Ashley Freiberg Extends Her Point Lead In Barber Competition

GRATTEN, Sept. 1, 2010: Ashley Freiberg isn’t satisfied with one Skip Barber series championship in 2010.

Freiberg, the 18-year-old driver from Homer Glen, Ill., is seeking her second Barber title as she scored back-to-back Summer Series feature wins last weekend (Aug. 28-29) at Gratten Raceway Park on the 1.9-mile road circuit.

The double victory weekend boosted Freiberg’s 2010 main event win total to 17 and extended her Summer Series point lead to 31 markers with four races remaining in the 16-race campaign. Ashley has won nine of 12 races in the Summer Series.

“I was able to have a very good weekend at Gratten,” said Freiberg, who recently was named a nominee for the Team USA Scholarship. “I was frustrated by the racing at Road America (in the Barber National Series) last week when I was leading the race and was taking out in the lead. But, at Gratten, everything seemed smoother. Collecting two wins was important in my run for another series championship.”

Freiberg became the first woman to win a Barber title when she captured the Southern Regional crown in April.

After winning the pole position at Gratten, Freiberg led fifteen of 18 laps in her win in the Saturday feature and came back on Sunday to lead all 18 circuits.

“In addition to racing the formula cars at Gratten, I had the opportunity to drive in the MazdaSpeed Championship races,” said Freiberg, who competed against her brother Brian in the sedan events. “Those cars were fun to drive, much different than the formula cars. It was good experience for me.”

Freiberg scored two top-five finishes in the sedan races, her first MazdaSpeed races.

Freiberg was seeking some sedan experience as she heads to Phoenix this Friday for the “shootout” in the Team USA Scholarship competition. Eight drivers will compete in a variety of racing disciplines at the Bob Bondurant High Performance School at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Ariz. The top two drivers will be awarded the Team USA Scholarship and will compete in the formula car competition in England.

“We must drive many different cars in the Team USA competition,” said Freiberg, who next races in Barber action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sept. 18-19. “So I wanted to drive in sedans as well as my Barber formula car. The more track time I can get, the better it is for my career.”

And Freiberg’s career is expected to continue to next level in 2011.

“I would like to move to the Star Mazda Series next year,” admits Ashley. “But we need some assistance financially. So we are looking for sponsors to help me get to that next level. I’d like to get a second championship this year and get more notoriety.”