26-03-2025
Justin Ashley, John Force Racing Funny Cars on Brink of Milestones at Pomona
Justin Ashley is trying to become only the second driver in the Pomona Winternationals' 65-year history to win in four straight years.
Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme won three straight events in the traditional season-opener in the Funny Car class from 1975-78.
Ashley and teammate Austin Prock are also vying for the title of who gets John Force Racing its 300th victory in Funny Cars.
Justin Ashley, who was poised to capture his first Top Fuel crown but finished third in the standings on the final day of the 2024 season at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, returns this Friday to Pomona, Calif., not with regrets but an opportunity to make NHRA drag-racing history.
The driver of the SCAG Power Equipment Dragster has a chance at the Lucas Oil Winternationals to become only the second driver in the event's 65-year history to win in four straight years. Ashley could match Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme, who dominated in the traditional season-opener in the Funny Car class from 1975-78.
The Winternationals, settling into its new-normal Race No. 3 slot on the 20-event calendar, has seen Ashley advance to four final rounds in a row. Right now, he, Top Fuel rival Doug Kalitta, and Pro Stock's Greg Anderson have won the Winternationals three consecutive times.
'The NHRA Winternationals are always prestigious, but this one certainly has more juice to it, given the circumstances,' Ashley said. 'I am incredibly proud of our SCAG Racing team for earning the right to be in this position. They deserve it. We know what needs to be done. Now it's 'go' time.'
Eight Top Fuel racers also will race Friday in the rain-postponed Right Trailers All-Star Callout from the season-starting Gatornationals earlier this month. He'll face home-area heroine Brittany Force in the first round of the bonus race.
'We have the opportunity to do something very special in Pomona,' Ashley said.
The John Force Racing Funny Car duo of Jack Beckman and Austin Prock are competing against more than the rest of the Funny Car field. They're contending with each other about who will score the organization's 300th Funny Car victory.
The bigger buzz in the Funny Car pits, though, is the comeback of three-time champion Ron Capps from a serious engine explosion that sent him into the opposite-lane wall in sideswiping fashion.
'We had a great race car, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge [and $10,000 bonus prize] on Saturday, qualified well, and unfortunately, had an accident on Sunday during eliminations. That car that we had been running, which was a brand-new car that we started running toward the end of last year, is pretty much in the scrapyard now,' Capps said.
The single-car team owner-driver's crew had to dash back from Phoenix to the Brownsburg, Ind., shop to prepare back-up cars before heading back across the country to California.
'One of the many great things about our team is that we're very well prepared. Had we won that round [at Phoenix] and had to get back up for second round with the quick turnaround for live TV, we had a backup car that was ready to go. They're now preparing a third car, so it's been busy with three West Coast races, including this back-to-back one after Phoenix,' Capps said. 'We're hoping to have a great ending to a busy and hectic week after destroying one car.'He said, 'What was really cool was the number of calls and notes and messages that we received from our partners and sponsors who were wanting to help beyond what they already do to support our team. An incident like this happens, and as a single-car team, it's not easy. But to get the amount of support we got during the week with people offering to help, you can't explain how cool that is. We've got a great team, a great back up car, and we're going to what I consider to be a home track.'
