Justin Ashley admits September 2019 seems like ages ago.

Ashley, then in his Top Fuel debut, drove his way to a semi-final finish at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, the two-wide drag race at zMax Dragway in the final, to launch an award-winning career. 

Friday night, at the palatial drag strip built on the grounds of Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ashley drove his Phillips Connect Top Fuel Dragster to the provisional pole at the Circle K NHRA 4Wide Nationals, the original sensory overload event. 

Ashley lit up the Carolina sky with a 3.669 elapsed time at 331.77 miles per hour. The second-generation driver drove his Mike Green/Tommy DeLago tuned dragsterl to perfection, putting almost .03 between him and No. 2 Leah Pruett. 

If the run holds, it will mark the first No. 1 qualifier for Ashley. 

"We've been fortunate to accomplish a lot in this short period of time, but the one thing that's kind of alluded us so far is that number one qualifier," Ashley said. "It's obviously great to be able to qualify number one, but it's really about positioning yourself well for race day. So that was the goal, that was the objective, to come out here today and be able to accomplish that; it was a fun run."

Opening the season with a win and another final round appearance four races later, Ashley couldn't be more pleased. 

"It's been a wild ride, and really, it's flew by," Ashley said. "Off the track and on the track we are very pleased. It's important to be able to have a company like Phillips Connect to be able to come on board and join our team, and to be able to work with a company like them really puts us in a position to be able to do the things that we were able to do out on the track today.

"It's been a great start. Obviously, we have a runner-up. We have a win so far, a semi-final finish, and it's a long season. So it's about not riding that emotional roller coaster, those ups, and downs, but trying to stay linear. And it's a marathon, not a sprint. But we're going to keep our foot to the floor and keep at it."

Ashley learned a long time ago, the more he keeps his foot to the floor, the smoother the ride can be. 

"The faster the run usually is, the easier it feels behind the wheel," Ashley explained. "It's usually when things don't go according to plan that it feels a little bit off. So this was smooth. This was straight. It felt good. Obviously, a night like that, I can't wait to go back and take a look at the video. It's going to look pretty cool."

This is one of the many lessons he's learned since transforming from a naive rookie driver who reached the semis in his first outing into a seasoned competitor. 

"We've been through a lot over the last few years really as a team, and it's been a joy to be a part of it," Ashley said. "I think probably the most profound lesson I've learned is to be able to soak it all in and really put things in perspective because you look back at 2019, being able to go to the semi-finals and the debut like that and what it means. But then fast forward, and how far we've come as a team and as a program. 

"I really need to step back on days like today to be able to sit up here at the podium and qualify number one after Friday; it's a testament to the group that we have. And hopefully, the plan is obviously to continue for years to come."