<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Ashleypromod.jpg" alt="Ashleypromod" align="left"borders="0"/>
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Nothing warms a drag racer’s heart more than a win-win situation. And, for Mike Ashley, no matter how he rolled the dice in the final round of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., he came up with the winning numbers.
Sure, Ashley wanted to win his Pro Modified final round against Steve Engel and even though he might not have lit the scoreboard with a triumph, seeing his Funny Car driver Melanie Troxel become the first female driver to win in both NHRA nitro divisions more than made up for it.
“How can you not get excited to see a team turn around the way our Funny Car team did this weekend,” Ashley admitted. “Something has to be said about a team that gets knocked down to the canvas and comes back swinging.
“We all come together as a team this weekend and performed when the conditions around us were very difficult. Those were the same conditions every team in Bristol experienced and to see our teams rise to the challenge says a lot about both the Funny Car and Pro Modified teams.”
Ashley’s ride to the Pro Modified finals was anything but easy. The two-time Pro Modified World Champion entered eliminations as the 8th quickest qualifier with a 6.065 elapsed time at 239.59 miles per hour.
He then established a strong baseline in the opening session when he ran a 6.001 elapsed time at 240.68 miles per hour to eliminate Harold Laird.
Then the inclement weather came and maintaining the momentum became a complex challenge.
“We just remained focused on what we had to do,” Ashley said. “A lot has to be said about our Pro Modified team when you can reach the finals three times in the last four events.”
Ashley exhibited just enough horsepower to win races over Jay Payne and Taylor Lastor to set up his final round match against Engle.
“There are so many positives I can just reel off tonight,” Ashley added. “Think about it, the car I drove tonight is in only its second national event and that’s a testament to Chuck Ford, Howard Moon and our crew. Any way you look at this weekend, this was a win-win performance for Gotham City Racing.”
A WIN AND RUNNER-UP PERFECT COMBINATION FOR ASHLEY
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Nothing warms a drag racer’s heart more than a win-win situation. And, for Mike Ashley, no matter how he rolled the dice in the final round of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., he came up with the winning numbers.
Sure, Ashley wanted to win his Pro Modified final round against Steve Engel and even though he might not have lit the scoreboard with a triumph, seeing his Funny Car driver Melanie Troxel become the first female driver to win in both NHRA nitro divisions more than made up for it.
“How can you not get excited to see a team turn around the way our Funny Car team did this weekend,” Ashley admitted. “Something has to be said about a team that gets knocked down to the canvas and comes back swinging.
“We all come together as a team this weekend and performed when the conditions around us were very difficult. Those were the same conditions every team in Bristol experienced and to see our teams rise to the challenge says a lot about both the Funny Car and Pro Modified teams.”
Ashley’s ride to the Pro Modified finals was anything but easy. The two-time Pro Modified World Champion entered eliminations as the 8th quickest qualifier with a 6.065 elapsed time at 239.59 miles per hour.
He then established a strong baseline in the opening session when he ran a 6.001 elapsed time at 240.68 miles per hour to eliminate Harold Laird.
Then the inclement weather came and maintaining the momentum became a complex challenge.
“We just remained focused on what we had to do,” Ashley said. “A lot has to be said about our Pro Modified team when you can reach the finals three times in the last four events.”
Ashley exhibited just enough horsepower to win races over Jay Payne and Taylor Lastor to set up his final round match against Engle.
“There are so many positives I can just reel off tonight,” Ashley added. “Think about it, the car I drove tonight is in only its second national event and that’s a testament to Chuck Ford, Howard Moon and our crew. Any way you look at this weekend, this was a win-win performance for Gotham City Racing.”
