Ashley lands in provisional fifth in Richmond
PROVISIONAL QUALIFYING REPORT RICHMOND, VA MIKE ASHLEY'S GOTHAM CITY RACING 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series TORCO RACING FUELS NHRA NATIONALS VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For high-resolution photos and interviews, please contact: Matthew Brammer - Active Marketing pr@activemarketing.com (623) 879-4290 Ashley lands in provisional fifth in Richmond DINWIDDIE, Va. (October 5, 2007) Mike Ashley, driver of the Torco Race Fuels Dodge Charger R/T, landed in fifth provisional qualifying position Friday night after one round of qualifying at the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Richmond, Va. In the sultry Virginia air and under the lights, Ashley drove a brand-new, un-tested car to a 4.905/258.42, shutting off at 1000 feet after the car took a hard right toward the centerline. ³Wow! Did that feel good,² Ashley said. ³Everything was so tight and responsive I loved it! We were on a great pass, right down the center of the lane, but it got out of the groove, and started charging for the line, and I wanted to be sure we stayed in the field, so I lifted. If I could have held onto it, we were on a 4.75 pass, easy.² Fourteen-time champion John Force suffered several severe injuries at the most recent event in Dallas when his car suffered a tire failure at 300 miles per hour and the car came apart. After examining the accident, Forceıs team and chassis-builder Murf McKinney identified several fixes to the chassis to increase the integrity of the car. The fixes includes the addition of an X-shaped cross member for strength plus additional bracing designed to insure that if there is another such incident, the chassis wonıt break at a point that leaves the driverıs legs exposed. ³Brian [Corradi, crew chief] and the guys spent hours and hours working on this new chassis we had, adding the safety features that were recommended after the crash in Dallas, and we didnıt have a chance to do any testing, but, after this run tonight, our confidence level is high heading into tomorrow and the rest of the weekend,² he said. Ashley is in a make-or-break, sudden death position in his run for the POWERade Funny Car Championship. Currently sitting in seventh place but less than one full round win out of fourth, he is keenly aware that every run is critical to his success in chasing the Funny Car title. ³Thereıs no question that emotions are high and everyone on the team is anxious about this weekend, but, we have worked so hard all year, and, to a man, we all believed we would be here, competing for the Championship. Honestly, Iım really excited by all of this, because it makes what we do that much more important, and a whole lot more fun,² he said. ³Weather tomorrow is supposed to be clear, hot and muggy, so it will be interesting to see what happens as far as times go. Itıll be a different race track, for sure, but, we have a great baseline and we all feel really good going into the rest of the weekend,² Ashley said. Qualifying is scheduled to continue Saturday, October 6 with runs at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled ### For more information about Mike Ashley and Gotham City Racing, visit the team website: www.mikeashley.com. About Mike Ashley's Gotham City Racing: Gotham City Racing is fully sponsored by Torco Race Fuels, Inc., the world's largest independently owned race fuel manufacturer. Torco Race Fuels has a full line of racing gasoline in addition to methanol, nitromethane and fuel additives. Torco's fuel product line is complimented by SKULL Shine -- a complete line of car care appearance products and SKULL Gear -- an innovative and trendy clothing line. Products can be purchased by calling 1-800-67-TORCO or by visiting the website: http://www.torco.com. Mike Ashley's Gotham City Racing is also sponsored by: * Knoll Gas Motorsports - www.torco.com * Lucas Oil Products - www.lucasoil.com * Oakley - www.oakley.com * The Hyperbaric Therapy Center - www.hypertc.com * Lend America - www.lendamerica.com Lend America is a nationwide direct lender, specializing in residential financing for one to four family homes. Lend America combines a flexible, common sense loan review process with hundreds of loan programs to provide exceptional service for its clients. Lend America's Motto "Don't take NO for an answer" is in direct relation to its commitment to service borrowers with "lending or credit challenges." Contact Lend America today, (877) 4-RACE LOAN.