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Mike Ashley - Quick Bio Facts
Name Michael H. Ashley Age 42 Birthdate July 30, 1965 Spouse Mindy Children Alexa (13), Justin (12) Born in New York, New York (Manhattan) Resides in Melville, New York (Long Island) Car 2007 Dodge Charger R/T Nitro Funny Car Crew Chief Brian Corradi/Mark Oswald Quickest ET 4.694 seconds Fastest Speed 334.32 mph Sponsor Torco Racing Fuels, Inc. Occupation Chief Business Strategist & VP, Lend America Hat size 7 3/8
Mike Ashley 2007 NHRA Quick Fact Sheet• 3 NHRA Event Wins (Topeka, Norwalk, Indianapolis)
• 5 No. 1 qualifiers (including 3 in a row: Las Vegas 1, Atlanta, St. Louis,
Sonoma, Brainerd)
• 6 Track speed records (including fastest Funny Car run in history)
• 11 Times top speed (Houston, Las Vegas 1, Atlanta, St. Louis, Topeka, Norwalk, Bristol, Sonoma, Brainerd, Las Vegas 2, Pomona 2)
• 5 Times low ET (Houston, Las Vegas 1, Atlanta, St. Louis, Sonoma)
• 4 Times to the semifinals
• 4 Final Round appearances (Atlanta, Topeka, Norwalk, Indianapolis)
• 3 Motel 6 ‘Who got the light’ awards
• 3 Full Throttle Pit Crew awards
• 2 Times Quickest Reaction Time
• No. 6 in POWERade Championship points
• Made the Countdown to Eight
• Made the Skoal Showdown
• 14/23 Times qualified in the top half of the field (61%)
• Fastest Funny Car run in history: 334.32 (Vegas 1) Mike Ashley – Driver/Team OwnerTeamwork and Focus. It’s the mantra of drag racer and New York mortgage banker Mike Ashley that lead him to back-to-back AMS Pro Mod Challenge World Championships and ultimately to the seat of an 8,000 horsepower nitromethane-powered Funny Car. With credit to his stellar assembly of crew chiefs, sponsors and technicians, Ashley has taken yet another step in a career steeped with success. Since breaking onto the drag racing scene in 1987, he has been hooked by the rush of adrenaline that comes from fast cars and fierce competition.
With a clearly defined goal of fielding a competitive Funny Car in the NHRA POWERade series, Ashley draws from his experience of piloting everything from a Super Pro Camaro to a 2,500 horsepower Pro Modified car. Dreaming of driving since he watched his first race as a 4-year-old, his determination has led him to the pinnacle of power and speed: nitro Funny Car. Now embarking on a new chapter of his career, he has taken on the dual role of driver and team owner, basing his operations out of Brownsburg, Indiana. And, with the sponsorship and support of Evan Knoll and Torco Racing Fuels, Inc., Ashley can focus on fulfilling a lifelong dream — challenging the sport’s greatest drivers and driving to win. Brian Corradi – Crew Chief
Birthdate: February 26, 1967
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio Residence: Broadview Heights, Ohio
Marital Status: Married, Jackie Children: Nick, 17; Sean, 15 Brian Corradi has made a living working with close-knit family racing teams such as the Skuzas.
He became a crew chief for Don and Dean Skuza in 2003 after joining that operation in 1996. He was assistant crew chief from 2001 until 2003. Corradi also served as crew chief for Frank Pedregon’s Funny Car team for 10 races in 2005.
Corradi was born in Cleveland, Ohio, grew up in Macedonia, Ohio, and currently lives in Broadview Heights, Ohio, with wife Jackie and sons Nick, 17, and Sean, 15. He commutes between the Brownsburg, Ind., Gotham City Racing shop and his Ohio home. Mike Ashley Career Highlights1987 Began racing in national event competition with a Top Sportsman Ford Thunderbird.
1989 Ashley experienced career building season in quick door slammer racing. Gained invite to participate in Englishtown United States Super Circuit, an exclusive group for pre-Pro Modified era competition. The youthful executive stepped up with a barrage of 215-plus mile per hour passes and even established a new track record for speed.
· Later in the year, Ashley used a stout qualifying record to gain a berth into the prestigious RAM Top Performer Shootout. The RTPS provided an opportunity for racers that were accustomed to running on a full-tree to run just like the professionals on a heads-up and no-breakout basis. Ashley left no stone unturned as he pocketed the winning purse for the special race-within-a-race.
· Earned spot in prestigious Sonny’s 200 Mile Per Hour Club, a special sixteen-member fraternity reserved for the first full-bodied drivers to exceed 200 miles per hour.
· Joined the special Six-second Club reserved for the first sixteen drivers to accomplish the feat.
· Was the first Top Sportsman driver to exceed 210 and then 215 miles per hour.
1990 With the announcement of the Pro Modified division, Ashley became one of the first to commit to a full professional effort in Pro Modified. He also replaced his Pontiac Trans-am with a swoopy and radical Chevrolet Beretta from professional chassis builder Jerry Haas.
· Number one qualifier at the inaugural event, the 1990 IHRA Winter Nationals in Darlington, SC, and went on to qualify on top of over half of the events in the first year.
· Won the second sanctioned Pro Modified event in Bristol, Tenn.
· Finished second in the overall points championship, just 150 points out of first place.
· One of only three drivers in the 1990 season to qualify at every Pro Modified event.
