Drag Illustrated Issue 127, November 2017 | Page 102
30 UNDER 30
JUSTIN ASHLEY
A
fter a childhood spent in
the NHRA Pro Mod and Funny
Car pits, one might assume Justin
Ashley, 23, would have a passion
for ill-handling, short-wheelbase
race cars. However, rather than follow directly
in the footsteps of his father, Pro Modified pio-
neer Mike Ashley, Justin
decided to pursue a driv-
ing career in the dragster
classes. He’s now one of
the quickest drivers in
the history of NHRA Top
Alcohol Dragster, with a
2017 rookie scorecard
that boasts a runner-up
finish and two wins –
including one at his na-
tional-event debut, the
historic Gatornationals.
“I definitely knew – be-
cause of the Randy Meyer
Racing team – that I had
a car that was going to be
capable of going out and
running quick and win-
ning races from the get-
go,” Ashley asserts. “But
I also knew I would need
to hold up my end of the
deal because it’s a team
effort. I expected to have
success. To what amount, I wasn’t really sure. It
was a great year, and I think for anybody to have
this kind of success in their rookie year would
probably surprise them a little bit.”
Ashley’s driving career technically started with
a Jr. Dragster when he was 10 years old, but he
only made test passes and entered a couple races.
He returned to the driv-
er’s seat last year when
he drove Barry Brown’s
blown Top Dragster
at a handful of events.
The Melville, New York,
native then earned his
Top Alcohol Dragster li-
cense in Meyer’s car at
the Charlotte fall race
before embarking on
an eight-race campaign
this season.
Despite his relative
inexperience – or, per-
haps, due to his fresh
mindset – Ashley has
developed a reputation
as one of the most con-
sistently quick leavers in
a nitro-injected A/Fuel
dragster.
“We usually get three
qualifying sessions, and
I take each of those ses-
sions and I hit the tree aggressively each time
as if it’s eliminations,” says Ashley, a real estate
developer. “By the time first round comes around,
I’ve already had three live hits at the tree. There’s
no difference for me, mentally, between the first
round of qualifying and the fourth round of elim-
inations. It’s the same thing for me every time I
go up there. I think that’s why my reaction times
are so good and so consistent.”
Even though Ashley drove Meyer’s EPIC Mo-
torsports Marketing/Realty Warehouse-backed
dragster to a 5.143-second pass at 282.36 – the
sixth-quickest Top Alcohol Dragster run of all
time and the second-quickest under the current
rules – that pass at the NHRA Gatornationals
wasn’t even close to being the quickest run he
made this season. That title would go to the 3.788
at 314.90 he ran in 1,000 feet behind the wheel
of the Matco Tools/U.S. Army Top Fuel drag-
ster, usually driven by Antron Brown, to earn his
NHRA Top Fuel license.
“That was done more so for experience than
anything else,” Ashley says of his licensing. “Right
now, I’m racing with Randy Meyer again next
year. I plan to stay in the alcohol class for a few
more years because I think it’s the smart thing
to do. I have a lot of growing and learning as
a driver that I need to continue to improve. I
did (the Top Fuel testing) for the experience and
to get my license because one day, even though
nothing’s in place right now, I do definitely plan
to race Top Fuel.” – NATE VAN WAGNEN
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
W
ith his grandfather,
Eddie Rogers, a prominent
competitor with his blown
’69 Chevelle in the PDRA
and Mid-West Pro Mod Se-
ries (MWPMS), Jordan Grunwald has strong
family ties to drag racing. Still, it’s hard to believe
at just 14 years old he possessed the maturity,
confidence and drive required to begin organizing
events for MX 235 racers competing on 8.5-i