Sanford, Mum On Details, Poised To Headline At Alan Johnson Racing

With no less esteemed advisors as Formula One and former IndyCar engineer/designer/aerodynamicist Adrian Newey and British former F1 headliner David Coulthard, the British Racing and Sports Car Club announced last week its spring 2019 launch of the W Series, which is exclusive to female racers.

Promoters said in a prepared statement, “At the heart of W Series’ DNA is the firm belief that women can compete equally with men in motorsport.”

That’s ho-hum news – no news, really – to drag-racing competitors and fans.

Photo credit: Ashley Sanford/Instagram

And intercontinental Top Fuel racer Ashley Sanford – like her IndyCar counterpart Pippa Mann, who called it an “historic step backwards” – wasn’t thrilled.

Sanford said in a Twitter post, “As a woman who has the opportunity to compete against men at ANY level in the NHRA, this post deeply saddens me for the “W Series”. Women have proven time and time again that we are equal to men on the track, instead of segregating they should be celebrating that equality. Sad.”

In an environment in which females have earned series championships in at least one class in the past five years, Sanford is planning to join the Top Fuel class full-time in 2019. Her goal is to join Leah Pritchett (Factory Stock Showdown, 2018), Brittany Force (Top Fuel, 2017), Mia Tedesco (Super Gas, 2016), Erica Enders (Pro Stock, 2015, 2014) as a series champion.

…we have a handful of really great people on board that we want to be able to tell you about but can’t just yet. Next year is looking extremely promising to be competitive for the full season.

Kelly Bettes captured the most recent Top Fuel title in Australia. Shirley Muldowney started the NHRA list with Top Fuel crowns in 1978, 1980, and 1982. Angelle Sampey, the victories leader among women at 42, claimed three straight titles (2000-2002) in Pro Stock Motorcycle. No fewer than 61 women have competed in the pro ranks and 15 have contributed to more than 100 victories, with dozens more having raced and won in the sportsman ranks.

Females are no strangers in the IndyCar Series, sports cars, NASCAR and other forms of circle-track and off-road racing, either, although no one has led the way like the NHRA. Formula One is another story, and that appears to be the focus of the W Series, for the promoters claimed that “the circuits will be some of the best and most famous in Europe, most of which have staged Formula 1 races for many decades.”

But to the W Series, the NHRA women would say, “Duh-.” They might add, “Watch how we’ve been doing it for decades.”

“We have women champions, women winners, constantly,” Sanford said.

News of the W Series “kind of shocked me. It feels like going back in time,” Sanford said in a recent episode of The Caruso and Wade Podcast.

If the goal is to advance women in racing, she asked, “Wouldn’t you think they’d want to do that in a series they already have and include them with the men so they could all learn and compete together? To me, it doesn’t make sense. It has completely baffled me. I feel like they have this opportunity clearly to develop some kind of scholarship, almost, where they could have brought in already talented drivers who just needed that help, just needed that funding, and created an opportunity for them. Instead, they’re just throwing them in a corner.”

Sanford’s world has been populated with female racers in all classes, but she recognized that Formula One might be that last bastion of male exclusivity in motorsports and said she hopes women make strides there: “Women in the NHRA are on a roll. Formula One is a lot different. I do hope it does create a promising future for girls. But I would hate to see this as a way to put girls in their own corner. As much as they say they’ll be able to move up, are they really? That’s my only concern.

“There could have been another way to do this. They could have learned off our experiences. They could have done what the NHRA has done for so long. They could look and see what we’ve done with diversity and how we’ve succeeded with it. It’s completely inclusive in the NHRA. Other motorsports could do it, too. They could have put them with an established series. I hope the best for it. I hope they’re going into it with the best intentions. If we get some girl drivers in F1, then that would be amazing.”

Eager to restart her own Top Fuel schedule, Sanford still isn’t in a position to reveal the details of a plan that appears to be coming together after more than a year of campaigning and negotiating with Corporate America. She had said during the U.S. Nationals that she wanted to announce something but couldn’t – and she’s still in a holding pattern.

“I’m allowed to say that I’m working with Alan Johnson Racing, and that is something that’s been going on for about a year now. I just can’t say anything else,” she said. “There’s definitely a lot going on. It’s getting to that point in the year that the silly season is upon us. I’m just staying focused on what I have in front of me. I’m really excited about what we have in the works. I’m really hoping by the end of this season, we’ll be able to make that announcement. I know he [Johnson] wants to get back out there. The whole team does. Fingers crossed that we can pull it off.”

