ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (September 28, 2026) – SCAG Racing’s Bluebird Turf Top Fuel team reached a major milestone this weekend at the NHRA Nationals at The Rock, as Will Smith advanced to his first career semifinal appearance in his first full-time NHRA Top Fuel season.
Smith qualified No. 12 in the Top Fuel field with a 3.787-second pass at 330.40 mph. In the opening round of eliminations, Smith recorded a .015-second reaction time and a 3.768-second pass at 330.88 mph to defeat Josh Hart, who ran a 3.830 at 320.74 mph with a .046 reaction time. Smith continued his strong Sunday in the second round, posting a .014 reaction time and a 3.772 at 333.33 mph to defeat Leah Pruett, who also ran a 3.772 but had a .061 reaction time. The hole-shot win sent Smith to his first career semifinal, where he faced Doug Kalitta. Smith left with a .028 reaction time, but the Bluebird Turf dragster lost traction downtrack, allowing Kalitta to advance with a 3.751 at 335.82 mph to Smith’s 4.473 at 192.47 mph.
“What a day for our Bluebird Turf team in Rockingham,” said Smith. “We made our first semi-final as a team!
“We’re all absolutely ecstatic with the progress this team continues to make. The guys have done an incredible job with this hot rod, and it’s been awesome to see that hard work translate into more win lights and better performance every weekend. So proud of Glen, Scotty, Nicky and the entire crew. We’re building something special, and today was another big step forward.
“Thank you to all of our SCAG dealers, customers, partners, friends and fans who continue to support us. Now it’s time to keep the momentum rolling. St. Louis, here we come.”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team qualified No. 8 with a 3.751-second pass at 332.35 mph. Ashley opened eliminations with a .011 reaction time against Maddi Gordon, but Gordon turned on the win light with a 3.755 at 337.08 mph after Ashley’s SCAG Power Equipment dragster slowed to a 4.006 at 241.42 mph. Gordon recorded a .037 reaction time.
“We all would’ve loved to perform better but our process is coming together well,” said Ashley. “This was the fourth consecutive race we qualified in the top half of the field. That’s meaningful progress relative to the beginning of the year. The data is starting to show us something. Now we just need to take that and string together some consistency on Sundays. I am proud of our team and know that the win they badly deserve is coming soon. Looking forward to St. Louis.”
In Funny Car, Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang qualified No. 13 with a 3.982-second pass at 325.85 mph. Wilkerson opened eliminations with a .026 reaction time and a 3.931-second pass at 327.27 mph to defeat Jack Beckman, who had a .047 reaction time and ran a 3.916 at 324.44 mph. In the second round, Wilkerson posted a 3.961 at 324.68 mph, but J.R. Todd advanced with a 3.942 at 334.08 mph.
“After a pretty brutal qualifying effort, it was really great to have a pretty solid run 1st round,” said Wilkerson. “.004 is cutting it a little close but as far as championship hopes go, we really needed to beat Jack. We were excited to take down JR round 2 so we could start climbing the points a little bit, but it wasn’t in the cards for today. I say this every weekend, but I really think we got something for ‘em going forward and I’d like to be more than just a 8th place pin in their side. I think if we make a big move at St. Louis, we’ve still got a chance.”
Dave Richards qualified No. 9 in Funny Car with a 3.945-second pass at 329.43 mph. Richards faced points leader Matt Hagan in the opening round of eliminations, where Hagan recorded a 3.916 at 329.19 mph to advance over Richards’ 4.407 at 205.48 mph.
“Well, that’s a wrap on our Simply the Brave military edition bodies,” said Richards. “It was another great weekend having all the veterans come and sign it. We didn’t get the results we wanted on the race track today but we’re still putting the pieces together, and it’s gonna click real soon.”
The weekend also marked the final event for SCAG Racing’s ‘Simply the Brave’ military-edition livery, which has honored veterans and active-duty military members throughout the last seven races.
SCAG Racing will now turn its attention to the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, October 2-4.
