The New England Nationals last weekend were rained out in Epping, N.H. so that race was moved to Bristol, Tenn., the next stop on NHRA’s national event circuit, this weekend.

The venue change didn’t bother Top Fuel star Justin Ashley at all.

Ashley, piloting his Maynard Ashley Racing Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster, defeated Tony Schumacher on a holeshot in an all-JCM Racing final to win the New England Nationals Saturday.

Ashley clocked a 3.846-second elapsed time at 324.12 while Schumacher, an eight-time world champion, posted a quicker 3.835-second lap at 323.66 mph.

This was Ashley’s eighth career NHRA Top Fuel national event win and his third of the season. He also was victorious in Phoenix and Pomona, Calif.

By defeating Schumacher, he also won the bonus race within the race – the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

“Oh, it’s so special. I mean, every race is special when you go into the weekend knowing you have an opportunity to win,” Ashley said. “But coming into the weekend knowing that we have three opportunities to win and then having taken care of two of them already makes it just so significant. It’s just a testament to the group that we have. Even second round (he won a pedalfest against Brittany Force), we went out there and blew some stuff up just trying to get a win. And they came back, (in a) short period of time, turned it around. It was really just a testament to the whole group that we have. We have our work cut out for us (Sunday); there’s no doubt about it. But for tonight, we’re going to enjoy this one.”
Ashley qualified No. 4 for the Bristol race – the Thunder Valley Nationals – with a 3.755 elapsed time at 327.74 mph and will meet Doug Foley in round one. Eliminations begin at 10 a.m. (ET).

“I think it’s the work that we put in during the offseason,” said Ashley, who arrived this weekend fourth in the points standings. “We made sure that coming into the season... We knew that the competition was going to step up. It was tough last year, but we knew it was going to be even better this year. So, the guys did what they needed to do. They found ways to improve, found ways to get better. So, I think that consistency is really a result of the work that was put in in the offseason from Dustin Davis to Mike Green and Tommy DeLago and all the guys.”

A year ago, Ashley had a shot at winning his first Top Fuel world championship in the last race of the season in Pomona but came up short, placing fourth in the points standings for the second straight season.

“I mean, there’s part of that, that yeah, it’s different,” Ashley said about getting less than 24 hours to celebrate his two wins Saturday. “But part of that’s fun too. It’s just a great opportunity to be able to come back out and try and turn on four win lights again (Sunday).

“I mean, look, it’s about focus. It’s about enjoying this one, but it’s a very quick turnaround. As soon as we leave the track, the focus then shifts to (Sunday) immediately. It is a little bit of a funny feeling. We’ve won once before on a Saturday years ago in Indianapolis, so it’s kind of the same deal. I think we’re just going to learn from that and make sure all our attention is on (Sunday).”

This was a historic win for Ashley since the Epping Wally was his first since joining forces with Joe and Cathi Maynard.

“On the track, the way we operate stays the same,” Ashley said. “We’ve been doing such a great job, and really where the benefits come in a number of different ways is off the track, expanding business-to-business opportunities and resources. So yeah, it makes it really special. Our first win for Maynard Ashley Racing and Joe and Cathi. It really is special. Just grateful for the opportunity to be able to partner with them. It’s definitely very, very meaningful for our program.”

Since making his Top Fuel debut at the Charlotte, N.C., fall race in 2019, one thing that has been a constant for Ashley is his stellar reaction times. But Ashley said there’s no secret formula for his prowess at the starting line.

“I wish I knew the answer for you,” he said. “Honestly, it’s just a matter of, for me, staying focused, staying in my routine, and trying to do the same thing each and every time. Not just in the car but outside the race car too, in terms of preparation for the race, making sure that I’m eating the right things, training the right way. I think all those things add up. But truthfully, it’s irrelevant if we don’t have the car that we have. It’s a team effort. While the reaction times are great, if the car doesn’t react quickly, it doesn’t matter. If the car doesn’t go up and down the racetrack like it does, it doesn’t matter. It’s something that I’m proud of and something that I focused on. Ultimately, it’s a team game, and I think whether it’s a win on a holeshot, whether it’s a win on a holeshot, a win’s a win any way they come.”

