Will Smith and the Bluebird Turf Top Fuel team delivered a milestone performance Sunday at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, racing to their first career final round to lead SCAG Racing at World Wide Technology Raceway.
The breakthrough weekend came as SCAG Racing debuted its pink SCAG ‘Warrior’ race cars in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout the weekend, breast cancer survivors and those currently fighting the disease were invited to add their signatures to the race cars, carrying their names and stories down the track with the SCAG Racing teams.
Smith entered race day from the No. 14 qualifying position after a best run of 3.742 seconds at 332.75 mph. He opened eliminations against No. 3 qualifier Maddi Gordon, leaving first with a .056 reaction time to Gordon’s .061 and powering to a 3.722-second pass at 333.00 mph. Gordon encountered trouble and slowed to a 4.847 at 151.51 mph, sending Smith into the second round.
The Bluebird Turf team continued its charge in the second round against Tony Stewart. Stewart held a slight starting-line advantage with a .054 reaction time to Smith’s .076, but Smith powered to a 3.721 at 331.69 mph to edge Stewart’s 3.762 at 333.82 mph and advanced to his second consecutive semifinal.
Smith turned that semifinal appearance into another career milestone against Shawn Reed. Smith grabbed the starting-line advantage with a .040 reaction time to Reed’s .067 and never surrendered the lead, recording a 3.994 at 275.17 mph to Reed’s 4.164 at 255.10 mph and advancing to the first Top Fuel final round of his career.
Facing championship leader and No. 1 qualifier Shawn Langdon in the final, Smith once again left first with a .044 reaction time to Langdon’s .059. The Bluebird Turf dragster began to lose traction downtrack, slowing to a 4.024 at 269.03 mph while Langdon recorded a 3.732 at 335.90 mph for the victory.
The runner-up finish moved Smith to fifth in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings with 2,209 points, with three races remaining in the 2026 season.
“What a weekend for our Bluebird Turf Top Fuel Dragster and the entire SCAG Racing team,” said Smith. “We made our first final round, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the progress this team continues to make! We didn’t quite get the job done in the final, but making the final is a huge step forward, and we’re hungry for more!
“A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this weekend so special, especially all of the amazing people who came out and signed our cars as part of the SCAG Warrior promotion. Your stories, support, and signatures will ride with us down the track, and it means more than you know.
“And to our incredible SCAG dealers, customers, employees, and all of #SCAGNation – THANK YOU! Your support is what makes all of this possible, and we’re proud to represent you every time we pull through the gates. The guys have been working their tails off all year, and the progress is really starting to show. We’re building something special, and we’re not done yet. First final in the books. Now it’s time to get ready for Dallas!”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team also put together a strong Sunday in Madison, advancing to the semifinals.
Ashley qualified No. 12 with a 3.737 at 331.36 mph before facing Billy Torrence in the opening round. Ashley’s .035 reaction time gave him a sizable advantage over Torrence’s .096, and it proved critical as his 3.766 at 332.02 mph held off Torrence’s quicker 3.708 at 338.43 mph by just .0033 seconds at the finish line.
After a timing and scoring malfunction in Ashley’s second-round matchup with Jasmine Salinas required the pair to rerun, Ashley finished the job with a .040 reaction time to Salinas’ .094 and a 3.764 at 332.75 mph. Salinas encountered traction trouble and slowed to a 9.618 at 83.33 mph.
Ashley met No. 1 qualifier Langdon in the semifinals and once again delivered on the starting line, leaving first with a .037 reaction time to Langdon’s .085. Ashley crossed the finish line in 3.810 seconds at 330.88 mph, but Langdon’s 3.733 at 336.65 mph was enough to overcome the starting-line deficit and end Ashley’s day.
With the semifinal appearance, Ashley leaves Madison 10th in the Top Fuel point standings with 2,154 points.
“I’d first like to start by complimenting our teammate Will Smith and his Bluebird Turf team for a career-best final round finish,” said Ashley. “They did a great job. As it pertains to our SCAG Power Equipment team, I thought we had a productive day. We maintained our composure during circumstances outside of our control. That says a lot about the focus and discipline of our guys. We feel good about picking up a few more round wins today. Now it’s time to finish the season strong over this final home stretch. A special thanks to SCAG Power Equipment, Mac Tools, Mobil 1, Impact, FastTz, and all the employees working so hard at Metalcraft of Mayville. We’re grateful for you.”
In Funny Car, teammates Daniel Wilkerson and Dave Richards found themselves paired against one another in the opening round of eliminations. Wilkerson used a .045 reaction time and a 4.006-second pass at 315.93 mph to advance over Richards, whose Pink ‘Warrior’ encountered trouble and slowed to a 4.753.
Wilkerson moved on to face No. 1 qualifier Jack Beckman in the second round. The SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang ran into trouble early and slowed to a 10.720 at 81.43 mph while Beckman advanced with a 3.870 at 331.28 mph.
Wilkerson leaves the NHRA Midwest Nationals eighth in the Funny Car point standings with 2,174 points.
“Not the way we wanted to finish out the weekend, but there’s still a lot of positives to take away from this weekend,” said Wilkerson. “We had a fast ‘Warrior’ Edition breast cancer awareness SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang and we have the baddest group of guys working hard to get this thing to go fast. Hats off to my team for never giving up and continuing to push through no matter what gets thrown at us. We’ll take what we learned here in St. Louis and have something waiting for everyone in Dallas.”
Despite the first-round exit, Richards left Madison encouraged by the continued progress of his Funny Car program and proud to debut the team’s Pink Warrior scheme. Richards sits 11th in the Funny Car point standings heading into the final three races of the season.
“Overall another good weekend for our team,” said Richards. “It’s great to unveil the Pink Warrior car for Breast Cancer Awareness. I can’t wait for more breast cancer survivors and fighters to come sign our car. I’m also really excited to get to Dallas. The consistency is really picking up with the car. We’re consistently getting better every weekend, and I know it’s coming. Three races left this year to make something out of it.”
SCAG Racing now turns its attention to the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, Oct. 9-18, as Smith looks to build on his first career final-round appearance and the team continues the final stretch of the 2026 season.
This story was originally published on October 6, 2026. 