The post SCAG RACING’S WILL SMITH EARNS FIRST SEMIFINAL APPEARANCE AT NHRA NATIONALS AT THE ROCK appeared first on Justin Ashley Racing.
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Smith qualified No. 12 in the Top Fuel field with a 3.787-second pass at 330.40 mph. In the opening round of eliminations, Smith recorded a .015-second reaction time and a 3.768-second pass at 330.88 mph to defeat Josh Hart, who ran a 3.830 at 320.74 mph with a .046 reaction time. Smith continued his strong Sunday in the second round, posting a .014 reaction time and a 3.772 at 333.33 mph to defeat Leah Pruett, who also ran a 3.772 but had a .061 reaction time. The hole-shot win sent Smith to his first career semifinal, where he faced Doug Kalitta. Smith left with a .028 reaction time, but the Bluebird Turf dragster lost traction downtrack, allowing Kalitta to advance with a 3.751 at 335.82 mph to Smith’s 4.473 at 192.47 mph.
“What a day for our Bluebird Turf team in Rockingham,” said Smith. “We made our first semi-final as a team!
“We’re all absolutely ecstatic with the progress this team continues to make. The guys have done an incredible job with this hot rod, and it’s been awesome to see that hard work translate into more win lights and better performance every weekend. So proud of Glen, Scotty, Nicky and the entire crew. We’re building something special, and today was another big step forward.
“Thank you to all of our SCAG dealers, customers, partners, friends and fans who continue to support us. Now it’s time to keep the momentum rolling. St. Louis, here we come.”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team qualified No. 8 with a 3.751-second pass at 332.35 mph. Ashley opened eliminations with a .011 reaction time against Maddi Gordon, but Gordon turned on the win light with a 3.755 at 337.08 mph after Ashley’s SCAG Power Equipment dragster slowed to a 4.006 at 241.42 mph. Gordon recorded a .037 reaction time.
“We all would’ve loved to perform better but our process is coming together well,” said Ashley. “This was the fourth consecutive race we qualified in the top half of the field. That’s meaningful progress relative to the beginning of the year. The data is starting to show us something. Now we just need to take that and string together some consistency on Sundays. I am proud of our team and know that the win they badly deserve is coming soon. Looking forward to St. Louis.”
In Funny Car, Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang qualified No. 13 with a 3.982-second pass at 325.85 mph. Wilkerson opened eliminations with a .026 reaction time and a 3.931-second pass at 327.27 mph to defeat Jack Beckman, who had a .047 reaction time and ran a 3.916 at 324.44 mph. In the second round, Wilkerson posted a 3.961 at 324.68 mph, but J.R. Todd advanced with a 3.942 at 334.08 mph.
“After a pretty brutal qualifying effort, it was really great to have a pretty solid run 1st round,” said Wilkerson. “.004 is cutting it a little close but as far as championship hopes go, we really needed to beat Jack. We were excited to take down JR round 2 so we could start climbing the points a little bit, but it wasn’t in the cards for today. I say this every weekend, but I really think we got something for ‘em going forward and I’d like to be more than just a 8th place pin in their side. I think if we make a big move at St. Louis, we’ve still got a chance.”
Dave Richards qualified No. 9 in Funny Car with a 3.945-second pass at 329.43 mph. Richards faced points leader Matt Hagan in the opening round of eliminations, where Hagan recorded a 3.916 at 329.19 mph to advance over Richards’ 4.407 at 205.48 mph.
“Well, that’s a wrap on our Simply the Brave military edition bodies,” said Richards. “It was another great weekend having all the veterans come and sign it. We didn’t get the results we wanted on the race track today but we’re still putting the pieces together, and it’s gonna click real soon.”
The weekend also marked the final event for SCAG Racing’s ‘Simply the Brave’ military-edition livery, which has honored veterans and active-duty military members throughout the last seven races.
SCAG Racing will now turn its attention to the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, October 2-4.
The post SCAG RACING’S WILL SMITH EARNS FIRST SEMIFINAL APPEARANCE AT NHRA NATIONALS AT THE ROCK appeared first on Justin Ashley Racing.
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