PHOENIX — A week after opening the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season with a victory, Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley looks to keep rolling and make it two victories in a row in just his second-career appearance at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park during this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals.
It’s the NHRA’s first trip to Phoenix area since 2020, and Ashley is looking to make a big impression in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect dragster. Ashley, the 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year, closed last year strong, earning a victory and advancing to two final rounds in the playoffs en route to a career-best fourth-place finish.
“We were very proactive in the off-season and that’s how we wanted to be,” Ashley said. “We knew the Top Fuel field was going to be stacked and we didn’t want to stay stagnant. It’s just a testament to the work of our team, so be able to see it come to fruition (with a win) is really meaningful. I always have to be on my ‘A’ game. There’s no room for error and you always have to be on top of things in this class.”
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) all won the 2020 race in Phoenix. For Ashley, it couldn’t be a better start as he takes his crack on tracking down four-time defending world champ Torrence.
He’s one of many standouts in a loaded Top Fuel field that has been dominated by Torrence in recent seasons. Others to watch in Phoenix include Tony Schumacher, who has returned to full-time action; Austin Prock, who advanced to the finals in Pomona; Leah Pruett, who is part of Tony Stewart Racing’s new team; Pomona No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force; Doug Kalitta; and Josh Hart. It’s also a big weekend for the class, as it’s the last chance for competitors to earn in their spot in the highly-anticipated eight-car Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, a specialty shootout event that takes place at the next event in Florida’s Gainesville Raceway.
In Funny Car, Robert Hight bounced back from a disappointing – by his standards – 2021 season with a season-opening victory in Pomona. After winning the championship in 2019, Hight and all of John Force Racing have worked through considerable adversity including not racing for most of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hight finished an uncharacteristic eighth last year which was all the motivation Hight and his team needed heading into the new season.
They impressed at every turn last weekend in Hight’s Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, but Hight knows it will be a tough task to continue that momentum in Phoenix. He’ll have to face off against the likes of Pomona runner-up Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, teammate John Force, who has eight career Phoenix wins, Cruz Pedregon, J.R. Todd and Bob Tasca III, but Hight is locked in on having a big year.
“We’re on a mission, we’re focused and we’re going to try to do the best we can,” Hight said. “It’s not going to be easy, but we’re up to the task. The team really went through every single race (last year) and figured out what went wrong. We went back to how we ran in 2019 when we had the best Funny Car from start to finish, and it’s been great. We’ve been pretty consistent so far and we’ve got to continue to up our game.”
After celebrating Pro Stock’s 900th race at the opening event, Enders will look to keep rolling against another standout field. She claimed her first career Winternationals win and will now aim for her third triumph in Phoenix. To do so, she’ll have to beat the likes of reigning world champ Greg Anderson, who is after his 100th career win, Aaron Stanfield, Dallas Glenn, Kyle Koretsky and Matt Hartford.