Mike Ashley remembers a day when a promoter told him he couldn’t race. The promoter, Ashley recalled, was Duane Nichols and his United States Super Circuit presented one of the earliest exhibitions of the Pro Modified division.

“I called and asked if I could run with them, and he asked, 'Who are you?'” Ashley recalled. “He told me he had enough cars and didn’t need me. I told him that even though he wouldn’t let me run I was coming anyway and I’d just enter the sportsman classes and make his cars look foolish.”

Ashley's motive for his desire to race with the USSC was simple, he wanted to race at Old Bridge Raceway Park when the tour came to town. The opening weekend for the USSC featured an event at Budds Creek, Md., on Saturday and Englishtown, N.J., on Sunday.

Mike Ashley remembers a day when a promoter told him he couldn’t race. The promoter, Ashley recalled, was Duane Nichols and his United States Super Circuit presented one of the earliest exhibitions of the Pro Modified division.

“I called and asked if I could run with them, and he asked, 'Who are you?'” Ashley recalled. “He told me he had enough cars and didn’t need me. I told him that even though he wouldn’t let me run I was coming anyway and I’d just enter the sportsman classes and make his cars look foolish.”

Ashley's motive for his desire to race with the USSC was simple, he wanted to race at Old Bridge Raceway Park when the tour came to town. The opening weekend for the USSC featured an event at Budds Creek, Md., on Saturday and Englishtown, N.J., on Sunday.

Ashley traveled south to Maryland and showed up prepared to run in the track’s bracket division, albeit at 200-miles per hour.

“They ended up hurting a few cars and came over and asked if I’d like to be part of the show,” Ashley said. “That put us on the map because I was the second quickest car in the field. We came out the next day in Englishtown and won the race and set a new speed record.”

Ashley said from that point he never had to worry about getting turned down again.

“He was writing me letters and everything from that point on,” Ashley added. “I think it was a lesson that God taught me to be persistent in life. Sometimes God will give you obstacles so you learn to not accept no for an answer. You can always apply that to other areas of your life.”

From the earliest of memories, Ashley always wanted to be a drag racer. He often exhibited that insatiable desire to race and win in his earliest experiences. The two-time Pro Modified driver once drove a Top Sportsman car at 211-miles per hour through the grass.

Ashley recalled a multitude of those experiences while strapped into his Funny Car awaiting his first qualifying run on Friday in Englishtown. Two weeks ago, he announced his hometown event would be the last one for the foreseeable future.

Those memories served as a reminder of just how far he’d come.

“I hate to think most of those memories happened twenty years ago because it makes me feel old, but when you look at it, I have been blessed to get older,” Ashley admitted. “Twenty years ago I loved racing so much that I remember sitting down with my dad and telling him he’ll never understand it. You’ll never know how it feels to love something as much as I love to race.”

Ashley admitted his decision to step away from racing should be considered a sabbatical and not retirement.

“I made the decision to do this out of respect for Lend-America and the 600 employees,” Ashley said. “While the mortgage industry might be tough right now, I think of Lend-America as a beautiful cruise ship cruising through an unpredictable storm. You never know when a storm is going to come your way and you have to be there to watch. I think it’s more important to focus on business now.”

Ashley was unqualified headed into Saturday’s final session and as fate would have it, his Lend-America-sponsored entry was in line behind Scott Kalitta attempting qualifying. With his family standing nearby, his first love ahead of racing, the mortgage banker pulled out of line and called an end to the day before officials canceled the day’s activities.

Racing just didn’t seem important at that point.

"This is an absolute tragedy," Ashley said. I don't care about qualifying - it's just a race. I care about my friends, my family - this whole community out here. It's hard for me to even find words to describe how I feel.

"For me, it's a physical feeling of sadness inside - pain for Scotty's wife and two sons, his family and team. We all know this is dangerous, and we take as many precautions as possible, but nothing, nothing at all can prepare you for this. I just pray for them that God will somehow give them peace - eventually.

"When something like this happens, I have to take time to really examine my life and what I'm doing. For me, this just solidifies my decision to step out of the car for this season - not out of fear, because I never let fear drive me. It's more out of the importance of focusing on where I can do the most good for my family and all of those people who rely on me to do my job well.”