In the Mission Foods 2Fast2Tasty Challenge series, Justin Ashley is shaping up to be the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time). He scored his latest win, knocking off Clay Millican in the final round of the specialty series Saturday afternoon at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals outside of Chicago.
J.R. Todd (Funny Car) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) joined Ashley on the winner’s podium.
Ashley, who in two seasons has won the event a whopping eight times, scoring his best run of the weekend in the final round. It is his second #2Fast2Tasty win of the season,
“This feels great, but it’s tough to pinpoint one thing that we did to make this happen today,” Ashley said. “I just know it helps to get us in raceday mode. In these races, I’m not necessarily trying to race the other person; I’m just trying to make the best run I can make. As a team, we keep chipping away at it. We struggled a bit at the start of the year, but we’re better, and this was a fun one today.
“When we ran that 3.83 in the final I felt better because that’s similar conditions than what we’re going to face tomorrow. I assume there will be a lot of shaking and spinning, and we need to be ready for it.”
Todd picked up his second win in the series this season by defeating reigning world champion Matt Hagan. He scored 4.040 seconds at 316.52 mph in his DHL Toyota GR Supra, holding off Hagan to win his third career in the specialty race.
“This is extremely rewarding, and a lot of that is because these are race conditions,” Todd said. “Tomorrow, it might be even warmer. In Q3, a lot of cars weren’t getting down the track, and we did against John [Force]. Tomorrow, I’m not sure how important lane choice will be, but I feel like no matter what, we’re good in the heat. The teams that put up numbers sometimes struggle in the heat when they have to pull back.
“I love days like this when conditions are tough. I’m not saying I’m the best at it, but I love the thought of trying to tame 11,000 horsepower.”
Herrera stayed perfect in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in 2024, winning for the third straight time with a run of 6.733 at 201.16 against teammate Richard Gadson, making it a win-win for the team, but Herrera has been nearly impossible to beat since last year.
“I knew that it was going to be a tough race with Richard because he’s my teammate. He’s new, but he’s competitive, and he’s learning quickly,” Herrera said. “He left on me, but we had enough to get around him. The good thing about these [Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge] races is that you get in a routine on Saturday and that helps make you a better racer on Sunday. Right now, the parity in this class is close, and that’s what this class needs.”
Eliminations for the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday at Route 66 Raceway.
