Mike Ashley returns to IHRA competition as a nitro Funny Car driver
MARTIN, MI.(July 31) -- Mike Ashley would like nothing more then to score an IHRA national event victory for his dear friend and sponsor Evan Knoll.
“I can’t think of a person that deserves to win more than Evan Knoll,” Ashley said. “He has been one of the most positive influences this sport has seen in many years. I know I couldn’t do what I do if it wasn’t for him and I know there would be a lot of teams out of racing if he didn’t have such a passion for this sport. My Vision is to put Evan, Latrell, our Nitro Funny Car, the team and myself in the winners circle. I know we have a car capable of doing that.”
Ashley made the leap to the nitro Funny Car ranks last year and most recently assumed the driving chores on Knoll Gas – Torco Race Fuels corporate Funny Car team campaigned under the Don Schumacher Racing umbrella. The two-time Pro Modified champion enters this weekend’s IHRA Knoll Gas – Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals on the strength of semi-final finish in Sonoma, California.
This marks Ashley’s first official IHRA nitro Funny Car appearance since he and Del Worsham combined for an exhibition in Rockingham last fall. The class was officially announced within a month thanks to backing from Knoll Gas and Torco Race Fuels.
“I’d like to think we were there for the start of something big,” Ashley said. “I’ve always enjoyed interacting with the IHRA fans. I’ve raced once at U.S. 131 Dragway and it is a great facility.”
Ashley got his start in the Pro Modified division and has long been considered one of the pioneers of the class. It seems like yesterday that he won his first national event at the 1990 IHRA Spring Nationals.
“Time does fly by when you’re having fun,” said Ashley, who celebrated his 41st birthday on Sunday. “I got my start racing in the IHRA and it will be fun to get out here and mix it up with their new Funny Car class. There are some tough teams out here and certainly no one you can take lightly.”
Ashley hopes to be the quickest and fastest this weekend, but one thing is for sure, he’ll be the most unique. The married father of two is the world’s fastest mortgage banker. He maintains a daily regimen that epitomizes the slogan that suggests “life comes at you fast”.
“It seems that way,” Ashley said. “Life comes at me fast and furious. I take it on a day by day basis. I usually have a lot things going on at the same time. I’m in a very strict personal measuring system. I try to get the most out of every hour that I possibly can. I kind of plan my day out in advance.
“I usually wake up about 7 a.m., and after a fitness workout, I work from my house for the first couple of hours. Once I get into the office, it’s bedlam. I am attacked by the duties of the day. I usually stay at home to get my day planned out and work on things that require anything creative. I find that the morning is when I have the most energy and the most brain power to work on the creative things. I always have goals to accomplish things, but as the day progresses, it always seems that between the mortgage business, real estate and my racing, that I get detoured and never mange to finish. By the end of the day, anything that requires creativity - there’s no way I can do it. That’s the way I try to plan it. I make the most of it. The days add up to weeks. The weeks add up to months. At the end of the year, I hopefully have accomplished the majority of my goals.”
And just to think, Ashley has the volatile world of nitro Funny Car racing to look forward to on the weekend.
