Coming off a victory at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster team know how much is on the line at this weekend’s Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
The Big Go, the last event of the regular Mission Foods NHRA season, points-and-half on the line, all things that make the U.S. Nationals one of the most prestigious races in the sport. Sitting third in points behind Toyota teammates Shawn Langdon by only 21 and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta by 105, Ashley and his SCAG team could make a move in the standings as they make a run for their first championship title.
“The U.S. Nationals is the most important race of the year. It’s the Super Bowl of drag racing. There’s seventy years of history all packed into one highly prestigious weekend,” Ashley said. “It’s an honor to compete at this event and an even bigger honor to do it with the team that we have both on and off the racetrack.”
Ashley, backed by partners like SCAG, Toyota, Phillips, Kato and Impact, has earned three victories this season. His first came at the rain delayed Winternationals his second was the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte and after battling some gremlins for a handful of races, the SCAG Toyota dragster picked up the victory at Brainerd International Raceway.
While Ashley has not picked up a victory at the U.S. Nationals, he has raced his way to the winners circle at Indianapolis Raceway Park. In 2020, when he campaigned for his Rookie of the Year title and COVID brought major adjustments to the schedule, Ashley earned the Wally at the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals at Indianapolis, the fourth event of the season, the second of four races held at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
“We feel confident heading into Indy. It’s always nice going into a race knowing you won the last one. But at the same time that’s in the past and we’re focused on the present,” Ashley said. “The competition is so tough that if we have our eye off the ball for even a split second we’ll be going home. So, we’ll take it one lap at a time and put our best foot forward. It’s our chance to work our way up in the points and solidify a good spot heading into the Countdown.”
The Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will begin with five rounds of qualifying Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 1:00 and 3:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:20 and 4:00 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled to begin Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Television coverage includes qualifying action on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday and 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday with eliminations beginning Monday at noon on FS1 and shifting to FOX Broadcasting Network (FOX) at 2:00 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published on August 28, 2024. 