Just to be employed by Alan Johnson Racing would be a dream. I would be wanting to soak in everything, [have] open ears, listen to everything he says. He’s one of the most intelligent guys out at the racetrack. It would probably be the highlight of my career, getting to race for him and work under him…

Sanford said she’d like to follow Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham, Shawn Langdon, and Brittany Force – all Alan Johnson-tuned Top Fuel champions. “I definitely have had some dreams about that,” she said. “I believe we can make it happen.

“Just to be employed by Alan Johnson Racing would be a dream,” she said. “I would be wanting to soak in everything, [have] open ears, listen to everything he says. He’s one of the most intelligent guys out at the racetrack. It would probably be the highlight of my career, getting to race for him and work under him and learn from him. I’m hoping to have a long career. It would be a great way to start my Top Fuel career, learning from who I think is the best. There is so much opportunity to help turn me into a great driver. I already believe in my capabilities. I think he’ll help elevate them. We would absolutely shake things up in the best way possible.”

Photo courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

It likely will shake up the dynamics of the Top Fuel class. With Johnson evidently headed back to owning and operating his own team, that would leave a void at John Force Racing. With highly respected crew chief Jim Oberhofer and capable veteran tuner Aaron Brooks floating around these days, surely JFR wouldn’t have trouble finding a replacement. The question arises, too, about how, if in any way, such a change would affect Mike Salinas’ expanding Top Fuel team. Sanford said she’s sure the landscape will change, as always.

For now, Sanford said, “It’s a day by day process. But we have a handful of really great people on board that we want to be able to tell you about but can’t just yet. Next year is looking extremely promising to be competitive for the full season. I’m so excited. We’ve been working our tails off all year, and it’s such a process. You have no idea – so much goes into it. It’s stressful. You’re constantly having to stay positive, selling the sport. And then you get doors slammed in your face and doors opened and doors slammed in your face. We now have a great opportunity in front of us. And nothing has changed. I’m still dying to tell everyone about it. It’s getting close, and I’m hoping it will be very soon. If and when I can make this happen, it’s going to be the ultimate dream come true.”

Although any future involvement in her racing endeavors is unknown at this time, Sanford has been transparent via social media regarding some of her off-track brand ambassador partnerships, including such lucrative brands as Vizio and Red Wing Shoes. Photo credit: Ashley Sanford/Instagram

On her Facebook page, Sanford mentions “my new friends at Vizio” and has become a brand ambassador for Red Wing Shoes (which has been an associate sponsor at JFR throughout the Countdown), Too Pretty Brand of apparel, and Shady Rays sunglasses. With at least a couple of those companies, she has her own promo code. Last November, Sanford hosted local Girl Scouts at the NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif., and recently she and Tami Powers, director of business development at Alan Johnson Racing, have given shout-outs on social media to the Girl Scouts. Whether any or all or some of these enterprises will be primary or associate sponsors for Sanford’s dragster in 2019 is unclear.

Sanford, whose NHRA debut was at Indianapolis last September with Lagana brothers Bobby and Dom, said she doesn’t enjoy being on the sidelines. She said that leaves her with “a little ache in your tummy – it’s not fun. It has been a long spectator year. I cannot wait to be a competitor again.”

She has raced several times in Australia for Rapisarda Autosport International, thanks to an introduction through the Laganas. But the deal she’s referring to will put her on the NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series 24-race tour.

Although she said she has “no idea” if and when that might happen, Sanford isn’t ruling out future appearances in Australia “I’d love to, but depending on how things go here, I might not be able to. I’m putting it all out there to God and we’ll see what happens.”

Her experience in Australia has been a valuable resume-builder, and she said she was pleasantly surprised by the passion and devotion she saw from not only the RAI team and others but also from the fans, something she described as “relatable.”

She said, “The tracks are a little different, but I love it – there’s so much character in every track. It’s old-school, in a way. It very much reminds me of going to the nostalgia races in Bakersfield. It’s one of the greatest experiences, getting to go race over there with the Rapisardas, some of the greatest people I’ve ever met. I’m always so grateful to them. I was a big ol’ sponge. I learned so much from them. It was blast: great car, great team.”

That’s what she’s wishing for here in the U.S., starting in 2019.

About the author

Susan Wade

Celebrating her 45th year in sports journalism, Susan Wade has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with 20 seasons at the racetrack. She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, St. Petersburg Times, and Seattle Times. Growing up in Indianapolis, motorsports is part of her DNA. She contributes to Power Automedia as a freelancer writer.
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