Sanford Runs Career Best At Vegas Regional, Looks Ahead to Pomona

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photo courtesy of Tim Marshall

POMONA, Calif. (November 7) – A/Fuel Dragster rookie Ashley Sanford just barely missed qualifying for one of the quickest TAD fields in Lucas Oil Series history last weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sanford’s Gelish Soak-Off Gel Nail Polish entry came just five thousandths of a second from qualifying at the Las Vegas Gambler Showdown Division 7 Finale.

After suffering a DNQ at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip the week before, Gelish Nail Polish and the team decided to bring in legendary Top Alcohol Dragster driver and tuner Tom Conway for the regional race. Conway provided critical information to the team, whose experience prior to this season was limited to sand drag racing.

“It was really great to have Tom join our team for this race. The crew had a lot of their questions answered. The improvements Tom made definitely showed on our two passes, with my career-best speed on the first and best E.T. on the second. We’re very thankful that we had the opportunity to have him out there with us. He really helped us step up our game and get ready for Pomona.”

“We’re very happy with how this weekend went. We have a great, hard-working crew – Troy, Dave, Ed, Mike, Jeff, Dean, Torrey, and Tanner. We won dozens of races and three championships together racing on the sand, but we needed a little extra guidance in our transition to asphalt drag racing. Tom answered our questions and shortened our learning curve,” added Shane Sanford, team owner.

Ashley two-stepped the throttle on her first pass, but the Gelish/Lucas Oil A/Fueler still managed a 5.57 at 264 MPH run. That gave the team optimism heading into the final qualifying session. Tom Conway used the data from the first run to tune Sanford to a career-best 5.426, good enough to move her from fourteenth to seventh at the time. The run was ultimately bumped out of the field to ninth.

“It was definitely a roller coaster feeling,” Sanford claimed. “You’re optimistic heading in to the last run, then you’re on top of the world when it makes it in, and then back to the disappointment of not qualifying. I would like to have qualified, but I can’t not be happy about running career-best numbers. It was a bittersweet moment. This weekend was all about learning and having fun, and we accomplished both,”

The weekend’s results were a welcomed surprise for the team, who originally planned to use the race as a test session for the upcoming Pomona race. The plan worked, as they’ve proven that the Gelish/Lucas Oil A/Fuel Dragster is capable of qualifying in national event sixteen-car fields.

“Our performance at Las Vegas was definitely a confidence booster. It’s a relief for the whole team to know that we have a car that can run times that should qualify at Pomona. As long as we keep up what we started at Vegas we’re all confident that we’ll get in the show next weekend.”

Ashley Sanford and her Gelish/Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster team won’t need to wait long to continue their progress. Their next race, the Auto Club Finals, Nov. 7-10, is at Sanford’s home track, Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.

“I’m very excited to race at my home track, especially now after our promising runs at Las Vegas. A lot of our friends, family, and sponsors will be joining us this weekend. Having their support will give our team extra incentive to perform well,” said the Fullerton, Calif. native.

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, Dean, Torrey, and Tanner formerly worked on the team’s pair of high-powered sand dragsters. The team receives support from Lucas Oil, America’s Best Value Inns, Lexington Hotels, Roscoe’s Famous Deli, Heroes Bar & Grill, The D Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, and the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino.

For more information on Ashley Sanford and the Gelish/Lucas Oil team, please visit www.ashleysanforddragracing.com. Follow her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AshleySanfordDragRacing) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ashleyracergirl).