SONOMA, Calif. (July 27, 2025) – Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster team led SCAG Racing with a quarterfinal finish Sunday at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway. Funny Car teammates Dave Richards in the BlueBird / Versatran Ford Mustang and Daniel Wilkerson in the SCAG Ford Mustang exited in the first round.
Ashley and the SCAG Toyota team entered eliminations in the No. 8 spot off a 3.741-second pass at 332.43 mph setting them up for a first-round race against veteran Clay Millican. Ashley, known for his quick and consistent reaction times, picked up the win on a holeshot. His .035-second reaction time and 3.750-second pass at 331.04 mph was enough to defeat Millican’s .079 reaction time and 3.718 pass at 331.04.
In the quarterfinals, Ashley lined up against reigning world champion Antron Brown. It was a clean drag race with Ashley finishing in 3.817 seconds at 322.42 mph, but it wouldn’t be enough for Brown’s 3.740 at 336.15.
“The Western Swing [Seattle and Sonoma races] gave us a good opportunity to compete in cooler weather. That’s important because we expect similar conditions during the NHRA Countdown to the Championship,” said Ashley referencing the six race playoffs that is just two races away. “We can take a lot from this weekend and apply it down the stretch. Ultimately, the goal is to perform at our best in the Fall and I believe we took a big step towards doing that this weekend.”
Dave Richards and the BlueBird Turf team had another frustrating end to race day. The BlueBird Mustang deployed parachutes early, like it had in qualifying, slowing Richards to a 4.367-second pass at 201.43 mph that wasn’t enough for Paul Lee’s 4.051 at 251.72.
While race day wasn’t quite what the team was looking for, Richards and the BlueBird Turf / Versatran team did have a career best speed of 325.61 mph that, coupled with his 3.952-second pass earned them a No. 13 qualifying position.
“It feels great seeing the performance improvement of this race car. It is coming around and is really close to being right there with the rest of this really competitive Funny Car class,” Richars said. “It was exciting to run a career best; it’s proof of improvement. We still have a lot of work to do. First thing first, leaving no stone left unturned trying to figure out this darn parachute issue.”
Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Ford Mustang team qualified No. 5 off a 3.908-second pass at 323.58 mph. After having to change cars due to a violent explosion on Friday night, the SCAG team lined up against Ford Performance teammate Bob Tasca III in the first round.
Wilkerson left the starting line first but started to lose traction, so he pedaled the SCAG Ford and tried to stay with it, unfortunately, after dropping cylinders, the engine exploded. Wilkerson recorded a 4.615-second pass at 277.66 mph, not enough for Tasca, who also had to pedal for a 4.085 at 280.14.
“I’m just disappointed in myself, I know better than to do what I did today. In the moment I was positive I was going to catch Tasca because I saw he had holes out, but with the gift of hindsight it is obvious I never could have,” Wilkerson said. “Just a huge waste of time and money and it was preventable. Thank God we have the support of SCAG Power Equipment, Summit Racing Equipment, and Ford Performance because we are in desperate need of stuff now.”
The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season continues August 15-17 with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota.
