BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 13, 2025) – Dave Richards and his BlueBird Turf / Versatran Ford Mustang Funny Car team are ready to make their mark at this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Coming off a productive outing at the specialty Night Under Fire event in Norwalk, Ohio, Richards is eager to harness recent data and push his 12,000-horsepower BlueBird Turf machine toward a breakthrough performance. Richards and his team, in only their second full-time season, have their sights set on a top 10 points finish as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series nears the Countdown to the Championship.
“Night Under Fire was an awesome event and more importantly, we were able to make four laps and learned some valuable information that we will use moving forward,” Richards said. “We’ll keep at it. We plan to test on Monday after Brainerd so looking forward to extra laps to hit the U.S. Nationals in stride. Our goal, get into the top 10.”
Richards, a determined competitor in the Funny Car ranks, is chasing consistency and momentum at the 13th of 20 events this season. The Brainerd race, a key stop before the six race Countdown, offers a chance to fine-tune the BlueBird Turf machine against a formidable field. With additional testing planned post-race, Richards and his crew are all-in on climbing the points standings.
“I’m excited for Brainerd, excited to get back into my BlueBird Turf machine,” Richards said. I’m hoping this is the weekend that we really turn the corner with our team. It’s so close I can taste it.”
The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway start with four qualifying sessions Friday at 4:30 and 6:45 p.m. and Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. with eliminations slated for Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Television coverage of the event will begin with qualifying shows Friday at 10 p.m. ET and Saturday at 7 p.m. ET FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Broadcasting Network (FOX).
