NHRA Nevada Nationals
Event 20 of 21
Countdown Event 5 of 6
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas
Oct. 27-29, 2023
Top Fuel:
Justin Ashley Races to Runner-Up Finish in Las Vegas
Qualified: No. 6 (3.708 E.T. at 334.82 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.736 E.T. at 326.79 MPH defeated Dan Mercier 3.752 E.T. at 304.87 MPH
E2: 3.703 E.T. at 331.69 MPH defeated Austin Prock 3.727 E.T. at 319.07 MPH
E3: 3.730 E.T. at 328.46 MPH defeated Steve Torrence 3.680 E.T. at 331.77 MPH
E4: 5.796 E.T. at 120.56 MPH defeated by Mike Salinas 3.673 E.T. at 333.16 MPH
Justin Ashley Races to Runner-Up Finish in Las Vegas
Qualified: No. 6 (3.708 E.T. at 334.82 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.736 E.T. at 326.79 MPH defeated Dan Mercier 3.752 E.T. at 304.87 MPH
E2: 3.703 E.T. at 331.69 MPH defeated Austin Prock 3.727 E.T. at 319.07 MPH
E3: 3.730 E.T. at 328.46 MPH defeated Steve Torrence 3.680 E.T. at 331.77 MPH
E4: 5.796 E.T. at 120.56 MPH defeated by Mike Salinas 3.673 E.T. at 333.16 MPH
LAS VEGAS (Oct. 29, 2023) – Justin Ashley and the Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel dragster powered by Phillips Connect came up just short of their bid for a seventh Top Fuel victory this season today at the NHRA Nevada Nationals. Ashley, the No. 6 qualifier, outran Dan Mercier, Austin Prock and Steve Torrence before losing to Mike Salinas in the final round. The successful day kept Ashley in the championship conversation as the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series heads to Pomona, California for the season finale in two weeks.
“I feel really good about the way the day went today,” said Ashley. “It was critical for us to be in the championship hunt and give ourselves a realistic chance going into Pomona by the time this race was over. I think that we did a good job of accomplishing that. One more round would have made a big difference and we would have loved to have come away with the win. Anytime you go to a final round in a race like this, at such a crucial point in the season that is super important. We feel good and I am just looking forward to trying to take those next steps.”
Ashley faced Canadian drag racer Mercier in the opening round looking to kick start his championship hopes. As the No. 6 qualifier, the Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel dragster powered by Phillips Connect had lane choice and Ashley took full advantage, getting a starting line advantage and never trailing in the drag race. Ashley’s winning time of 3.736 seconds was enough to get the win over Mercier’s solid 3.752 second pass.
In the quarterfinals Ashley drew fellow Countdown competitor Prock and his John Force Racing backed Top Fuel dragster. Once again, Ashley was first off the line with a reaction time advantage of .043 to .060 and his much improved 3.703 second pass prevailed over Prock’s 3.727 second run. The win advanced Ashley into the semifinals against Torrence, one of the drivers he is chasing for the Top Fuel world championship.
Looking for a 40-point swing in the championship standings, Toyota teammates Ashley and Torrence pulled up to the starting line. Ashley was looking to overcome a slight performance disadvantage and he used his starting line expertise to jump off the line with a .036 second reaction time and held off Torrence at the finish line with a slower elapsed time of 3.730 seconds to 3.680 seconds. Ashley advanced to his eighth final round of the season.
“Our goal coming into this race was getting four win lights,” said Ashley, who raced to his first final round at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “It's just so tough out here. Steve is a great competitor. He's a Toyota teammate and that car is running great but you know, there's no quit in this team. This Leatherwood Distillery Toyota Phillips Connect team, just grinds and grinds. I couldn’t be prouder of this team. We are trying to stack as many rounds up today as possible and we have more work to do.”
Racing the No. 1 qualifier Salinas in the final round, Ashley was looking for his seventh win of the season. Ashley was first off the line but his 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster overpowered the track and opened the door for Salinas to race to the win. At the end of the day, Ashley is only 82 points out of first place, which with points-and-a-half, is only three rounds.
