CHARLOTTE, NC (April 26, 2022) — After a strong showing last weekend at the NHRA SpringNationals in Houston, third year pro Justin Ashley will head to the Circle K Four-Wide Nationals in search of his first four-wide win at the unique event. Ashley powered his Mike Green tuned Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot to the No. 4 position in qualifying and then raced to his second final round of the season. Ashley is solidly in third place in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point standings five races into the season.

“The Top Fuel category is very competitive, and it’s shown throughout the first few races of the season,” said Ashley. “Each round of racing is equally as important as the next and teams are ready to capitalize on every opportunity. I am looking forward to joining our team in competition at the Circle K Four-Wide Nationals this weekend.”

The 2020 Rookie of the Year collected his third career victory at the season opening Winternationals and has added an additional semifinal finish to his ledger prior to the runner-up finish in Houston. Consistent qualifying times have put the young driver in a great position to succeed. As the second four-wide national event of the season opens this weekend with two qualifying runs on Saturday Ashley knows it will be critical to maximize every pass down zMax Dragway.

“The four-wide events present a unique style of racing we only participate in twice a year,” said Ashley. “One of the major benefits is having an extra qualifying session to get comfortable behind the wheel and collect data. Mike Green and Tommy DeLago do an outstanding job of dissecting that data. Using our technical alliance with Antron Brown Motorsports will be critical at a race like this because of the extra information and number of lanes.”

While the four-wide format has not been kind to Ashley he has enjoyed success at zMax Dragway including two semifinal finishes at the Fall national event. Ashley made his professional debut at the track located just 25 minutes from downtown Charlotte in 2019 qualifying No. 12 and then beating Mike Salinas and Auston Prock before losing a close semifinal race to eventual world champion Steve Torrence. Ashley unveiled a new sponsor at zMax Dragway and this weekend he has donated the firesuit he wore at that event to Speedway Children’s Charities to be auctioned off along with a meet and greet in his pit area. Fans can bid on the firesuit here.

“The work Speedway Children’s Charities does at SMI tracks across the country is amazing,” said Ashley. “When they asked about auctioning off my firesuit I was all for it and I am looking forward to handing it over to the lucky winner in our pits on Saturday. We had a lot of success in that firesuit, including winning the Stampede of Speed Texas Fall Nationals race in Dallas, and I am honored to pass it along in an effort to do our part in helping their cause.”

In addition to the firesuit charity auction Ashley in conjunction with primary sponsor Philips Connect has been raising money for families affected by the situation in Ukraine. Donations have been collected over the past several races with contributors’ names highlighted on the front wing of his Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot. Ashley sees these types of initiatives as being part of a larger movement to be a strong corporate citizen and has aligned himself with companies who share his focus.

Throughout his career he has built successful marketing and awareness programs with Auto Shocker, Lucas Oil, KATO Fastening Systems just to name a few. The young businessman is always looking to work with companies who see the value of NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and the diverse community of fans.

Four rounds of qualifying will highlight Friday and Saturday with final eliminations beginning at noon ET on Sunday. The race will air on FS1 beginning at 7 p.m. ET.