JOLIET, Ill. (May 18, 2026) — The four-car SCAG Racing team closed out the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway with a breakthrough first-round Top Fuel victory from Will Smith and a Funny Car second round appearance by Dave Richards, while Justin Ashley and Daniel Wilkerson battled through tough opening-round matchups in front of a strong turnout of SCAG dealers, distributors, Metalcraft employees and racing fans.
Will Smith and the Bluebird Top Fuel team qualified No. 14 with a 4.060-second pass at 242.58 mph before delivering a breakthrough performance on race day. Matched up against No. 3 qualifier Billy Torrence in the opening round, Smith left first with a .049-second reaction time and ran a clean 3.776-second pass at 331.45 mph to earn his first career Top Fuel round win over Torrence’s 3.795 at 332.92 mph. Smith advanced to the second round against Leah Pruett, but his day came to an end after smoking the tires immediately off the starting line and being unable to make it to the finish line under power.
“We were able to pick up our first round win here in Chicago,” said Smith. “It’s my personal first round win in Top Fuel and as a team, it was our first round win. That was huge for us, we felt like we won the race! You know, these guys have been working so hard. Unfortunately, we had a blower that failed on us on the starting line second round, but to that point, it looked like it was close to the same run. We’ll regroup, get our parts back together, get everything fixed up, and be ready for Maryland. What a great weekend it was with all of our SCAG dealers and all of the employees from Metalcraft of Mayville that came down to spend the day with us on Saturday. It was a great weekend with everyone. We had a blast, and we’ll be ready for Maryland in a couple weeks!”
Dave Richards and the Bluebird Turf Funny Car team qualified No. 13 with a 4.010-second pass at 313.07mph. Facing No. 4 qualifier Cruz Pedregon in the opening round of eliminations, Richards trailed off the starting line with a .151 reaction time to Pedregon’s .061, but stayed with it down track and drove to a 4.001-second pass at 329.83 mph after Pedregon smoked the tires and slowed to a 7.791 at 82.81 mph. Richards matched up with No. 12 qualifier Alexis DeJoria in the second round, but his run ended early after smoking the tires, resulting in a 12.329-second pass at 71.05 mph to DeJoria’s 4.005 at 327.98 mph.
“We’re definitely encouraged leaving here,” said Richards. “It feels good to see the progress we’re making with this race car, and getting a round win is always a confidence booster. I know I nseed to keep improving on my reaction times because at this level every little bit matters, but overall I’m proud of the effort from this whole group. It was also really special to have so many Metalcraft employees, along with SCAG dealers and PACE, out here with us this weekend. We couldn’t do it without them, and their support means a lot to me.”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team qualified No. 13 after posting a 3.797-second pass at 332.02 mph during qualifying. Facing No. 4 qualifier Josh Hart in the opening round of eliminations, Ashley delivered a strong run before the blower let go near the finish line. In a close matchup decided by just a few feet, Ashley’s .044 reaction time and 3.785-second pass at 322.11 mph narrowly fell short of Hart’s 3.790 at 338.26 mph.
“I’d like to start by thanking all those who joined us this weekend on behalf of SCAG Power Equipment and Metalcraft of Mayville,” said Ashley. “We had employees, dealers, distributors, friends, and family that came to show their support. We are grateful. Losing by only 2 feet in the first round hurts but that’s what racing at this level is all about. Next time I’m confident the ball will bounce our way. We gathered a lot of information about our racecar that will prove to be valuable in time. We’ll be ready for Maryland.”
Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang Funny Car team qualified No. 11 and faced No. 6 qualifier J.R. Todd in the opening round of Sunday eliminations. Wilkerson gained the starting line advantage with a .059-second reaction time to Todd’s .071, but Todd drove around him at the top end with a 3.957-second pass at 334.48 mph to Wilkerson’s 4.808 at 166.54 mph, ending Wilkerson’s day in the first round.
“Even though we’re leaving here with the same crummy result as the last four races, I really truly feel like we had the best race car of those four races this weekend,” said Wilkerson. “We have a tunable car again. Friday and Saturday, we made decent runs. Saturday, we got to do a lawnmower race, which I got to win in front of thousands of people that had a hand in making that product, giving me my steed to Victory Lane. So that was really special. It was pretty cool to see the crowd excited for me to do lawnmower wheelies. Definitely doesn’t completely make up for losing first round, but we can leave here with our heads held high because I know we got a good race car again and a lot of important people had a good time.”
The four SCAG Racing teams will now prepare for the next race on the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series schedule, May 29–31 at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Md.