“Going to the final was big for points, which is most important but in addition to the points, it gives us more data and information,” said Ashley. “We haven't been able to go rounds the last few races so when you don't go rounds, you don't pick up the points but we also don't get more data and information. It was crucial for us just for the sake of momentum to stack some round wins on top of each other this weekend.”
Tony Schumacher Finds Positives in Second-Round Finish at NHRA Nevada Nationals
Qualified: No. 9 (3.723 E.T. at 331.61 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.697 E.T. at 326.87 MPH defeated Shawn Langdon 3.744 E.T. at 323.74 MPH
E2: 3.867 E.T. at 313.80 MPH defeated by Mike Salinas 3.688 E.T. at 334.48 MPH
Qualified: No. 9 (3.723 E.T. at 331.61 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.697 E.T. at 326.87 MPH defeated Shawn Langdon 3.744 E.T. at 323.74 MPH
E2: 3.867 E.T. at 313.80 MPH defeated by Mike Salinas 3.688 E.T. at 334.48 MPH
Multi-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher went into the second round of eliminations at the NHRA Nevada Nationals full of confidence. His SCAG Power Equipment dragster was one of the most consistent cars in qualifying, and he made a weekend-best pass in the opening round of Sunday eliminations at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but a dead cylinder at the hit of the throttle prevented Schumacher from moving past the quarterfinals.
Schumacher was ultra-consistent in qualifying. After a tire-smoking run in Friday’s first session, the eight-time world champion ran a trio of 3.72-second passes to qualify No. 9. That included a 3.729 E.T. at 330.63 MPH run in the second session on Friday and two 3.723-second passes on Saturday. He had the third-quickest E.T. of the third session to earn one bonus point.
That consistency in qualifying gave crew chiefs Mike Neff and Jon Schaffer the confidence to get aggressive for Sunday’s first round of eliminations against Shawn Langdon. Schumacher left the starting line just a thousandth of a second behind Langdon before charging down the track with a 3.697-second pass to finish ahead of Langdon’s 3.744 E.T. Schumacher had the starting line advantage in the second round against No. 1 qualifier Mike Salinas, but he slowed to a 3.867-second pass next to Salinas and his 3.688 E.T.
“That was a tough one,” said Schumacher, who’s reached the winner’s circle eight times in Las Vegas. “We made such a great run first round. I really thought we had it. There was so much left after that first round. We had a .67 in that car and I thought it was going to do it. It put a hole out at the step. That sucked the wind out of my sails because I thought we were going to win this race. We'll go to Pomona with a good car. We'll test on Monday because we have new parts and new pieces. This car will be starting out next year with some wins right away.”
After taking part in the ‘Monday Nationals’ test session at The Strip, Schumacher and the SCAG Power Equipment team will chase down one final win of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Series season in two weeks at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, Nov. 10-12, at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Steve Torrence | 2483 | |
| 2 | Doug Kalitta | 2468 | |
| 3 | Leah Pruett | 2449 | |
| 4 | Mike Salinas | 2407 | |
| 5 | Justin Ashley | 2401 | |
| 6 | Antron Brown | 2337 | |
| 7 | Brittany Force | 2303 | |
| 8 | Austin Prock | 2256 | |
| 9 | Tony Schumacher | 2248 | |
| 10 | Clay Millican | 2227 |
Funny Car:
Round One Explosion Ends Tim Wilkerson’s Day at Nevada Nationals
Qualified: No. 9 (3.907 E.T. at 332.18 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.674 E.T. at 164.49 MPH defeated by Alexis DeJoria 3.923 E.T. at 326.16 MPH
Tim Wilkerson’s weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway ended in spectacular fashion on Sunday morning when he suffered a massive explosion during round one of eliminations. At the second-to-last event of the 2023 NHRA season, Wilkerson used a 3.907-second pass, the second-quickest run of Saturday’s first session, to qualify the SCAG Power Equipment/Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang ninth on the NHRA Nevada Nationals Funny Car eliminations ladder.Round One Explosion Ends Tim Wilkerson’s Day at Nevada Nationals
Qualified: No. 9 (3.907 E.T. at 332.18 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.674 E.T. at 164.49 MPH defeated by Alexis DeJoria 3.923 E.T. at 326.16 MPH
Wilkerson went into race day armed with confidence after recording three solid runs during qualifying and faced No. 8 qualifier Alexis DeJoria for the second consecutive race weekend.
