BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 15, 2026) – SCAG Racing wrapped up the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway with Daniel Wilkerson advancing to the Funny Car final round to lead the team’s efforts.
Driving the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Funny Car, Wilkerson qualified No. 6 with a 4.126-second pass at 309.06 mph before turning on three win lights on Sunday to advance to the final round.
Wilkerson opened eliminations with a first-round victory over JR Todd. Both drivers posted identical .069-second reaction times, and Wilkerson’s 4.045 at 321.35 mph was enough to defeat Todd’s 4.744 at 175.66 mph.
In the second round, Wilkerson left first against Jack Beckman with a .061 reaction time to Beckman’s .079 and secured the win with a 4.041 at 319.52 mph over Beckman’s 4.065 at 319.07 mph.
The SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang continued its strong performance in the semifinals where Wilkerson again held the starting-line advantage, posting a .057 reaction time to Ron Capps’ .088. Wilkerson advanced to the final round on a 4.023-second run at 320.51 mph, defeating Capps’ 4.058 at 299.40 mph.
In the final round against Matt Hagan, Wilkerson was narrowly behind at the starting line and quickly encountered tire smoke. Despite efforts to recover, he was unable to regain traction, recording a 6.317 at 128.89 mph while Hagan claimed the event victory with a 4.125 at 310.91 mph.
“The team and I have suffered through the last couple of months with a really terrible set of unrelated issues plaguing us,” Wilkerson said. “They worked hard and kept their chins up the whole time, for that I’m beyond grateful. So to get in the finals today for those guys, it’s everything. Randy and Maria have been sharing a song from SCAG this whole time. They’ve become more than just team owners, they’ve become like family too. And I have decided that the reason we didn’t win today is because my family wasn’t here, so it wasn’t meant to be. We’ll go win Norwalk at Summit Motorsports Park.”
In Top Fuel competition, Justin Ashley qualified No. 13 in the SCAG Power Equipment dragster with a 3.929 at 319.37 mph. Ashley faced Tony Stewart in the first round of eliminations and gained the starting-line advantage with a .040 reaction time to Stewart’s .065. Ashley ran a solid 3.912 at 320.36 mph but came up short against Stewart’s 3.841 at 325.53 mph.
“We didn’t get the outcome we expected on the racetrack today but that won’t stop us moving forward,” Ashley said. “Our process is good which means the results will follow soon. When you’re surrounded by good people, good things happen. That’s exactly what we have. Daniel did an awesome job today representing all of Scag Nation. I’m so proud to call him a teammate and friend.”
Will Smith and the BlueBird Turf Top Fuel team entered the weekend looking for their third first-round win of the season. Smith qualified No. 15 with a best run of 4.219 seconds at 227.57 mph and matched up against No. 2 qualifier Antron Brown in the first round on Sunday.
Smith got the jump off the starting line with a .056-second reaction time to Brown’s .069 and ran a 3.871 at 324.67 mph. Despite the strong effort, Brown advanced with a 3.805 at 328.78 mph.
“It was a challenging weekend here for us at Bristol, but we got our BlueBird Turf hot rod down through there first round,” Smith said. “Just wasn’t as quick as we had hoped. Came up short first round, but we’ll regroup, get everything ready for Norwalk in a couple weeks. We had an amazing time with our dealers and distributors and getting to give them a firsthand look at what we do at SCAG Racing. Look forward to seeing everyone in Norwalk.”
Dave Richards qualified No. 10 in the BlueBird Turf Funny Car with a 4.177 at 281.13 mph and faced two-time Funny Car world champion Austin Prock in the first round. Richards ran the quicker elapsed time with a 4.064 at 320.28 mph compared to Prock’s 4.081 at 302.69 mph, but Prock’s starting-line advantage gave him the win. Richards posted a .129-second reaction time while Prock left with a .079, resulting in a holeshot victory for Prock.
“This one stings a little bit,” Richards said. “I know I’ll do better. I know I’ll get better. It’s beyond good to know that all of my guys really have got my back and they support me. It’s also good to know that we’ve got a car that actually outran the two-time World Champion today. Good things are coming. I’m thankful to have BlueBird Turf, SCAG Power Equipment, and Maria and Randy behind me. We’re going to leave here with our heads held high and like I said last week, we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
The post DANIEL WILKERSON LEADS SCAG RACING WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH AT THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS appeared first on Justin Ashley Racing.
