Justin Ashley isn't ready to hand the NHRA Top Fuel Championship to Steve Torrence just yet. Ashley was victorious in the Top Fuel final at the Texas NHRA FallNationals, defeating points leading world champ and home-state favorite Steve Torrence by just .005-second for his second win in the class and first of 2021.
"We looked at the ladder and figured these are some guys and girls that we might have to go up against and they're tough, they're great competitors. But it's exactly what we wanted," Ashley said. "Coming into this race for fifth their points we knew we needed to gain some ground
"Everybody did their job. I think that the best teams in the world are the ones who have each individual do their job and do it to the best of their ability. And it was a complete team effort today. You know, I was fortunate and did my job behind the wheel. Mike did an awesome job tuning this race car all weekend."
Torrence was still able to stretch his Top Fuel championship points lead over Brittany Force to 52 points.
RPM Round By Round:
Round 1 - Ashley took his #4 qualifying sport and faced off against #13 Keith Murt in round number 1. While Murt had a decent run, he was second to the line as Ashley ran 3.748 at 319.29 MPH.
Round 2 - Billy Torrence was waiting in the quarterfinals trying to get himself back in the Championship discussion and also trying to protect the points lead for his son, Steve. Both cars had a great run and it was Ashley who was able to use his starting line launch advantage to sneak the win away from Torrence running 3.755 at 324.75 MPH.
Round 3 - Ashley, renowned as the best leaver in the class, again lived up to that reputation by slaying the event’s performance monster, low qualifier Brittany Force’s David Grubnic-wrenched Monster Energy dragster, beating her on a 3.74 to 3.72 holeshot, taking the stripe by just .007-second. His victory carried him to third place in the standings with a run of 3.740 at 325.30 MPH.
Round 4 - Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence was waiting for Ashley in the Final. Torrence, who was looking for his 10th win in 17th events this season and his 50th victory in Top Fuel may have been the favorite but after both drivers left with brilliant .035 reaction times, Ashley’s Mike Green-tuned Smart Sanitizer/Vita C Shot entry got to the finish line first by 005-second, 3.759 to 3.764. Ashley's speed at the stripe was 326.40 MPH.
Phil Burgess has the Top Fuel recap:
#NHRA / #TopFuel / #FallNats / #StampedeOfSpeed / #Countdown
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