Strutmasters, the leader in consumer strut and suspension products, will upgrade from major associate to primary sponsor status for Justin Ashley to compete at a minimum of 12 races on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. The move opens up the possibility that the 25-year-old Top Fuel pilot could make a run for the countdown to the championship.
Ashley, also a successful real estate developer, featured in the online reality show Fix Flip Fuel, is beyond ecstatic with this move.
“There aren’t enough words to describe just how great of a person Chip Lofton is,” Ashley said. “Chip Is a champion for the underdog. I really feel we are a team capable of winning and have gotten to this point because of Chip’s early support of our team. Add in our fantastic line-up of associate marketing partners, and 2020 is looking brighter by the day”.
Lofton, who signed on as a major associate sponsor with Ashley and the Dustin Davis Motorsports Team before their “Influencer” Top Fuel dragster ever turned a tire in competition, believes there’s something special about the Long Island, NY-based driver who is a candidate for the 2020 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award.
“I see a star in the making,” Lofton explained. “Justin’s got it all the way around. First of all, if you just look at him as a racer, he’s got to be in the top echelon of somebody that can come off of the line quickly and take it to the other end. I mean, what he did at Charlotte was just amazing. And because of his close relationship with his dad through the years and working with his dad, I see not only a racer, but a fellow that’s going to be a really good businessman and entrepreneur, as a young person.
“You don’t see that in many young people. And he loves people. Sometimes in racing, guys will just get stuck on being a racer, but he’s still a fan, and I like that about him. He’s never stopped being a fan.”
Ashley will open his 2020 campaign in Las Vegas, January 30, 2020, through February 1 at the PRO test session before headed to Pomona, Ca., for the season-opening NHRA Winternationals.
This story was originally published on January 15, 2020. 
