Ashley Seventh in Points after Quarterfinal Finish in Houston

BAYTOWN, Tex. (April 1, 2007) - Persistent rain and long delays didn't slow the performance of Mike Ashley's Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger, outpacing every Funny Car at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals with the quickest and fastest pass of the event, a blistering 4.788/325.30 during his first round defeat of Tommy Johnson, Jr. Fatigue from the long days and circumstances did, however, bring an early end to the New York mortgage banker's day as Ashley made an uncharacteristic red light start against Jim Head in the quarterfinals, handing Head the win.

"It was a weird weekend of ups and downs, waiting for the rain to stop and the track to dry. We went out first round and set the low ET and fastest speed of the event, and then second round I went out and redlit," Ashley said.

"The problem was that I fell back into a rhythm-approach to staging, where I waited for him to stage and then I staged and just went. I am supposed to avoid any rhythm at all and just react to the lights - but I think I let the whole weekend just wear on me.

"I'm disappointed that I let my sponsors and the team down, but in actuality, we ran really well, were very consistent, and the car is back in shape and running the way we expect," he said.

Ashley said his thoughts were torn over the weekend, working through the loss of Eric Medlen, trying to figure out how to manage the recent difficulties in the mortgage industry, and then being forced to wait for the weather to cooperate with racing.

"I'm ready to take some time off with my family over the next week or so, work on getting out of the rhythm and into the reaction mode at the tree, and then hit it again in Vegas," Ashley said.

Ashley is tied for seventh place in POWERade points heading into the next event, the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip in Las Vegas, April 12-15.