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JOLIET, Ill. -- Before Mike Ashley made his first qualifying run at the NHRA Lucas Oil Route 66 Nationals, he carried a streak dating back to the first event of the season. The New York Mortgage Banker, who drives the InfiNet-sponsored 1941 Willys, had yet to leave any of the first four events of the season on Friday with a provisional spot in the program. Instead, he got down to business right off of the bat. On the first day of qualifications for the fifth stop on the ten-race NHRA AMS Pro Modified Challenge, Ashley never dipped lower than the second position and stepped up the pace in the final Friday attempt to ascend to the top qualifying perch. If he can hold on to the top qualifying accolades on Saturday, it will mark the second time that he’s paced an NHRA AMS event since last year’s NHRA Gatornationals. However, Ashley’s not counting on anything yet.
“We’ve been fortunate to always qualify, it just happens to always come on the last day,” explained Ashley, who is credited with pacing the first-ever Pro Modified event back in 1990. “It feels really good to head back to the motel with that stress of having to get in the show lifted off of my shoulders. I’m proud of my team because we have really come together. “Gaining the top spot on the first day is a welcomed surprise because we never go out there with the objective of rotating the earth. We tend to lean more towards the conservative side during the first day and work from that. On Saturday, once we get into the field, we try to step it up from there. “I’m extremely excited that we are number one. I want to improve tomorrow and try and work on winning this event. We are certainly going to get after it more tomorrow.” Slipping into the second position was Roy Hill, who was the quickest after the first session by .001. The former mountain motor Pro Stock standout pushed his Hemi-powered, Odoban-sponsored Mustang to a 6.250, 227.00. His second attempt of the day fell short with a 6.278. Fred Hahn also failed to improve on his final attempt, but a 6.255, 227.00 was enough to hold on to the third spot. Just like most of the competitors, the Summit-sponsored driver failed to get down the track during the second session. Rickie Smith, the lone nitrous runner of the event, established himself as the driver to round out the top half of the show. He initially made the program with a 6.286, but came back later and upped the ante with a 6.262, 224.47. Tim McAmis made his best run in the first session with a 6.280, 223.65 to slip into the fifth seeding, but failed to return for the second session. Aussie Troy Critchley improved on his second attempt with a 6.295, 220.58 after a less than spectacular 6.408, 219.51. Scott Ray had his first attempt tossed for fuel, but he did not let that deter him in the second session. He thundered back in the CARQUEST entry and posted a 6.307, 220.94 for seventh. Rounding out the program was the Snap-Case-sponsored entry of Mike Stawicki. He reeled off a 6.315, 225.52 that was enough to keep him in the show despite his failure to improve in the Friday evening session.
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