Story By: SARA SLAUGHTER / SCAG RACING – NORWALK, OH – Dave Richards and the Versatran / BlueBird Funny Car team have been working around the clock to improve their on-track performance entering this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.
Richards and his Versatran / BlueBird team have had a busy couple of weeks doing everything they can to get their hot rod to perform at its best. After front-halving their Funny Car ahead of the last weekend’s Virginia Nationals, Richards qualified the Versatran / Bluebird entry in the No. 16 spot before having a first-round exit to Bob Tasca III. The team then stayed Monday to test at Virginia Motorsports Park.
“Coming into Norwalk this weekend, we’re feeling pretty good. We front halved the car ahead of Richmond and we took some time to get a handle on it. Qualifying was a struggle, but we left competition on a good note. We lost first round, but we made a clean pass,” Richards said. “At testing on Monday, it went really well. We’re happy with the work we’ve done. It’s got us excited for this weekend. I’m glad it was a quick turnaround. I’m excited to get back in the car.”
Richards and the Versatran / BlueBird team want to continue to make a habit of qualifying for national events. Now at the halfway mark of the 2024 season, Richards has qualified for seven race days picking up his first-round win at the Charlotte Four-Wide event. The Versatran team will be looking to qualify for their eighth straight race day at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. With their extra efforts, they’ll look to turn on a few win lights on race day as well.
Competition at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals begins with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eliminations will be Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will begin on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a qualifying show Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET followed by the first round of eliminations at 4:00 p.m. ET. The rest of eliminations will air on FOX Broadcasting Network (FOX) at 5:00 p.m. ET.