Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster carried the banner for SCAG Racing with a strong quarterfinal effort at this weekend’s DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway. Teammates Dave Richards and Daniel Wilkerson both saw their days end in the opening round of Funny Car eliminations.
Ashley qualified eighth with a solid 3.741-second pass at 332.43 mph. In the first round, he squared off against Clay Millican and used a signature holeshot to grab the win. Ashley left the line with a .035 light and posted a 3.750 at 331.04 mph to hold off Millican’s quicker-but-later 3.718 at the same speed.
In the quarterfinals, Ashley met reigning Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown. Despite a clean 3.817-second run at 322.42 mph, it wasn’t enough to outrun Brown’s 3.740 at 336.15 mph.
“The Western Swing gave us a good opportunity to compete in cooler weather, which is critical looking ahead to the Countdown,” said Ashley, referencing the upcoming NHRA playoffs. “We can take a lot from this weekend and apply it down the stretch. Ultimately, the goal is to perform at our best in the Fall, and I believe we took a big step toward that this weekend.”
In Funny Car, Dave Richards and the BlueBird Turf / Versatran Ford Mustang team continued to battle gremlins. Despite qualifying 13th with a career-best 325.61 mph and a 3.952 E.T., early parachute deployment in round one slowed Richards to a 4.367 at 201.43 mph, falling to Paul Lee’s 4.051 at 251.72.
“It feels great seeing the performance improvement of this race car,” said Richards. “It’s exciting to run a career best — proof we’re making strides. We just need to get the parachute issue solved. It’s been a frustrating challenge.”
Daniel Wilkerson, driving the SCAG Ford Mustang, qualified fifth with a 3.908 at 323.58 mph despite a significant explosion on Friday that forced the team to switch cars. Facing Ford Performance teammate Bob Tasca III in round one, Wilkerson launched first but lost traction and pedaled through dropped cylinders before suffering another engine explosion. His 4.615 at 277.66 couldn’t catch Tasca’s 4.085 at 280.14.
“I’m just disappointed in myself,” said Wilkerson. “I truly believed I could catch Tasca when I saw he had holes out, but in hindsight, I never had a chance. It was a costly mistake. I’m incredibly thankful for SCAG, Summit Racing, and Ford Performance — we’re going to need their support to bounce back.”
The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series continues August 15–17 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota.
This story was originally published on July 28, 2025. 
