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Madison, Ill. (May 1, 2007) - For Mike Ashley, driver of the Torco Race Fuels, Inc. Dodge Charger, April came and went like a lion, and now he's looking at May with the eye of the tiger. His "certifiably hot" nitro Funny Car posted the quickest and fastest marks at every event of April, ran the fastest lap in Funny Car history, set two track records, and earned two No. 1 qualifying spots. To top it off, he finished the month with a runner-up finish in Atlanta, just .285 seconds away from his ultimate goal: winning a Wally in NHRA competition.
As the New York native heads to Madison, Ill. for the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, the world's fastest mortgage banker is focused on making the next step: taking his Gotham City Racing team into the winner's circle.
"April is the most amazing month we've had since we started running Funny Car," Ashley said. "After driving as a part of other teams in 2006 and then taking on the role of owner/driver, it's pretty amazing to realize that we started the year as a brand new team.
"Look where we are now," he said.
Ashley is currently in the No. 6 spot in POWERade points, 225 points out of first, and just 26 points out of fourth place.
"Every race is critical to making the Countdown, and Brian Corradi has us on track to make the show in Indy," he explained.
"St. Louis is going to be a great race for us - I can just feel it. I won here last year in Pro Mod, and I really think we can use the momentum we've built to make it a Funny Car win this year," he said.
"We're not resting on our successes, we're using what we've learned and are aiming to improve and keep things going," Ashley said.
Qualifying in the 11th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol, the seventh of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, is scheduled for 5 and 7:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday, May 4 and 12:30 and 3 p.m. (CDT) on Saturday at Gateway International Raceway. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (CDT) Sunday, May 6. ESPN2 will broadcast two hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 5 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday, May 5, and will air NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m. (EDT) and three hours of final round eliminations at 7 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, May 6.
Quick Facts:
Mike Ashley was runner-up in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Mike Ashley was the No. 1 qualifier at the past two races
Mike Ashley’s Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger was the fastest and quickest at the last three NHRA national events
Mike Ashley’s Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger ran the fastest lap in Funny Car history in Las Vegas at 334.43 mph
Mike Ashley is a mortgage banker, vice president of Lend America, the Official Mortgage Source of NHRA
Mike Ashley is married and a father of two
Mike Ashley lives in Mellville, NY, on Long Island, and was born in Manhattan
Ashley Hopes April Momentum Blasts him into May
Madison, Ill. (May 1, 2007) - For Mike Ashley, driver of the Torco Race Fuels, Inc. Dodge Charger, April came and went like a lion, and now he's looking at May with the eye of the tiger. His "certifiably hot" nitro Funny Car posted the quickest and fastest marks at every event of April, ran the fastest lap in Funny Car history, set two track records, and earned two No. 1 qualifying spots. To top it off, he finished the month with a runner-up finish in Atlanta, just .285 seconds away from his ultimate goal: winning a Wally in NHRA competition.
As the New York native heads to Madison, Ill. for the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, the world's fastest mortgage banker is focused on making the next step: taking his Gotham City Racing team into the winner's circle.
"April is the most amazing month we've had since we started running Funny Car," Ashley said. "After driving as a part of other teams in 2006 and then taking on the role of owner/driver, it's pretty amazing to realize that we started the year as a brand new team.
"Look where we are now," he said.
Ashley is currently in the No. 6 spot in POWERade points, 225 points out of first, and just 26 points out of fourth place.
"Every race is critical to making the Countdown, and Brian Corradi has us on track to make the show in Indy," he explained.
"St. Louis is going to be a great race for us - I can just feel it. I won here last year in Pro Mod, and I really think we can use the momentum we've built to make it a Funny Car win this year," he said.
"We're not resting on our successes, we're using what we've learned and are aiming to improve and keep things going," Ashley said.
Qualifying in the 11th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol, the seventh of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, is scheduled for 5 and 7:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday, May 4 and 12:30 and 3 p.m. (CDT) on Saturday at Gateway International Raceway. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (CDT) Sunday, May 6. ESPN2 will broadcast two hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 5 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday, May 5, and will air NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m. (EDT) and three hours of final round eliminations at 7 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, May 6.
Quick Facts:
Mike Ashley was runner-up in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Mike Ashley was the No. 1 qualifier at the past two races
Mike Ashley’s Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger was the fastest and quickest at the last three NHRA national events
Mike Ashley’s Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger ran the fastest lap in Funny Car history in Las Vegas at 334.43 mph
Mike Ashley is a mortgage banker, vice president of Lend America, the Official Mortgage Source of NHRA
Mike Ashley is married and a father of two
Mike Ashley lives in Mellville, NY, on Long Island, and was born in Manhattan
