Justin Ashley likes having pressure.
In fact, he considers it a privilege. Because if there was no pressure, it would mean he wasn’t in a championship-level situation like he is now.
The third-year driver leads the NHRA Top Fuel standings, 14 points ahead of reigning champion Steve Torrence and 30 points ahead of Brittany Force. During the opening round of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway, Ashley stole the lead from Force and has since refused to relinquish it.
However, not everything has gone his way during the first half of the six-race Countdown.
While Ashley finished runner-up in Pennsylvania and again when the series visited zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., his weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis, Mo., was unexpectedly cut short.
Mike Salinas powered off the start to defeat Ashley in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations, with Ashley recording a 4.476-second elapsed time to Salinas’ 3.946-second ET.
“When you have a round-one exit, you really can’t afford to have that happen again,” Ashley said. “Now, all bets are off. We have to finish strong over these last few races.”
As the Phillips Connect driver has experienced highs and lows over the season, Ashley has grown to rely on wisdom from his mentors — such as three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown and crew chiefs Mike Green and Tommy DeLago — in the way he’s reacted to his losses.
“One thing I’ve been taught is that you cannot ride that emotional rollercoaster,” Ashley said. “When you race a 22-race season, there are going to be ups and downs. It’s just racing.”
Though his result at WWTR was less than ideal, Ashley has filed the NHRA Midwest Nationals away as a productive learning experience. At this point, the only thing on his mind is this weekend’s Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex.
Last year, Ashley collected a victory at the FallNationals in his second visit to the track, stunning the crowd when he pulled ahead of Torrence in the final round of eliminations and flipped the win light. With another season of experience now under his belt, Ashley has full faith that his team can repeat their performance and get back on track in the title fight.
“We certainly left ourselves vulnerable, we left the door open. That much is for sure. And you know, in the Countdown, the margin for error is very small,” Ashely said. “Right now, it’s about Dallas and going out there and putting our best foot forward.”
Ashley is expecting the championship to come down to the wire, especially with the stout field of competitors he’s facing, but he’s ready to fight to the very end.
He may be one of the youngest drivers in the Top Fuel field — at 27 years old — and this year may be only the second time he’s been in position to chase the title, but as he says, experience isn’t everything.
“We’re three races away from potentially winning the world championship. It is almost a pinch-me situation, but at the same time, we did expect to be here,” Ashley said. “I’m not surprised, but I am humbled.”
Top Fuel qualifying sessions for the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals begin Friday, Oct. 14.