Hey friends,

How is it April already? Time is seriously flying by so fast!

The Star Mazda season started March 24, in which case had me non-stop traveling for the last two weeks! Bouncing back and forth from Alabama to Florida to do what I love made those two weeks literally feel like two days; how did it end so quickly?

My first stop on my adventure was Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL for the Spring Training Test. Berfore I left, I spent days on my simulator at home prepping for this test (and the upcoming race weekend). Barber is a very highspeed, technical racetrack, and I discovered that an online computer game doesn't prep you for trusting wings and downforce. When I got to the track, I spent alot of my time playing "catch up," especially since most of, or all of, the drivers I race against have at least 2 or 3 more years of experience with this than I do. It was definitely a learning curve for me, and with hard work, I ended up making good strides in my driving by the end of the test.

From there I hopped in my rental car to drive nine hours south to St. Petersburg, FL for my first race of the season, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. What a beautiful place to have a race! Did I mention this was going to be my first time on a street course? Lets just say for the first half of my first practice session I was smiling so big and having so much fun that I was a bit distracted driving wise! I would have to say the coolest part was driving through corners just inches away from concrete walls... and when do you ever get the chance to blow though intersections and in between buildings at over 130 mph? Yeah, pretty awesome.

Overall, the race weekend went well. This feild of drivers is extremely competitive, and in each practice I managed to be just inside the top 10. For race one I qualified 12th and finished 9th, but in my second race was taken out from behind into a tire wall. Luckily the crash damage wasn't too bad, but was unfortunately bad enough to keep me from finishing the race.

Straight from St. Pete, I jumped back into my rental car to drive up to Barber for the next race of the season, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Before arriving, I new I had one huge goal for the weekend, "Trust downforce, and remember that the faster you go, the more grip you have." Easier to say than do, especially since my logic thinks otherwise, but I just needed to keep pushing my comfort level every time I went out so that I would get used to the thought.

The start of the weekend went surprisingly well. Unfortunately during qualifying in the rain, my transponder wasn't working for over half the session in which I was runnig lap times to qualify 6th; after fixing my trasponder, I ended up 14th. Since the track is so highspeed, it is really hard to gain positions. On the other hand, the track is really hard on tires, so I knew that if I managed to not beat mine up too bad, hopefully someone in front of me will. In race one I gained three positions to finish 11th, and in race two gained two positions to finish 12th.

Overall I feel like I had a pretty good start to my season. My competitive side would have loved to finish in the top ten at Barber, but I also realize that I need to keep my expectations in check because this is only my first season in this car. I really just need to keep learning, and keep working as hard as I can, then hopefully the results will come along with it. To me, this opportunity that TrueCar has given me is about developing myself as an all around driver, rather than going out and trying really hard with zero method or understanding as to why or how I do something well.

I know my next experience will be an exciting one, my first oval race at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, IN in the "Night Before The 500" on May 26. Talk about new territory... I am excited to find out what it will be like!

Yours Truly,

Ashley
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Hi there,

Just got back from my first test in the Star Mazda at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR), and gosh did it feel great to drive again. For those of you who have raced before, after being out of the seat for a year, I am sure you understand the joy of being reaquainted with driving at the limit again. Like I said on my Facebook, "TrueCar has me still trying to get this smile off my face!" :-)

I really enjoyed working with JDC, Mike Zimicki, and my new engineer Burke Harrison. The whole weekend, Burke and I put all of our efforts into learning as much about the car/ changes/ etc. as we could. While other drivers and teams were putting on fresh sticker tires to go out and be the "fastest" of each session, we were spending that time in our own little world, building a knowledge base about the car so that when a race weekend came, we had a wide variety of options to make the car perform at its best.

Within those two days, I learned far more about a Star Mazda than I have ever learned with all of my past experiences combined! I feel so much more confident when I am knowledgable about what is going on, and that is why I love working with Burke. I like that he includes me in everything, and helps me understand each change and why he is making it. I know that I still have so much more to learn, and I can't wait for my test next week to continue to do so.

