Photo courtesy of Tim Marshall
LAS VEGAS (April 8, 2013) – Top Alcohol Dragster
rookie Ashley Sanford impressed the Las Vegas crowd on Saturday when she
qualified for her very first drag race on pavement. Running a best of 5.60 at
259 MPH during shortened qualifying, she took the #10 spot to earn a first
round matchup with Chris Demke. She even got the starting line advantage over
one of the best drivers in the class, but tire smoke put an early end to her
debut weekend. Despite an early exit, it was a dream weekend for the former
sand drag racer.
“I’m still a little overwhelmed. To me, my dream
came true this weekend. As we were going through the tower for the first
qualifying run, I had a couple happy tears come out of my eyes. It’s been a
dream of mine for years to race an NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster. I’m so proud of
myself and my team for making it this far, qualifying for a field with some of
the top drivers in the country,” Ashley said after the SummitRacing.com
Nationals.
Sanford’s Gelish Soak-Off Nail Polish A/Fuel
Dragster ran a tuned-down 5.60 at 259 mph in the final session to qualify
tenth. It was a quick ride for the 19-year old, who has just a few full passes
in the car.
“We only had two qualifying sessions and it shook
the tires on the first pass. We were aiming to go a little quicker but it was
fast for me – it was my quickest time yet. We weren’t here to set records this
weekend, we’re just trying to slowly make a name for our team,” Sanford
claimed.
Qualifying was half the battle. Starting tenth meant
a first round matchup with Chris Demke, one of the biggest names in the class.
“I had a feeling we would have a tough competitor
first round. All I was thinking was ‘get him at the tree’. I was practicing my
reaction times before the run. I knew they had a good car so I wanted every
advantage I could take. I did get him at the tree, so that made me feel better.
He (Chris) came over and congratulated me after the race so that was a huge
complement. He was such a nice guy – I couldn’t have picked a better person to
race in my first elimination round,” Ashley said, who ended up smoking the
tires down-track after getting a .025 to .043 holeshot. Demke went on to
runner-up.
In conclusion, Sanford was overjoyed with the way
the weekend played out.
“I can’t complain. We didn’t have anything break and
no one got hurt – that’s really all you can ask for. I did everything I could.
I didn’t want to go crazy and start pedaling it. Overall, we had an amazing
weekend. Nothing really went wrong. I had a great time and met a lot of great
people. It was perfect to me.”
Sanford and her Gelish/Lucas Oil team will take a
few weeks off before testing to get more seat time and to give Ashley’s father
and team owner Shane the opportunity to get a feel for tuning the car after
taking over for the car’s previous owner, Larry Miersch. The next planned race
for the team is the Lucas Oil Series regional at Sonoma, July 19-21.
Frederosa’s Team Extreme is a family-owned A/Fuel
Dragster team competing in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. 19 year old
Ashley Sanford drives the team’s Gelish Soak-Off Gel Polish dragster, tuned by Troy
Schweers and Dave McWilliams. Frederosa’s Team Extreme crew – Ed, Mike, Jeff,
and Dean – are assisted by Larry Miersch and crew: Roy, Jimmy, Rick, and
Victor. The team receives support from Lucas Oil, Roscoe’s Famous Deli, Heroes
Bar & Grill, The D Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, the Golden Gate Hotel
and Casino, Post Brothers Construction, and Sun Dial Powder Coating.
For more information on Ashley Sanford and the
Gelish/Lucas Oil team, please visit www.ashleysanforddragracing.com.
Follow her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Ashley.Sanfrd) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ashleyracergirl).
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