Top Fuel driver Justin Ashley had a dominating regular season – but none of that mattered when the six-race Countdown to the Championship began at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals this weekend.

Ashley started on the right foot by capturing the provisional pole with a 3.687-second elapsed time at 335.57 mph in Reading, Pa.

If Ashley holds the No. 1 spot through Saturday, it would be his third of the season and fifth of his career.

Immediately after Ashley took the No. 1 spot, he left the track for religious reasons. 

Rosh Hashanah began at sunset on Friday, Sept. 15, and ends at sunset on Sunday, Sept. 17. Rosh Hashanah, meaning “head of the year” in Hebrew, celebrates the Jewish New Year. During Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people worldwide ask God for forgiveness for their sins over the past year. It’s a significant holiday on the Jewish calendar and the first of the High Holidays (or High Holy Days), a ten-day period that ends with Yom Kippur—the holiest day of the Jewish year. On Rosh Hashanah, Jews from all over the world celebrate God’s creation of the world, and traditionally, Jewish people are not supposed to work on this holiday. 

Ashley left the track immediately after his run, which was right at sunset, and he will celebrate the holiday throughout the day on Saturday, including observing the holiday until right before Q3. The team has arranged for Toyota teammate Antron Brown to warm up Ashley’s Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster to allow him more time to observe the holiday.

“That was a great run for this Phillips Connect Toyota team. We didn’t have a great run in the first session, and Mike (Green) and Tommy (DeLago) felt confident in our capabilities for this night run,” Ashley said. “We ran early, so I don’t know if this time will hold up. There are a lot of good cars behind us. I would like to hold on to the provisional No. 1 since we will be later in the sessions (Saturday).”

Ashley acknowledged competing in Reading means a little more to him.
“This is basically a home race for me since I am from New York, and we have a lot of friends and family here,” he said. “You want to do well to start the Countdown, and this was a great start. Hopefully, we keep the three qualifying points, and those are important. That run felt really good, and it was a great way to wrap up the first day of the Pep Boys Nationals. We have two more runs (Saturday), and we will be able to use those to get ready for race day.”

This season had been full of highlights for Ashley. He has won six races, the last being in Topeka, Kan., Aug. 13.

A year ago, Ashley ran the spectrum in the Countdown. He won one race in Dallas and was runner-up in Reading and Charlotte. The three other races he lost in the first round. His goal is to finish No. 1 in 2023, not fourth as he did in 2022.

“(Saturday) it was good to have fans congratulate us for being No. 1 in the Countdown, but we are putting that behind us starting with this race,” Ashley said. “We have six races to try and win this championship. You look at how well everyone ran (Friday), and there is another day (Saturday). It will be exciting, and I am looking forward to driving this Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster on race day here in Maple Grove Raceway.”