Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley picked up his third win of the season on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, defeating Shawn Langdon in the final round of the 42nd Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.
Blake Alexander (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the 13th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Ashley led wire-to-wire against Langdon, going 3.745-seconds at 329.34 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Scag Power Equipment/Toyota dragster to roll to his 14th career victory. Ashley defeated Billy Torrence, Tony Stewart and Josh Hart to reach the final round, earning his first career Top Fuel win at Brainerd and also getting his first victory since April.
He moved to third in points and showcased impressive consistency during eliminations, with all four runs between 3.74 and 3.76. That bodes well for a strong performance in Indy and the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
“Everything that we’ve done throughout the entire regular season so far has been done with intent and purpose,” Ashley said. “We want to win each and every race that we go to, but ultimately, it’s about positioning ourselves well for Indy and beyond. We broke out a new car this weekend and kudos to Mike (Green) and Tommy (DeLago), they did an amazing job. The car went up and down the track every time today. There’s just something about a new chassis that feels great. There’s going to be ups and downs, it’s about staying level-headed.
“This class is so difficult, it’s so tough. The margin of error is so small, so when you’re able to be consistent like that, it just increases your chances of winning. It’s one of those sports that any given Sunday, anything can happen. It’s so hard to run in such a tight window like that, but this team came through and got it done.”
Langdon went to the finals for the sixth time in 2024 and the 44th time in his career, getting past Shawn Reed, Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta and Ida Zetterstrom, who made her NHRA Top Fuel debut this weekend. Kalitta now holds an 84-point lead over Langdon.
In Funny Car, Blake Alexander enjoyed a terrific redemption weekend in Brainerd after the team battled back following an explosion in Sonoma. The turnaround was impressive and Alexander ended his weekend in the winner’s circle for the first time this season, picking up the win in his…
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