SCAG Racing wrapped up the 36th annual Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways with a pair of quarterfinal finishes, as Justin Ashley and Daniel Wilkerson both advanced to round two in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively. Teammate Dave Richards made the show in dramatic fashion but exited in the opening round after facing off with Wilkerson.
Wilkerson qualified fifth in the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang Funny Car with a strong 3.926-second pass at 327.51 mph, setting up an all-SCAG round-one battle with teammate Dave Richards. Richards, who qualified on his final attempt with a 4.026 at 311.05, encountered issues in the opening round and slowed to a 5.613 at 136.36, while Wilkerson laid down a clean 3.909 at 325.37 to move on.
“It was great weekend having all my family at the track. Our relatives from Canada came down, my wife and girls were here, it was great,” said Richards. “It felt great qualifying on that last run on Saturday, a little more suspenseful than I think we would have liked but it all worked out. We’re still working hard on our tune-up and our program but it’s all coming along. It’s going to start clicking real soon and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Wilkerson’s day ended in the quarterfinals against three-time world champ Ron Capps. Wilkerson got off the starting line first and posted a solid 3.942 at 328.38 mph, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Capps’ 3.909 at 333.41.
“This SCAG Mustang car improved every run it made… except the last one,” said Wilkerson. “It’s a little easier for me to take a loss when we all put our best foot forward and just came up short. It’s a bummer we had to race our teammate first round because they have a good car too. Our time is right around the corner when we have one of these Funny Cars and Justin’s dragster in the winners circle.”
In Top Fuel, Justin Ashley came into race day as the No. 6 qualifier with a 3.763 at 329.50 mph. His first-round opponent, Shawn Reed, was unable to make the call after a crash during qualifying, giving Ashley a solo pass to start eliminations. The SCAG dragster smoked the tires and coasted to an 11.887 at 77.15.
Ashley’s second-round matchup against Doug Kalitta proved to be a challenge. After spinning the tires mid-track, Ashley managed to recover for a 3.876 at 280.78 mph, but Kalitta was already charging to a blistering 3.676 at 337.92 mph to take the win.
“There was a lot to learn from this weekend that we can apply beginning in Sonoma,” said Ashley, who entered the event on a two-race win streak. “We strung together a few very good races leading up to this one and feel confident about doing the same moving forward. We just struggled more than expected in round two, but during a 20-race season that comes with the territory. We have the best team in the business, and I am very proud to be a part of it. Our whole SCAG Power Equipment team is focused and ready for race two of the Western Swing.”
SCAG Racing resumes their Western Swing campaign next weekend at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 25-27, at Sonoma Raceway.
This story was originally published on July 21, 2025. 