At the NHRA Fall Nationals near Dallas two weeks prior, Wilkerson defeated DeJoria in the first round and went on to advance to the semifinals aboard the Maynard Wilkerson Racing entry. The two-time winner in 2023 was looking to extend his round-win lead over DeJoria on Sunday in Las Vegas. Wilkerson moved first to capture the early lead but near the 500-foot mark, his machine started to lose traction before suffering an engine explosion which sent his burst panel airborne while DeJoria made a full pull in the opposite lane for the win.
“You know, when you see such good weather and a good track, you really want to get out there and get after it,“ said Wilkerson, who previously, only had one prior first-round loss in the 2023 NHRA Countdown. “I just threw a little bit too much at it and pushed the car way past the breaking point. My guys were working so hard and gave me a great car to race this weekend, so I’m mad at myself for blowing it up like I did and making a lot more work for them.
“Overall, we had a good weekend. We had SCAG dealers from all over the country out with us, and we got to show them a great time at The Strip. It’s always a blast to see SCAG dealers coming out for second or third events because we really get to know these folks and they always have a great time out here with us.”
Wilkerson will enter the final event of the series, the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif., ranked eighth in the Camping World Series Funny Car standings.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Matt Hagan | 2539 | |
| 2 | Bob Tasca III | 2524 | |
| 3 | Robert Hight | 2522 | |
| 4 | Ron Capps | 2400 | |
| 5 | John Force | 2297 | |
| 6 | J.R. Todd | 2283 | |
| 7 | Chad Green | 2275 | |
| 8 | Tim Wilkerson | 2270 | |
| 9 | Alexis DeJoria | 2249 | |
| 10 | Alex Laughlin | 2245 |
About JCM Racing:
Established in 2022, the Maynard family’s JCM Racing organization is a multi-car NHRA team owned by Joe and Cathi Maynard, along with their minority partners Eric and Kim Lehman. JCM Racing takes pride in operating as a family unit with son Joe C. Maynard and daughter-in-law, Andrea Maynard, also having an ownership stake and leading the team in executive roles. The executive staff operates out of Clarksville, Tenn., while the racing headquarters are located in Brownsburg, Ind.Headliners for the JCM Racing team are the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster driven by Tony Schumacher, the SCAG Power Equipment/Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang Funny Car piloted by Tim Wilkerson, and the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster campaigned by Justin Ashley. As an eight-time world champion and 86-time event winner, Schumacher is the most decorated Top Fuel driver in the history of the sport. Wilkerson is a 24-time Funny Car winner and an industry anomaly as he serves as both the driver and tuner of his 11,000-horsepower machine. While still considered a newcomer to the Camping World Series, Ashley, the 2020 Rookie of the Year recipient, has already earned a reputation as one of the best 'leavers' in the Top Fuel category. NHRA Hall of Famer Don Schumacher, father of Tony Schumacher, is a minority owner of the SCAG dragster, while Tim Wilkerson Racing (TWR) co-owns the SCAG/LRS Mustang with JCM Racing. The Maynard Ashley Racing (MAR) operation is co-owned by JCM Racing and Max Out Motorsports. Between the three entities, JCM Racing owns seven national event wins to date.
JCM Racing also operates a driver development program, which currently lends support to three entries in NHRA’s Sportsman categories. Wyatt Wagner competes in Super Stock, Kayleigh Hill is a Super Comp racer, and Waylon Bennett tears it up in the Jr. Drag Racing League. Through the driver development program, JCM offers young talent the opportunity to hone in and perfect their driving skills as they work toward a career competing in NHRA’s professional ranks.
For more information, visit @jcmnitro on Twitter and Instagram, @JCMNitro on Facebook, and JCMNitro.com.
