they have as they enter the NHRA Reading Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, the kickoff event of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
As the first of six races in the NHRA’s playoff series the Reading Nationals is a critical opportunity for Richards, who sits 13th in the points standings, just 30 points shy of the top 10, to make a move in the Funny Car standings.
“We know we’re lucky to be in the Countdown to the Championship, to contend for the title, the real goal is breaking into the top 10,” said Richards. “It’s been a rocky road, and we’ve fixed issues just to run into more but I’m confident in the team. We know it’s all working in the right direction. It’s hard to believe there’s only six races left. I’m really hoping we’re going to get things right at Maple Grove, we have to.”
Having competed in the full regular season, notably for only the second time in his career, Richards and his BlueBird Turf team secured their spot in the playoffs despite being out of the top 10 following the regular season finale at the U.S. Nationals. They’ve reached the semifinals twice in 2025, including a strong showing at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals and NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee. The BlueBird team’s sights are set on a strong performance at Maple Grove Raceway. The team is focused on fine-tuning their Ford Mustang Funny Car to deliver a breakout result in the Countdown opener.
Competition at the Reading Nationals begins with four qualifying runs Friday at 3:30 and 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 4 p.m. with eliminations slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Sunday with a qualifying show at noon ET followed by eliminations coverage at 2 p.m. ET. Fans can catch all the action live on nhra.TV NHRA’s streaming service.