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Driving the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Funny Car, Wilkerson qualified No. 6 with a 4.126-second pass at 309.06 mph before turning on three win lights on Sunday to advance to the final round.
Wilkerson opened eliminations with a first-round victory over JR Todd. Both drivers posted identical .069-second reaction times, and Wilkerson’s 4.045 at 321.35 mph was enough to defeat Todd’s 4.744 at 175.66 mph.
In the second round, Wilkerson left first against Jack Beckman with a .061 reaction time to Beckman’s .079 and secured the win with a 4.041 at 319.52 mph over Beckman’s 4.065 at 319.07 mph.
The SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang continued its strong performance in the semifinals where Wilkerson again held the starting-line advantage, posting a .057 reaction time to Ron Capps’ .088. Wilkerson advanced to the final round on a 4.023-second run at 320.51 mph, defeating Capps’ 4.058 at 299.40 mph.
In the final round against Matt Hagan, Wilkerson was narrowly behind at the starting line and quickly encountered tire smoke. Despite efforts to recover, he was unable to regain traction, recording a 6.317 at 128.89 mph while Hagan claimed the event victory with a 4.125 at 310.91 mph.
“The team and I have suffered through the last couple of months with a really terrible set of unrelated issues plaguing us,” Wilkerson said. “They worked hard and kept their chins up the whole time, for that I’m beyond grateful. So to get in the finals today for those guys, it’s everything. Randy and Maria have been sharing a song from SCAG this whole time. They’ve become more than just team owners, they’ve become like family too. And I have decided that the reason we didn’t win today is because my family wasn’t here, so it wasn’t meant to be. We’ll go win Norwalk at Summit Motorsports Park.”
In Top Fuel competition, Justin Ashley qualified No. 13 in the SCAG Power Equipment dragster with a 3.929 at 319.37 mph. Ashley faced Tony Stewart in the first round of eliminations and gained the starting-line advantage with a .040 reaction time to Stewart’s .065. Ashley ran a solid 3.912 at 320.36 mph but came up short against Stewart’s 3.841 at 325.53 mph.
“We didn’t get the outcome we expected on the racetrack today but that won’t stop us moving forward,” Ashley said. “Our process is good which means the results will follow soon. When you’re surrounded by good people, good things happen. That’s exactly what we have. Daniel did an awesome job today representing all of Scag Nation. I’m so proud to call him a teammate and friend.”
Will Smith and the BlueBird Turf Top Fuel team entered the weekend looking for their third first-round win of the season. Smith qualified No. 15 with a best run of 4.219 seconds at 227.57 mph and matched up against No. 2 qualifier Antron Brown in the first round on Sunday.
Smith got the jump off the starting line with a .056-second reaction time to Brown’s .069 and ran a 3.871 at 324.67 mph. Despite the strong effort, Brown advanced with a 3.805 at 328.78 mph.
“It was a challenging weekend here for us at Bristol, but we got our BlueBird Turf hot rod down through there first round,” Smith said. “Just wasn’t as quick as we had hoped. Came up short first round, but we’ll regroup, get everything ready for Norwalk in a couple weeks. We had an amazing time with our dealers and distributors and getting to give them a firsthand look at what we do at SCAG Racing. Look forward to seeing everyone in Norwalk.”
Dave Richards qualified No. 10 in the BlueBird Turf Funny Car with a 4.177 at 281.13 mph and faced two-time Funny Car world champion Austin Prock in the first round. Richards ran the quicker elapsed time with a 4.064 at 320.28 mph compared to Prock’s 4.081 at 302.69 mph, but Prock’s starting-line advantage gave him the win. Richards posted a .129-second reaction time while Prock left with a .079, resulting in a holeshot victory for Prock.
“This one stings a little bit,” Richards said. “I know I’ll do better. I know I’ll get better. It’s beyond good to know that all of my guys really have got my back and they support me. It’s also good to know that we’ve got a car that actually outran the two-time World Champion today. Good things are coming. I’m thankful to have BlueBird Turf, SCAG Power Equipment, and Maria and Randy behind me. We’re going to leave here with our heads held high and like I said last week, we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
The post DANIEL WILKERSON LEADS SCAG RACING WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH AT THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS appeared first on Justin Ashley Racing.
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