Dave Richards and the Versatran / BlueBird Funny Car team have made a quick turnaround to be ready for this weekend’s DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
After suffering a sudden mechanical failure in the first round of eliminations at the NHRA Northwest Nationals just outside of Seattle, the Versatran / BlueBird car shook the tires and then took a hard right turn into the wall, causing damage to the chassis and body. Fortunately, the racing community rallied around Richards and his team.
“We don’t have a backup car yet, so it was stressful, and we thought at one point we weren’t going to make it this weekend. But the racing community is the best,” Richards said. “Randy and Kim Parker, they have an Alcohol Funny Car team and a chassis shop in Washington, they moved their schedules around to get our car in immediately. Our whole team was there trying to make it happen. Just goes to show you, never give up and things can come together! We’re more than excited to be racing in Sonoma this weekend.”
Thanks to the Parkers, Richards and the Versatran / BlueBird team have an opportunity to improve on what they’ve been building this season. Racing the full Mission Foods NHRA season for the first time, Richards and the Versatran team have had some growing pains that seemed to be somewhat alleviated by a decision to front-half their car just three races ago. With recent events, Richards and company will be hoping their progress continues.
Competition at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway kicks off with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 5:30 and 8:15 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Television coverage of qualifying will be Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) while eliminations will be on FOX Broadcasting Network (FOX) Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published on July 25, 2024. 
