Rising star Ashley Sanford enjoys successful weekend in Norwalk

NORWALK, OH – The longer Ashley Sanford raced in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend at Summit Motorsports Park, the more her expectations rose.

First, the 22-year-old just wanted to make some laps and have some fun in the Anthony Dicero Racing Top Alcohol Dragster. Then, she wanted to make the field.

Next in her sights was a round-win — or two. And, finally, Sanford wanted a Wally.

She ended up losing in the second round but considered her race with Dicero’s team a success.

“I’m just so happy and so proud to be out here with them,” Sanford said. “Hopefully, we’ll make this happen again. We’ll be in my family-owned car in Seattle, but we really want to get together with the Nitro University team and hopefully get a Wally sometime this year.”

Sanford hadn’t raced since the Las Vegas regional race in April, but she got up to speed quickly in Norwalk.

“The plan was for me to get some more experience and have fun because it’s been way too long since I’ve been at the track,” Sanford said. “It’s only been a few months, but it feels like 10 years to me. Just to be out here was really rewarding to get this opportunity.

“Anthony has a great operation, and I was getting excited about the possibility of going some rounds.”

Sanford was No. 7 after the second round of qualifying, raising her hopes for a good race.

“I was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got a shot at this this weekend,’ ” Sanford said.

She was happy to make the field in 11th before lining up against Brandon Booher in the first round Saturday. There, fortune shined on the up-and-coming NHRA star.

“I will never forget that first round,” Sanford said. “I’ve been racing a long time, from sand to asphalt, and I’ve never won because of luck. For some reason, luck decided to be on my side as Brandon Booher couldn’t get it in reverse and had to idle off.

“I was just sitting there, pointing at him and thinking, ‘Is this really happening to me? This has never happened.’ But a win’s a win, and I was just as excited at the top end as I’ve been after any other win.”

And she was happy to have family in California and elsewhere see her get a round-win on NHRA All Access.

“Family is back at home watching on All Access, so to get that for them really meant a lot to me,” Sanford said. “Getting to have my mom, my backbone, here is great. I couldn’t do this without her.”

Sanford then squared off against No. 3 qualifier Jared Dreher, but the engine in the dragster struggled to power her down the track. She slowed to a pass of 6.195 seconds at 243.24 mph while Dreher sped to the semifinals with a run of 5.454 at 261.93 mph.

“We were confident heading into second round,” Sanford said. “Anthony has a great operation here, and I know he had the car capable of getting us to the final and getting that Wally, but unfortunately things happen sometimes in drag racing you really can’t stop from happening.”