Justin Ashley Earns No. 1 Qualifier at Lucas Oil Nationals; Adds Championship Point in Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge
Results:
Q1: 3.780 E.T. at 324.05 MPH
Q2/#2Fast2Tasty E1: 3.842 E.T. at 320.20 MPH defeated by Antron Brown 3.804 E.T. at 326.56MPH
Q3: 3.746 E.T. at 328.14 MPH (three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
BRAINERD, Minn. (August 19, 2023) – Justin Ashley and the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma saved the best run for last today at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals running to the Top Fuel No. 1 spot. Entering the final qualifying session in hot conditions, Ashley was sitting No. 6 but his surprising 3.746 second pass at 328.14 MPH moved him to the top of the class and set up a first-round race with No. 14 qualifier Terry Totten. This was Ashley’s second No. 1 of 2023 and first at Brainerd International Raceway.
“That's an excellent run with the conditions what they were (hot), nothing necessarily surprises me with the team that we have with Mike Green and Tommy DeLago,” said Ashley, who has six wins in 2023. “It just speaks volumes for our team. This is kind of a unique situation because I'm not sure how much of that you can actually take and apply it to tomorrow because it's going to be cooler. It'll be much different out there tomorrow. But nonetheless, what we did was, at least position ourselves the best that we can heading into race day. I don't care who we're racing now. I feel like it's hard to even win on a Bye run out there. It's going to be tough starting with our good friend Terry Totten over there. I never take anyone lightly so I am looking forward to hopefully what will be a long and exciting race tomorrow.”
During the first qualifying session today at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Ashley and the Maynard Ashley Racing Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma earned one championship point but did not advance to the final round for the first time in seven appearances in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Ashley dropped a close race to Antron Brown, 3.842 seconds to 3.804 seconds. By virtue of his quicker elapsed time compared to Clay Millican’s 3.886 second pass, Ashley grabbed the championship point awarded to the quickest semifinalist.
“We got a championship point and I really think when the Countdown gets going these championship points are going to be very important,” said Ashley. “We are going to turn our attention to the last qualifying session and see if we can improve a little. The weather is going to change dramatically but we still have a chance to get some of those qualifying bonus points.”
The race with Toyota teammate was the second time Ashley faced Brown in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and the championship contending teams are now 1-1 in the specialty race that awards cash and championship points. Ashley pocketed $1,000 for his effort, bringing his total cash winnings to $54,000 to go along with 18 championship points in seven Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge events. The final numbers from the race had Ashley’s 3.842 second, 320.20 mph against Brown’s 3.804 second, 326.56 mph.
“Days like today give us a lot of confidence,” said Ashley. “Those points are so important, round win points are obviously you could say the most important right, but in addition to that these bonus points and these Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty points are just so critical and they're really going to add up you know with the Mission Foods deal. The fact that it's after the points reset makes it that much more significant and even, you know, taking every lap and trying to collect as many points as you can even during qualifying is just critical. Our Phillips Connect Toyota team always has that in mind and you know, our team has been doing a great job of trying to take advantage of every opportunity that we have out there.”
Ashley and the Maynard Ashley Racing Phillips Connect Toyota team powered by Okuma will head into eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier and will race Terry Totten in the first round. Final eliminations will begin tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. CT. The race will be broadcast nationally on FOX from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET tomorrow.
About JCM Racing:
Established in 2022, the Maynard family’s JCM Racing organization is a multi-car NHRA team owned by Joe and Cathi Maynard, along with their minority partners Eric and Kim Lehman. JCM Racing takes pride in operating as a family unit with son Joe C. Maynard and daughter-in-law, Andrea Maynard, also having an ownership stake and leading the team in executive roles. The executive staff operates out of Clarksville, Tenn., while the racing headquarters are located in Brownsburg, Ind.Headliners for the JCM Racing team are the SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster driven by Tony Schumacher, the SCAG Power Equipment/Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang Funny Car piloted by Tim Wilkerson, and the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster campaigned by Justin Ashley. As an eight-time world champion and 86-time event winner, Schumacher is the most decorated Top Fuel driver in the history of the sport. Wilkerson is a 24-time Funny Car winner and an industry anomaly as he serves as both the driver and tuner of his 11,000-horsepower machine. While still considered a newcomer to the Camping World Series, Ashley, the 2020 Rookie of the Year recipient, has already earned a reputation as one of the best 'leavers' in the Top Fuel category. NHRA Hall of Famer Don Schumacher, father of Tony Schumacher, is a minority owner of the SCAG dragster, while Tim Wilkerson Racing (TWR) co-owns the SCAG/LRS Mustang with JCM Racing. The Maynard Ashley Racing (MAR) operation is co-owned by JCM Racing and Max Out Motorsports. Between the three entities, JCM Racing owns seven national event wins to date.
JCM Racing also operates a driver development program, which currently lends support to three entries in NHRA’s Sportsman categories. Wyatt Wagner competes in Super Stock, Kayleigh Hill is a Super Comp racer, and Waylon Bennett tears it up in the Jr. Drag Racing League. Through the driver development program, JCM offers young talent the opportunity to hone in and perfect their driving skills as they work toward a career competing in NHRA’s professional ranks.
For more information, visit @jcmnitro on Twitter and Instagram, @JCMNitro on Facebook, and JCMNitro.com.
