Things will become very real for Ashley Sanford this weekend. The California native will make her Top Fuel debut when she competes at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis beginning Sept. 1 with the first qualifying session at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Sanford will be piloting the Nitro Ninja dragster owned by the Lagana family.

“Our first pass is (Sept. 1) and obviously I will be the first pair out in the Top Fuel class and I think it’s going to hit me once we pull up and I’m getting pulled underneath that arch way,” Sanford said. “I’m already so excited, and I remember my first time going under that arch when I was in the A Fuel car and I had a good tear brought to my eyes, a tear of relief that I made it. I can only imagine that once I’m in the Top Fuel car and I go under that arch it is going to be 100 times amplified.”

Sanford ran an A Fuel dragster at the U.S. Nationals in 2014-15.

In preparation for her first career Top Fuel start, Sanford tested Aug. 24 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indy.

“We made two passes,” Sanford said. “Both were little bit early shutoffs. The first pass I ran a 3.84 and the second was a 3.86 with a hole out after a couple hundred feet. We had a spark plug come loose. It was just me being comfortable. I probably let off (at) 100 hundred feet (before the finish line) with each pass.”

Although Sanford only made two laps, she was thrilled to get back in the seat.

“It had been since May 1 (at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C.) when I made one pass that morning to finalize my license,” she said about the last time she drove a Top Fuel dragster. “The butterflies were going crazy (Aug. 24). There was a lot of build-up in the moment to make passes again. The Laganas were amazing and they just told me to do what I feel comfortable with. It’s important to be comfortable in these cars because they are incredible beasts that you can’t take lightly. That’s exactly what I did and I was proud to make those passes and I feel more comfortable than before and more excited and more pumped.”

On Saturday night – Aug. 26 – Sanford spent time with the Lagana family as Dom drove the Nitro Ninja dragster in a match race at Cordova (Ill.) International Raceway.

“Dom made two passes and we were all out there and it was team bonding,” Sanford said. “We had a great time. Dom was driving and Bobby was there helping tune the car and it was a lot of fun and it was cool because that was my first match race ever that I attended. It was a totally different experience from NHRA races and it brings you back more to the old days and it got me pumped for this weekend.”

Sanford acknowledged she’s been thinking about competing at Indy in the Top Fuel dragster non-stop.

“I haven’t got much sleep, but I’m kind of on this racer’s high I guess you would say,” Sanford said. “I’m just ready to thrive under this pressure. With the Lagana brothers, it is about being comfortable and making a good professional debut. Even though there’s a lot of pressure on the line, it’s all about being a safe driver. Obviously, we want to do well. We want to qualify and we’re going to go for it (Sept. 1). We want to qualify and kick some butt. I have that fire inside me and that’s what is going to drive me.”