Now, that’s an encore.

A week after winning the Arizona Nationals, Justin Ashley qualified No. 1 at the Lucas Oil Winternationals, won the Mission 2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday and won $10,000, and then capped things off Sunday by taking the title at the Winternationals.

Ashley clocked a 3.713-second elapsed time at 327.43 mph to defeat Austin Prock’s 3.762-second lap at 327.43 mph in the finals in Pomona, Calif.

Ashley left Pomona with his seventh career Top Fuel national event win, his third No. 1 qualifier, and his first 2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge victory, a new program that debuted in Phoenix.

“I’m not sure that it does. To be honest with you. I think it was just really an incredible job top to bottom,” said Ashley about his amazing weekend. “We were saying on our way up here that to win any race is special, and then to be able to win two races in a row, with the Mission Foods Challenge in between, is just amazing. What makes it even greater is how much we really struggled in Gainesville. To be able to bounce back like that really shows you how resilient our team is, and it started on Friday and Saturday during qualifying.

“No matter who you race, it’s going to be tough, and you have to have four almost perfect rounds of racing to give yourself a chance to win. Qualifying number one did help us out because we had that second round by, so that all adds up to a really successful weekend.”

On Sunday, Ashley defeated Krista Baldwin, had a bye in round two, then ousted Antron Brown and Prock.

Ashley wasn’t fazed when he met up against Prock, another rising star like Ashley.

“No, he’s just another opponent in the other lane,” Ashley said. “Obviously, I have a lot of respect for Austin. I think he does a great job on the starting line. He’s a great driver, and I have a lot of respect for all the drivers out here, but I think I’d be doing my team a disservice if I was focused on what’s going on in the other lane. So, we’re just focused on doing the very best that we can focus on our lane, doing everything I can to go A to B as straight and as quickly as possible. So that’s really where the focus always is.

“I think I’m just focusing on the present moment and enjoying it. I do think that last year thanks to Philips Connect, we took a big step in the right direction. And this year, I think your focus was to take it to the next level. And I think you’ve seen that so far. In the first three races, especially these last two wins and it’s just a testament to the hard work that our team puts in. We’re on an upward trajectory right now.” Ashley was quick to acknowledge his team’s momentum as he is in first place in the points standings.

“Well, it’s tremendous, you know, really it gives us momentum, and obviously, it’s nice to leave here with the points lead,” Ashley said. “It’s a long season, so we have plenty of time left, but the points that we accumulate now count just as much for the points that we accumulate later before the Countdown, so to be able to stack those points on top of each other, including in the Mission Foods Challenge, really is very significant.

“You have to collect round wins. You’re not always going to win the race. You know, these races are hard to win, but you have to do a good job of stacking round wins. I think we’ve done a good job of that. We have to find that next step to find that consistency. There was a period last year where we didn’t win any races, but I think we went to five semifinals in a row. It’s about maintaining that consistency, learning from each and every run, and I think that was an important step in our evolution as a team.”

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As if things couldn’t get any better for the weekend, Ashley had all his sponsors in attendance.

“I feel very fortunate and blessed to have the kind of relationship that we have with Phillips Connect,” Ashley said. “You know, when we started this last year, for the most part, they were new to drag racing so to be able to bring them into this community to be able to work with them as one team, not Philips Connect and Justin Ashley Racing but as one Phillips Connect team really is something special. You see it with the results on the racetrack, but you also see it with the results off the racetrack, and the culture fit is just perfect. So having everyone from Phillips Industries, Phillips Connect here in their hometown and collect the Wally and give it to Rob Phillips, Amber White, and Jim Epler to take back with them to the office is really something special.”

Ashley has had some special weekends in his young racing career – but none like this weekend in Pomona.

“I think it probably was; I love Texas Motorplex because I love racing at the Stampede of Speed, but you know. Obviously, this track has a lot of history, but to be able to win and then make it back-to-back wins,” Ashley said. “And then when you add in the 2Fast2Tasty Challenge, this really is a big deal. It does make it a more significant and more special weekend. Every win is special in its own right. Every win has its own significance. But I think this was probably maybe the best weekend of racing, the most dominant weekend of racing we’ve had as a team.”

Despite his tremendous rush of success in 2023, he’s keeping things in perspective. A year ago, Ashley finished fourth in the points standings.

“It is important to know the championships are a long way off, but it’s important to start collecting points now because you want to be in the best possible position once that Countdown starts,” Ashley said. “Goal number one is to make the Countdown. Goal number two is put yourself in a position to win the championship, and those points add up. The points that we accumulate now count just as much as the points that we accumulate in Indy before the Countdown starts. It’s never too early to start thinking about the championship. Our focus is going to stay on one race at a time. After this win, it will shift to Las Vegas, but I think collecting those points is something that’s always in the back of our mind.”