Barbie Driver Takes Fifth At Barrie Triple Header

July 29 2008: Ashley Taws scored her best finish of the 2008 season Saturday night, claiming a fifth-place finish in her Barbie At Wal-Mart stock car. Unfortunately, tire and radiator troubles foiled the rest of the evening as the Ontario Sportsman Series (OSS) presented three fifty-lap races at Barrie Speedway.

Things moved along well in practice with Ashley reporting that the car was reasonably quick right of the bat. Some adjustments allowed her to drive more aggressively and she was soon setting competitive times with the top pace setters. Optimistic of a good qualifying run, Ashley set a time of 15.03 seconds, but soon realised that several drivers had found something extra for the time-trials. She was a little disappointed to qualify eleventh, half a second off the pole time.

The tone for the racing was set early on with a crash occurring before race one even began. With the cars lined up and rolling toward the green flag, the pace suddenly slowed causing a chain reaction through the field. One car ended up hitting the inside wall and Ashley bumped the car ahead of her. Nothing serious, just a little scuffed paint. When order returned, the race began and Ashley quickly gained a position or two. Pushing hard, she worked her way up the order and, avoiding some spinning cars along the way, ran seventh when a caution period slowed the action late in the race. Taking full advantage of the restart, Ashley leapt into fifth place, then fought off several challenges to hold the position to the finish.

Ashley didn't get the jump she was hoping for when the second race started. Locked out of the queue, she lost a few places until she was able to nudge her way into the line. Eventually, emerging at the front of a short train of cars, Ashley began to close the gap to the lead pack, pulling a couple of cars along with her. As lapped cars began to come into play, Taws struggled to find a safe way around one of the backmarkers. The driver behind soon capitalized on her difficulties, forcing a way through and opening a path for another car to get past. Finding it increasingly difficult to hold her ground, Ashley slowly sank back to finish eleventh. Following the race, the Barbie At Wal-Mart crew discovered a small hole in the right rear tire, perhaps the result of running over some debris on the track. A new tire was installed and Ashley looked forward to duplicating her earlier performance.

The final race of the evening got underway with Ashley starting from eleventh. Holding her place over the opening lap, she began to work on her first pass of the race, but trouble was brewing near the front of the field. A string of cars suddenly braked as things got out of hand. With no where to go, Ashley ended up running into the back of a car, but everyone kept control and Ashley was able to keep going though the front of her car looked a bit untidy. The field was now closely packed and drivers were battling fiercely for position. Ashley was hit repeatedly, including a few hard hits in the rear, but despite being knocked sideways she kept control until a hit resulted in a blown tire. Making her way to pit lane, she saw the crew standing ready with a new tire, but fluid leaking from the engine compartment announced there was more amiss than a blown tire. All the roughhousing had caused damage to the radiator and forced Ashley to retire from the race.

"I'm happy with the fifth-place finish," said the 24-year-old racer from Newmarket, "But, it was a let down after that. I think we could have done really well.

"Thanks to my crew for working so hard on the car. They got the car handling really well and with all the bumping and banging, they had a lot to do.

"I'd also like to thank my sponsors: Barbie, Wal-Mart, Bear Paws, Life, Polly Pocket and Samsung for their support. And, thanks to my family, friends and fans for coming out to cheer me on."

Next on the schedule is a NASCAR-Canada race at Montreal's Circuit on August 2. Ashley is testing the waters of the high-profile series with hopes of competing there in the future.

[Prepared with notes supplied by Ashley Taws.]