Dave Richards and the BlueBird Turf / Versatran machine enter this weekend’s Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway determined to showcase their true potential.
Richards, in his second season of running the full Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series schedule, is currently sitting 14th in points after his first career semifinal appearance at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals that was followed up by a quarterfinal exit at the Charlotte Four-Wide event. Last week in Epping, New Hampshire, Richards qualified 14th for the New England Nationals but had a first round exit.
“I’m excited to get back to the racetrack. Not just because Bristol Dragway is one of my favorite tracks, but because the results from last weekend didn’t show where this BlueBird Turf team is at,” Richards said. “It’s all coming together, I’m excited about it. We’re going to keep working hard and stick to our plan.”
After years of racing a partial season, this will be Richards’ fifth appearance at Bristol Dragway. His first experience Thunder Valley was in 2016 where he qualified No. 12, he improved in 2021, qualifying No. 8. In 2023 and 2024 he secured the No. 15 qualifying spot. Richards will be racing for his first win light at the famed facility.
The Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals kicks off with four sessions of qualifying Friday at 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m., followed by eliminations on Sunday at noon. Fans can catch the action on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET and live all weekend on the NHRA.tv streaming platform.
This story was originally published on June 5, 2025. 