The post WILL SMITH EARNS FIRST CAREER TOP FUEL ROUND WIN AS SCAG RACING CLOSES OUT ROUTE 66 NATIONALS appeared first on Justin Ashley Racing.
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Will Smith and the Bluebird Top Fuel team qualified No. 14 with a 4.060-second pass at 242.58 mph before delivering a breakthrough performance on race day. Matched up against No. 3 qualifier Billy Torrence in the opening round, Smith left first with a .049-second reaction time and ran a clean 3.776-second pass at 331.45 mph to earn his first career Top Fuel round win over Torrence’s 3.795 at 332.92 mph. Smith advanced to the second round against Leah Pruett, but his day came to an end after smoking the tires immediately off the starting line and being unable to make it to the finish line under power.
“We were able to pick up our first round win here in Chicago,” said Smith. “It’s my personal first round win in Top Fuel and as a team, it was our first round win. That was huge for us, we felt like we won the race! You know, these guys have been working so hard. Unfortunately, we had a blower that failed on us on the starting line second round, but to that point, it looked like it was close to the same run. We’ll regroup, get our parts back together, get everything fixed up, and be ready for Maryland. What a great weekend it was with all of our SCAG dealers and all of the employees from Metalcraft of Mayville that came down to spend the day with us on Saturday. It was a great weekend with everyone. We had a blast, and we’ll be ready for Maryland in a couple weeks!”
Dave Richards and the Bluebird Turf Funny Car team qualified No. 13 with a 4.010-second pass at 313.07mph. Facing No. 4 qualifier Cruz Pedregon in the opening round of eliminations, Richards trailed off the starting line with a .151 reaction time to Pedregon’s .061, but stayed with it down track and drove to a 4.001-second pass at 329.83 mph after Pedregon smoked the tires and slowed to a 7.791 at 82.81 mph. Richards matched up with No. 12 qualifier Alexis DeJoria in the second round, but his run ended early after smoking the tires, resulting in a 12.329-second pass at 71.05 mph to DeJoria’s 4.005 at 327.98 mph.
“We’re definitely encouraged leaving here,” said Richards. “It feels good to see the progress we’re making with this race car, and getting a round win is always a confidence booster. I know I nseed to keep improving on my reaction times because at this level every little bit matters, but overall I’m proud of the effort from this whole group. It was also really special to have so many Metalcraft employees, along with SCAG dealers and PACE, out here with us this weekend. We couldn’t do it without them, and their support means a lot to me.”
Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel team qualified No. 13 after posting a 3.797-second pass at 332.02 mph during qualifying. Facing No. 4 qualifier Josh Hart in the opening round of eliminations, Ashley delivered a strong run before the blower let go near the finish line. In a close matchup decided by just a few feet, Ashley’s .044 reaction time and 3.785-second pass at 322.11 mph narrowly fell short of Hart’s 3.790 at 338.26 mph.
“I’d like to start by thanking all those who joined us this weekend on behalf of SCAG Power Equipment and Metalcraft of Mayville,” said Ashley. “We had employees, dealers, distributors, friends, and family that came to show their support. We are grateful. Losing by only 2 feet in the first round hurts but that’s what racing at this level is all about. Next time I’m confident the ball will bounce our way. We gathered a lot of information about our racecar that will prove to be valuable in time. We’ll be ready for Maryland.”
Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang Funny Car team qualified No. 11 and faced No. 6 qualifier J.R. Todd in the opening round of Sunday eliminations. Wilkerson gained the starting line advantage with a .059-second reaction time to Todd’s .071, but Todd drove around him at the top end with a 3.957-second pass at 334.48 mph to Wilkerson’s 4.808 at 166.54 mph, ending Wilkerson’s day in the first round.
“Even though we’re leaving here with the same crummy result as the last four races, I really truly feel like we had the best race car of those four races this weekend,” said Wilkerson. “We have a tunable car again. Friday and Saturday, we made decent runs. Saturday, we got to do a lawnmower race, which I got to win in front of thousands of people that had a hand in making that product, giving me my steed to Victory Lane. So that was really special. It was pretty cool to see the crowd excited for me to do lawnmower wheelies. Definitely doesn’t completely make up for losing first round, but we can leave here with our heads held high because I know we got a good race car again and a lot of important people had a good time.”
The four SCAG Racing teams will now prepare for the next race on the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series schedule, May 29–31 at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Md.
The post WILL SMITH EARNS FIRST CAREER TOP FUEL ROUND WIN AS SCAG RACING CLOSES OUT ROUTE 66 NATIONALS appeared first on Justin Ashley Racing.
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