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Ashley Bart’s Fast Track
Bruce Biegler - March 10, 2010
 The word determination came quickly to my mind during a recent interview opportunity I had the pleasure to do with Calgary, Alberta’s Ashley Bart.
At only 20 years old, Ashley is definitely one of Canada’s fastest rising star drivers. That very notion was in fact emphasized by the many supporters of DragRaceCanada.com when during our recent off-season pole she was selected as the top Up-and-Coming/Most Improved drag racer of the year for the 2009 season.
2010 marks the beginning of Ashley’s 3rd year behind the wheel of a Top Alcohol Dragster that is owned and campaigned by Kenny Gilmour and Cal Bellamy. Ashley’s car is in fact the Brad Hadman-built dragster which Marty Thacker campaigned so successfully a couple of years ago. Ashley’s first two seasons in the car were limited appearances as the team worked to build up its confidence. The upcoming season will now see the team push the performance envelope even harder.
 “My first year was limited by our racing budget and also by the fact I was not yet a proven driver in this tough class,” Ashley revealed. “Last year we grew to be a lot more competitive. We set a track record (at Medicine Hat), qualified #2 at the Seattle National event and went 5.35 secs at 265 mph at Las Vegas. We think we have most of the bugs worked out and the car is now listening too us. So we have high expectations going into our third season.”
The Kenny Gilmour Motorsports team is a very family orientated group, including Ashley’s parents Rick and Barbara. That close bond is very prevalent and obvious within the team effort.
“We have a lot of fun being one of the very few Canadian teams racing in the Top Alcohol category,” Ashley added. “We get teased a lot about that but I also think we are now well respected. We are serious about this. We want to get our car running in the 5.2’s and I definitely want that #61 (1st in NHRA Division 6) on my car at season’s end.”
 The team will see most of it’s racing action within the NHRA Lucas Oil Division Six schedule. The team did open it’s 2010 season at the Pomona Winternationals, where they qualified 12th and had a best run of 5.527 secs at 259.01 mph over the weekend. Their next event will be at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals in April. That will be followed by additional select NHRA national events this season -- mostly in the West.
The team has amassed and received valued support from a very impressive list of associate sponsors that includes (but is not limited to): Lucas Oil Canada, Omega 2000 Cribbing, Jet Tools, NGK Spark Plugs, Mechanix Wear, Mopac Auto Supply, Goodyear Racing, Simpson Racing Products and JE Pistons
Bruce Biegler Photos
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