Championship Drag Racing

CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals
Joliet, IL
(June 8-11)

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Mike Ashley ProCare RX Dodge Charger

Chicago, Saturday:  Persistent rain showers that delayed professional qualifying for over five hours couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of Mike Ashley who was hovering well above the rain clouds pelting Route 66 Raceway during the second day of qualifying for the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals. Ashley, who drives the SKULL Gear-sponsored Monte Carlo, was on Cloud Nine with his finest effort of the season by landing in the ninth position.

Ashley earned a solid place in the field with a career best 4.756 elapsed time at 329.83 miles per hour. Knowing he was assured a solid berth in Sunday’s final eliminations, crew chief Mark Oswald and Ashley made the calculated decision to swing for a home run effort and subsequently loaded the car with an abundance of horsepower.

One can’t blame a team for trying to up the ante on a track that has delivered three of the quickest field in the history of the four NHRA professional divisions this weekend.

“We knew we were in the top ten solidly, so we threw everything we had at it,” Ashley said. “It looked like a grand-slam on paper but the track just wouldn’t cooperate. A lot of other guys did the same thing. We just couldn’t connect. It was all or nothing for us.

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