Sanford Qualifies at NHRA Debut Race
LAS VEGAS, NV – 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, 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/Ashley.Sanfrd) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ashleyracergirl).