The impressive thing about Ashley’s victory Saturday was that he beat multiple world champions in Brittany Force, Steve Torrence, and Schumacher.

“I think it’s an honor just to be able to race against some of these champions and some of these competitors,” Ashley said. “I think during the race day, there’s no time to focus on any of that. Our Phillips Connect team is just focused on being the best version of ourselves that we can be, and I think that’s why we found success. But yeah, afterwards, I have a tremendous, tremendous amount of respect for Brittany, for Steve, for Tony, and all the guys and girls that we race. It’s nice to be able to look back and say, ‘Man, it’s an honor to be able to compete against those people.’ But once race day’s there, once it’s race day mode, all that stuff goes away.”

As good as Ashley was Saturday and this season, he knows he has room for improvement, especially in eliminating first-round losses, which happened to him in Gainesville, Las Vegas, and Chicago.

“Learn from it. I think that’s really all you can do,” Ashley said about those tough setbacks. “We trust the process, and we know that throughout the year, there’s going to be ups and downs. It’s just a part of drag racing. You enjoy the wins when they come, but when you don’t win and when we struggle, I think what we’ve been able to do really well is learn from it. That’s the most important thing. Each and every lap down the racetrack, you can take data, you can take information, and learn from it. Then from a driving perspective, I’m still learning; I’m still growing. So, that certainly applies to me as well. I think that’s really where the focus needs to be if we want to transition to have a little bit more consistency.”

Ashley enters Sunday as the defending champion of the Thunder Valley Nationals. He beat Shawn Langdon in the final round in 2022. Now, he knows after two wins Saturday, he needs to slow his heartbeat down on Sunday as he goes for the hat trick.

“There’s a lot of emotions in the sport, and like we said earlier, there’s a lot of peaks and valleys,” he said. “So, it’s just going to be a matter of learning from last time when we had a race on a Saturday and we were fortunate enough to win the race and just knowing and understanding that yes, we will enjoy this, but once we leave the race racetrack, it’s over. We have to do everything that we can, and our Phillips Connect team has to do everything that we can to just focus on the task at hand. Come (Sunday), that’ll be round one. Once round one is over, round two, etc. That’s just where our focus is going to be, and I think that’ll give us the best opportunity for success.”

After rolling through a world champion lineup on his way to his two wins Saturday, an announcer suggested there could be a changing of the guard, but Ashley doesn’t see things that way.

“I’m appreciative of that (but) this is not a changing of the guard,” he said. “These guys have won a lot of races, a lot of championships before, and it’s very humbling just to be in that position. I’m very grateful that they say that, but truthfully, it’s... To me, it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter. The focus is what’s going on in the race car. Once you get caught up in all that stuff, you’re really going to put yourself in a bad position. I hate to reiterate it, but staying focused on the task. You can’t control what other people are going to say or what other people do. You can only control what you do, and that’s kind of been the mindset.”

Ashley also knows nothing will come easy Sunday, especially with the ever-changing weather conditions in Bristol.

“It’s kind of crazy. You look at this weekend and there’s been so many changes in conditions, and you would think it was wild,” Ashley said. “But then you look at Epping, and it was like a 48-degree swing throughout the weekend. I mean, it’s just taking it one day at a time. Obviously, it’s going to be tough. I know they moved the race up (Sunday), so we’re going to see different conditions probably early in the morning than we’re going to see in the afternoon. When the weather is the same, we can learn from it. We also have a ton of data and information from past races that we can take and hopefully apply here. It’s just going to be a matter of trying to make the right decisions going up and down the racetrack and then giving ourselves a chance to win. So that’ll be the objective.”