Justin Ashley well on his way to hope of first-ever NHRA Top Fuel championship

He's already won two of the first six races of the season and looks for two more back-to-back triumphs this weekend in NH and next week at Bristol

Justin Ashley is still a relatively new driver in the world of NHRA Top Fuel drag racing, yet he’s already found himself in the winner’s circle multiple times.

Ashley, the 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year, has won in every season he’s competed in so far. He’s also the lone Top Fuel driver with multiple victories this season, collecting back-to-back wins in the Arizona Nationals and the Winternationals in Pomona, CA.

The 28-year-old New York native is highly proud of his season so far and now looks to win in his home race, this weekend's New England Nationals, held up the road from New York in Epping, New Hampshire.

“I think that we’re happy with the results that we’ve had so far,” Ashley said of his season so far in an interview with Auto Racing Digest. “I think it's really a testament to the work that we put in over the off-season. Our crew chiefs, Mike Green and Tommy DeLago, did a great job of taking the needed steps to even put ourselves in this position.

Justin Ashley has his sights set on winning his first-ever Top Fuel championship this season -- and he's already well on his way after the first six races. Photo courtesy NHRA

“We knew coming in that the Top Fuel field was going to be really tough so we knew that we needed to improve. I think we’ve seen an improvement of both ourselves and a number of other teams over the first six races.

"It’s a long year but when you look at the results, we wanted to do a better job of stacking round wins and collecting points early on. But nonetheless, to have two wins under our belt already, we really couldn’t be happier about the position that it’s put us in.”

Sitting fourth in the overall standings, less than two round wins out of first place, Ashley could very well be on the road to his first Top Fuel championship. But his success makes him an anomaly of sorts, as drag racing is a sport where age and experience almost always triumph over youth. Some of the competitors Ashley competes against are old enough to be his father. Yet Ashley has earned the nickname “Giant Killer”, for being able to challenge the NHRA’s old guard.

“I think that you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with,” Ashley said. “We’re surrounded by a very experienced team. We have two crew chiefs that have both won championships before and we have a large group of personnel that have won championships before as well.

“Although I’m a younger and less experienced driver, we’ve got the experience of going into many rounds already, which is helpful, but I’m surrounded by a lot of really talented and really experienced people and I think that shows.”

The combination of a young, talented driver and an experienced crew has built the Phillips Connect Toyota team into a legitimate championship contender, and Ashley said he “absolutely” can win the title this year. However, Ashley admitted that he believes there are roughly 12-13 other competitors who could make a serious run for the title as well.

“We have a healthy understanding of how the competition is,” Ashley said. “It’s not going to be easy. Is it going to be a grind? Yes. But I think we have a chance nonetheless of winning the championship.

"If we continue to stay ourselves and not focus on what’s going on around us and just focus on being the best versions of ourselves that we can be, we can do it. I know that we are a championship-winning team with championship-winning personnel. It’s all just got to come together and come together at the right time.”

The road to the championship is a long one, but this weekend, that road travels through Epping. And for Ashley, a win there would make for one of the biggest of his career.

“Every race is significant,” Ashley said. “I think winning at your home track is even more significant.

“To be able to win at your home track is almost like a bucket list item. There’s a few events you want to win, whether it’s the U.S. Nationals, winning at Gainesville or Bristol Dragway (the next race on the schedule after this weekend's race in New Hampshire), and then there’s winning at your home track. For me and my family, that’s Epping New Hampshire and New England Dragway.”