READING, Pa. (Sept. 14, 2025) – The three-car SCAG Racing team closed the books on the NHRA Reading Nationals, race one of six in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six race Playoffs, Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway.
Justin Ashley and his SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster led the team as the No. 2 qualifier and a quarterfinal finish while Daniel Wilkerson in the SCAG Ford Mustang and Dave Richards in the BlueBird Turf / Versatran Ford Mustang had first round exits.
Ashley earned his No. 2 qualifying position off a stout 3.738-second pass at 331.69 mph and lined up against No. 15 qualifier Scott Farley. Ashley left the starting in an impressive .029-seconds, on trend for the 2020 Rookie of the Year, and never trailed for a 3.761-second pass at 330.31 mph that earned him lane choice in the quarterfinals. Farley smoked the tires to a 6.176 at 101.06.
In the second round, Ashley matched up with multi-time champion Steve Torrence. Ashley left the starting first but Torrence would drive around him for a 3.835-second pass at 331.77 mph that bettered Ashley’s 3.994 at 279.38.
“It was a productive weekend both on and off the racetrack in a lot of ways. I am very proud of our SCAG Power Equipment team,” Ashley said. “We qualified second and ran low ET of round one. Losing in round two was a gut punch. But this is all part of racing. It’s a long Countdown and there’s plenty of time to collect points moving forward. We are a positive bunch and ready to roll for the next one in Charlotte.”
Wilkerson entered race day from the No. 6 spot thanks to a 3.912-second pass at 329.34 mph putting him against Alexis DeJoria in the first round. Wilkerson would have a solid 3.953-second pass at 322.96 mph but his .088-second reaction time wasn’t enough to combine for the win. DeJoria left the starting line in .069 and made 3.955 pass at 329.75 for the holeshot win.
“This one was infuriating. My average light is right around .075-seconds. All I needed was .071 to win and I couldn’t muster it,” Wilkerson said. “I’ll stop seeing red when I get to hug my family tomorrow, but this one is going to sting until we get some win lights at Charlotte. I’m proud of this SCAG Ford team, we keep on keeping on. I just need to get my act together for all of our SCAG dealers and distributors, for Ford and Summit and for the fans.”
Richards and the BlueBird / Versatran team went down to the fourth qualifying session before running 4.018-seconds at 316.67 mph to get qualified in the No. 13 spot. Their efforts earned them a first-round matchup with veteran Jack Beckman in the first round. Richards’ BlueBird machine would smoke the tires to cross the finish line in 5.356-seconds at 148.71 mph while Beckman had a 3.941 run at 328.54 for the win.
“It wasn’t our day, or our weekend. We know it’s coming, the consistency, the three-second runs, we’re going to get there, I just wish we could say when,” Richards said. “We’ll keep at it; these BlueBird guys are determined and I’m confident in them. Luckily, we don’t have to wait very long to get another shot at it. We’ll be ready for Charlotte next weekend.”
The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series continues with the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals, race two of six in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, at zMAX Dragway Sept. 19-21.