On the flight home, I was looking out the window reflecting over my weekend, and I think it finally hit me. I am racing in a Star Mazda car, with a great sponsor, team, engineer, and driver coach. I have everything that I need to be successful, and without TrueCar I am not sure I would be here right now. I am so thankful for what they have given me, I can't wait for the season to start!

Yours Truly,

Ashley
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    Happy New Year everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a while… but my life recently got a bit more exciting and crazy all at once!

    Last month, I made a HUGE announcement about plans for 2012… I signed a multiyear commitment with my new sponsor TrueCar Inc.!! 

    To be honest with you, I am still trying to absorb the fact that this is really happening. At the beginning of 2011, I had a contact at TrueCar who was one of the hundreds of people I called about me being out of a ride/ having no funding, I also hung out with him at the Indy 500, but little did I know that he would keep me in mind when an opportunity came together. Before I was contacted by him at the end of October, the sponsorship side of things were looking like I would run in a couple of F2000 races, and maybe get some testing in. Now TrueCar is basically “sweeping me off my feet” and fully funding a season in the Star Mazda Championship (which was my ultimate goal for the next step in my career)! 

    It really just goes to show that you really do need to work hard, keep your self out there, keep making those calls, keep in contact and talk to everyone you can, because you never know when something this wonderful can happen to you. Whenever people ask, I just say that it is so dream-like to me that until I am actually sitting in the seat of a Star Mazda again, I think it will finally hit me what is really going on.

    Who is TrueCar and why are they sponsoring me? TrueCar.com is the best way to buy a car; they give you hassle-free, haggle-free honest prices on whatever car you may be looking to buy. It’s a website that greatly simplifies car buying by making you a pricing expert, and, for obvious reasons, for those who have been in a car dealership recently, this site especially appeals to women. 

    I am still finalizing my contract with the team so I can’t say who I will be running with, but I am super excited to announce who it will be! They and my driver coach, Mike Zimicki, (from 2010 when I won my Championships) have brought in a top level engineer to work with me. Knowing that I will have a great team surrounding me makes me confident and excited about the season and what is to come. I know that I still have so much to learn, and they will provide a great environment for me to do so.  The more information I can get and the more I can learn, the better I will be. :-) 

    So basically ever since this all came together I have been quite busy! I took a trip to the TrueCar HQ in Santa Monica; everyone was so friendly, so enthusiastic and passionate about what they do (and their “Women Empowered Initiative” racing program), and it was such a cool environment to see everyone working in; I can’t wait to go back! I have also continued training hard at the gym and negotiating with the team, and I have also been working at a coffee shop/café so that I have money to travel. Over the holidays, I worked 75 hours in 7 days!!! I was so exhausted, but at least I had a good pay day at the end of the week.

    Now that I have a less hectic schedule I am back to full on training for my 2012 race season! I just can’t believe I will be racing this year!
Can someone pinch me please?


Yours Truly,

Ashley
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About two years ago, I was walking through a store when I saw this beautiful photo of a long winding road through the hills; the sky was yellow, orange, pink and purple with the sun setting, and the road appeared to go on forever. Underneath this photo it said,

"The greatest thing one can discover is that nothing is impossible."

I know there are a million quotes out there saying that you have the power to become or do anything you choose, but what I loved so much about this quote was that it wasn't just telling me that "nothing is impossible," but it was encouraging me to discover it, to actually believe it and see it before my own eyes, and when I do understand it, it will be one of the greatest things that could happen to me.
 
At that time I really wanted to win a Skip Barber Racing Series (open wheel) race, but for the first year and a half I was only a podium finisher at best. So I told myself that if I just put my head down and put in 100% of my effort, that someday I could achieve this goal, and a few months later, I won my first Skip Barber race.

At that moment I realized that the hard work I put in is what brought me to that goal, so if I just kept putting in a 100% effort, it would help me achieve my next goal, which was becoming a Skip Barber Race Series Champion. It took a LOT of hard work, everything from physical to mental, but I just kept pushing myself to be better and at the end of 2010 I ended up winning 25 races and 2 championships in the same year. 

