Justin Ashley, who has one of the best career reaction-time averages in Top Fuel history, felt there was room for improvement in his reaction times. The driver who allegedly beat Nostradamus on a holeshot wanted to be even more brutal on the starting line.
“It was a pretty simple change,” Ashley explained. “I think everyone is different, and everyone has their own driving style. For me, whether I’m driving the Top Fuel dragster or my Toyota 4Runner at home, I just prefer to be a little bit closer up to the pedals and the wheels, so all we did, we left the pedal angle the same, but we just moved it about a half-inch closer, which just makes it a lot more comfortable for me. I like the knee-bend aspect of it. I’m getting a little bit more there.”
Ashley said he wasn’t sure if the change has made a difference, but he is more comfortable in the cockpit.
“Mike (Green), Tommy (DeLago), and the team, they’re great with making any adjustments that I want to make, so thanks to them for doing that, and yeah, so far, so good,” he said.
Top Fuel point leader Tony Stewart has been linked to Ashley since he came into Top Fuel. In fact, his first race in NHRA competition was at the 2024 NHRA Gatornationals, where he actually left on the starting line magician. Even though he lost the match, it was a personal victory for Stewart.
Nowadays, as Stewart admits, leaving close to Ashley can be considered a feather in the cap for any Top Fuel driver. Case in point, Stewart could hardly temper his enthusiasm on the top end with team manager Kelly Antonelli and accidentally roughed her up in the celebration, but not as bad as Matt Hagan, who once accidentally head-butted her.
“Leah and I talked about it [before the Chicago final],” Stewart said. “I looked at Leah, and I said, ‘I’m going to tell you what I’m thinking. I want to know what you think after you hear this.”
“I said, “Yeah, we’re going up against Justin, but as soon as you try to do something to try to equalize Justin, you put yourself in a position to make a mistake. I just need to do what I’ve been doing, be consistent, and just do what got us here.” “
Leah agreed with Stewart.
“[Competitors] know when they race against [Ashley] that they’ve got to bring the A game when they wind up against him,” Stewart explained. “It’s a curse for Justin as well because he’s so good that you know that you have to rise to the occasion. The hard part is doing that, but when you do it then the hard part after that is now how do you do it all the time like he does?”
Maybe a pedal adjustment? Time will tell.
