NHRA with Ashley Sanford

BangkokDean

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A little more than two years ago, Ashley Sanford stood in line for two hours for drivers' autographs at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. At the very same event this year on Oct. 30, Sanford, 20, wasn't waiting in line for autographs – she was signing them.

After signing autographs, the Fullerton woman got behind the wheel of her Team Gelish Top Alcohol dragster and proceeded to reach the semifinal round for the first time in her short career. She finished fourth overall at the event.

The following weekend, at the Lucas Oil Regionals in Las Vegas, Sanford qualified seventh out of 27 drivers, reached the semifinal round again, and this time finished third in the event.

Then it was on to Pomona for the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals.
Sanford wasn't as successful in Pomona, failing to get past the qualifying rounds. But she looks back proudly on her first full season on the NHRA Top Alcohol circuit.

Sanford competed in nine Top Alcohol events in 2014 and ended the season 24th in the points standings among more than 90 drivers in the Top Alcohol class.

She'll compete in at least 15 races in 2015. She topped 270 mph several times this season, up from 260 mph a little over a year ago.

"I would say that this year, we've exceeded our expectations," Sanford said. "As a driver, I've never been so confident and comfortable ."

She attributes the recent success to more time in the car, and learning the nuances along the way: "what the car likes, and what the car doesn't like," she said.

"We've definitely got dialed in," Sanford said before the start of the NHRA finals in Pomona. "It was just a matter of getting the car consistent. It's just a matter of learning the car and the tracks."

Sanford last month was a guest on "The Sam Auxier Jr. Show," a radio program covering the sport. Commenting on the Top Alcohol class in which Sanford competes, racing expert and cohost Rick Markko said: "I think the (top) alcohol racing is some of the toughest racing there is right now because there are so many cars and they are less than a tenth of a second apart in qualifying."

Prize money goes even faster.
"We've made money, but we've put it right back into the car," she said. "Right now, I'm just doing it because I love it."

Shane Sanford, Ashley's father, spent $150,000 to purchase the dragster, selling his racing vehicles to help with the purchase. To keep that dragster competing for a season runs an additional $100,000, he said.

Sponsorship, and the money from it, is also critical in a sport as costly as drag racing.

Already sponsored by Gelish, a Brea-based nail polish manufacturer, two Las Vegas hotels, two hotel chains and Lucas Oil, Sanford recently picked up a new sponsor, Morgan Taylor Nail Lacquer.

To pay bills, Sanford works as a server at Tony's Original Deli in Anaheim and Roscoe's Famous Deli in Fullerton.

If she continues to improve, racing may one day be Sanford's only job. Looking ahead, she said, "We are definitely going to have higher expectations."
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Ashley Sanford poses with her dragster last year. The 20-year-old recently completed her first full season on the NHRA Top Alcohol circuit.
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Sanford proved to be a quick study on the circuit. She finished 24th in the points standings among over 90 drivers .
 
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