1991 Ashley went into “retirement” from racing in order to concentrate on business interests in the midst of a failing economy. He also took the steps to create Consumer Home Mortgage, a highly successful mortgage banking venture that would eventually become Lend America. Lend America now serves as one of the largest mortgage lending institutions in New York. Ashley also got married to longtime girlfriend Mindy Bell and spent the bulk of his time concentrating on his business and his growing family which expanded to include daughter Alexa and son Justin. 1999 Ashley made a return to Pro Modified racing with a nitrous-injected, 1953 Corvette. In his earlier days in Pro Modified, Ashley was one of the front-runners in the nitrous movement. However, technology had advanced a great since the early days when Ashley helped to pioneer the Pro Modified class and admittedly, he used the time to become reacquainted with driving and tuning after being away for nearly a decade. Ashley used 1999 and the two ensuing seasons as a learning experience.
2001 He was one of the Pro Modified drivers invited to participate in the 2001 NHRA U. S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Ashley’s 1990 Beretta named fourth among CompetitionPlus.com’s Top Ten Pro Modified cars of all time.
2002 History looked kindly upon Ashley this year as it marked a change in tradition for Ashley’s approach to Pro Modified. He parted ways with the nitrous concept and purchased a supercharged combination to run in a 1953 Studebaker.
· Ashley’s first full pass in a supercharged car netted a 6.200, which was within a tenth of the world record. He went on to defeat Mitch Stott in the finals of the CompetitionPlus.com Spring Open at Virginia Motorsports Park in Richmond, Va.
· One week later, Ashley was the low qualifier at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. He reached the semi-finals in eliminations.
· Reached the semi-finals four-times in 2002; Gainesville, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Las Vegas
· Finished runner-up at the NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn.
· Signed a major sponsorship with InfiNet Insurance and Financial Network for the balance of 2002 and the 2003 season. He was the first AMS Pro Modified Challenge driver to hire a full-time marketing agent and publicist. Interestingly enough, Ashley’s full-page ad soliciting sponsorship in National DRAGSTER was instrumental in securing the deal.
· The same weekend that Ashley signed InfiNet, he also produced his first NHRA AMS Pro Modified Challenge victory by stopping veteran Bill Kuhlmann in the finals of the NHRA O’Reilly Fall Nationals in Dallas, Texas, (home of Infinet’s corporate headquarters).
· Concluded the 2002 season as runner-up to Shannon Jenkins for the NHRA AMS Pro Modified Challenge World Championship. 2003 – Highlights
· Finished runner-up at K&N Filters SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. Ashley qualified eighth in this field that was regarded as the quickest-ever in the history of the class with a 6.16 bump spot.
· Expanded the Gotham City Racing team to include Pro Stock Bike rider Lloyd Straus.
· Finished fifth in the NHRA AMS Pro Modified Challenge. Top five point earners for second consecutive year.
2004 – Highlights
· Expanded Gotham City Racing into two-car team with Danny Rowe.
· Reached the semi-finals at the NHRA season-opener in Gainesville, Fla.
· Signed an exclusive marketing deal with muscle car icon Carroll Shelby and his Carroll Shelby Foundation charity.
· Won second career NHRA Pro Modified national event title during the O’Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas. Ashley was the quickest qualifier.
· Navy Master Chief Lee McKinney presents Mike Ashley with a flag that flew over Camp Freedom in Bagdad, Iraq
· Established a new elapsed time world record during the Sears Craftsman Nationals in St. Louis, Mo.
· Gotham City Racing won two national events and finished runner-up with Rowe behind the wheel of the team’s ’63 Corvette.
· Ashley finished runner-up during the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn.
· Led the point standings for the AMS Pro Modified Shootout from start to finish.
· Assumed the championship point lead with four races left to go in the season.
· Gotham City Racing became the first team to qualify two cars in an eight-car field for five consecutive events.
· Ashley clinched 2004 NHRA AMS Pro Modified World Championship with first round win at NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals.
· Sale of championship car on eBay nets mention Dow Jones News Wire. 2005 – Highlights
• Set record for consecutive wins in Pro Modified with 4 wins: Vegas, Belle Rose, Bristol and Columbus
• First ever winner of prestigious Jeg’s Crown, awarded for winning at both SportsNational events: Belle Rose and Columbus
• Introduced Funny Car operation at U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis where he finished No. 17, just missing qualifying for the fastest Funny Car field ever to that date
• Won NHRA “Wally” at U.S. Nationals for “Best Appearing Car” — only the third Funny Car to ever receive that award
• Qualified in the remaining events he attended, setting personal bests at each event
• Won 2005 AMS Pro Modified World Championship
• First Funny Car elimination-round win in Las Vegas
• Personal Best Speed: 327.27 mph
• Personal Best ET: 4.766 seconds
2006 – Highlights
• Started year in nitro Funny Car with a leased “third car” as part of the Worsham-Fink racing team, with teammates Del Worsham and Phil Burkhart, Jr., and crew chief, former world champion and 20x NHRA event winner Mark Oswald
• Raced the first 11 events with limited success, making seven first round appearances
• Raced in the AMS Pro Mod Challenge event in St. Louis, qualified on the bump at No. 16 and won the event.
• At the direction of his Sponsor, Torco Racing Fuels and Evan Knoll, left the Worsham operation and joined Don Schumacher Racing beginning in Denver
• Qualified at every event for the remainder of the 2006 season, as high as No. 2
• Made his first final round appearance in Dallas, and lost to Robert Hight
• Earned one runner-up, one semifinal finish, three quarterfinal finishes, and six round one finishes
• Set the track speed record and personal fastest to date in Reading, Penn. at 330.96
• Quickest ET: 4.694
• Announced in Pomona that he would return to the dual role of Owner/Driver in 2007 and field his own operation beginning 2007 |