It excites me to believe that nothing really is impossible, and life is this long, winding, everlasting road in front of me and that I have the choice on where or how to drive it. Some things may take more work than others, but if I can envision it, figure out and work on my plan, I can literally take myself to levels I only dream of, as long as I stay committed and determined enough to do it. And this doesn’t just apply to racing; it applies to every aspect of my life. Knowing that I have the power to achieve any goal is an amazing feeling, and with that I hope to keep pushing myself to be the best I can be.


Yours Truly,

Ashley

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Hello followers!

     Two exceptionally inspiring people passed away recently of cancer, and it wasn't their death that caught my attention, but it was the lives they lived. Betty Skelton and Steve Jobs were both pioneers that broke through barriers of fear, failure, and hard times, with Ms. Skelton opening up opportunites to women in auto racing and aviation, to Mr. Jobs succeeding, failing, and failing again, to becoming even more succesful. With their confidence in themselves and determination to do what they wanted to do, no matter how many times they were told they couldn't succeed, they just kept pushing themselves because it was what they were passionate about. 

     What is truly inspiring about Betty Skelton, "The First Lady of Firsts," is not only her list of accomplishments (first woman to drive an Indy Car in 1950's, first woman to drive a jet car at over 300mph, held three land speed records and one transcontenental record in 1950's, won three aerobatic championships in the 1940's, held the world speed record in a piston engine aircraft), but the fact that she accomplished these things with pure love of what she was doing. "My heart makes me tick” was her response in 1999 interview, “and my heart and my will and my desires are mixed up with challenge." It truly never phased her that "women can't do this or that," she just loved being at the limit, and just happened to be a woman. 

     Steve Jobs is inspiring to me because he never let failure get in the way of success, he always had a hunger to improve is ideas and inventions, and he was able to face times of risk and uncertainty with an incredible calmness. He inspires me because he took his failures and used them in a positive way, which helped him become incredibly successful.

     Betty Skelton and Steve Jobs showed that determination, confidence, and inner strength can bring you to accomplish great things, and I hope that, someday, I can inspire at least one person in my lifetime too.

Yours Truly,

Ashley
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Hey everyone!

Welcome to my new website! I will be posting all of my racing updates and thoughts on this page. 

As some of you know, sponsorship(money!) is crucial in the world of motorsports; you can't advance to the next level without it. Although I raced in a couple of events at the beginning of this year, I have been struggling to find sponsorship (which is not an unusual struggle in this business) to take my career to the next level. 

This year has been an interesting one for me. I am originally from Chicago and am now living in Vermont, which is going from the midwest and cornfields to the east coast and mountains. Moving to Vermont exposed me to new experiences and being out on my own. So not only am I getting used to living in an entirely new place, but I am working two jobs just to pay for everyday life, and on top of that I am trying to find money for my racing career. My time here in Vermont has been a wonderful experience. I am figuring out who I am as a person, meeting new people, learning about everyday life, and finding new interests in things I never thought I would do. I have been hiking up mountains, learning how to cook amazing food (in case you did not know, I LOVE food!), I started cycling on my new road bike, and even learned how to ski last winter! Vermont is also extremely beautiful... Mountains, rivers, rock ledges, winding hilly roads... not a day goes by when I don't spend a moment to enjoy the scenery. Simply amazing.

I have been continuing moving forward with my racing career talking to teams as well as keeping up with my fitness, just in case I get "the call" to jump in a car the next day. It is difficult for me to properly convey how much I want to have that feeling of being tightly strapped into my seat so that I can feel exactly what the car is telling me in every moment and every inch of pavement I drive over. The smells and sounds of racing, the way simply sitting in that seat takes me to a whole different universe within my mind, where the only thing I can think about is driving the car to it's maximum capability, the way it feels when you go through a corner perfectly... missing it so much it gives me the strength to keep pushing to make myself better and stronger in every aspect... to keep making phone calls, writing  emails,  talking to team owners, media, managers, or anybody who could help, to keep promoting myself, and pushing harder at the gym. It makes me happy knowing that everyday I do something to help my racing career, I am moving towards getting back in a car again. 

I am determined to be in a racecar. I have my fingers crossed that it will be soon.


Yours Truly,

Ashley
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