Justin Ashley will quickly tell you that he's no tightrope walker.

But starting this weekend, he plans to embark on a balancing act of charting his own path in drag racing and learning all he can from his championship winning father.

Ashley, 21, is the son of two-time Pro Modified champion Mike Ashley, and he'll be making his debut this weekend at the PDRA Spring Nationals at Rockingham, NC. He is racing a Top Dragster for championship team owner Barry Brown.

"I think watching my dad race was a blessing and privilege, but I really want to set my own identity," said Ashley. "There are parts of what he taught me that I’m going to carry with me, and he’ll be with me along the way to teach me and help me grow.  To me, it’s going to be finding a way to separate myself as I go along."

The first move in charting his path is evident in his choice of race vehicle. Mike was a dyed-in-the-wool doorslammer racer, first rising to prominence in Top Sportsman where his natural driving talents made him one of the pioneering drivers in the Pro Modified division, and nearly a champion in the first season. He would later correct that shortcoming with back-to-back titles in NHRA Pro Modified in 2004 and 2005.

The second-generation Ashley got his start in Junior Dragsters and advancing to the big car was a natural progression. Plus, as he admits, he's always loved dragsters. 

"I think as I got older I really started to look up to guys like Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown," said Ashley. "I was able to watch and master their craft.  It kind of got me excited and wanting to drive a dragster."

What makes Ashley a unique driver in some aspects is instead of using the Junior Dragster ranks to hone his competitive spirit, he instead learned certain aspects of stick and ball sports as preparation. 

As an undersized wide receiver at 5-foot, six inches, Ashley not only earned a spot on the roster of the Ithaca Bombers, an NCAA Div. III team, but also gained playing time.   

"I think a lot of what I did out there prepared me, but I’m sure some people would look at it differently," Ashley said. "The basic foundation and principles are taught; as well as the discipline and commitment level.  The lessons that I learned on the field are very similar to what I’ve learned on the track and it helped me grow a lot as a person, which is something that I can translate to racing.  Just like in football or any other sport, it’s not steady and there are lots of ups and downs.  

"Some days you’re going to do good and some days you’re going to do bad.  Sports have mainly taught me to maintain that steady level and stand straight throughout those times.  I’m really able to translate that mentality to drag racing.  I have to stay focused on what I’m about to do no matter what’s going on."

If his father was a drive-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, Cole Trickle-type of pilot, the second-gen Ashley has more of a calculating, book-smarts type of approach and he has the license he earned at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School to prove it. 

"I’m the type of person that’s pretty confident in what I can do so there’s definitely no fears getting into the car and driving," explained Ashley. "I think where we may be different is that I may be a little more patient as in taking the long approach with the fine details to learn everything the right way. He has an incredible natural talent to where he could just jump in the car and knew how to drive right away.  It may take me a little longer because of the learning curve."

Ashley understands the driving reputation his dad established with a US Nationals Funny Car win but in the early years of his career, the legendary 210 mile per hour pass with a tire in the grass at Englishtown remains the talk of the doorslammer legends.

“I guess it’s up to me to follow up with something better," said Ashley. "Maybe I will put both tires in the grass. Or maybe I will do as I was taught and just lift. I will say this if there was one person who could run with a tire in the grass it was Mike Ashley. As for me, I think I will need quite a few more laps to reach that level."