Dave Richards and the BlueBird / Versatran Funny Car team have nothing but confidence as they head into this weekend’s Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Richards and the BlueBird team are coming off a weekend at the Texas NHRA FallNationals where they not only had their first three-second run of the year but followed it up with a career best elapsed time of 3.920 seconds. It was the best run for Richards since the 2016 Finals in Pomona, California.
The BlueBird team is currently sitting 12th in the Funny Car standings, just 81 points out of the top 10, a position Richards is able to compete for because he’s participated in the full Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season schedule for the first time in his career.
“I’m more excited than ever to get back in the BlueBird / Versatran car this weekend. I feel really good about where this team is at. Vegas is one of my favorite racetracks so I’m ready to go,” said Richards. “It’s so rewarding for the guys on the team to see the results we’ve been going for all year. All their hard work is starting to pay off. Jay Ryskey and Glen Huszar are on to something and I’m really excited to go racing again after these past few weeks off.”
After some early season gremlins, getting a new-to-them car and making necessary adjustments, the BlueBird team has slowly been building consistency in qualifying and they’ll be looking for that consistency to show itself on Sunday.
The Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway kicks off with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. Eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a qualifying show Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET followed by an eliminations show at 5:00 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published on November 1, 2024. 
