Car Troubles Derail NASCAR-Canada Debut

Ashley ran some laps during practice, but mechanical problems held her to just one lap in the race. (Photo by Alain Surprenant.)

August 8 2008: Unfortunately, Ashley Taws's debut in the NASCAR Canada Series did not go at all well. In fact, Ashley herself described the weekend as "a disaster." Failing to complete a lap in the qualifying session, Ashley then completed only one race lap before engine troubles forced her to retreat to the pits.

Things began on the wrong foot when Ashley took delivery of a new Barbie At Wal-Mart stock car built specifically for NASCAR Canada road races. Test sessions revealed various problems and Ashley got no useful track time. Her crew spent many hours sorting out the problems, working on the car right up to the time they had to leave for Montreal.

Once at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the team was beset more car problems after the opening practice session and while Ashley signed autographs and posed for photos, her crew worked on the car. Sadly, she was not able to set a time in the qualifying session and then completed only one race lap before engine trouble forced her to pull into the pits and retire from the event.

"My crew worked really hard to get the new car working properly. They did so much and it was sad how things just kept cropping up, No matter how much they did, there was always more," said Ashley. "The people from NASCAR Canada were really helpful. And the new Barbie At Wal-Mart car looks great. I was really looking forward to racing it."

Despite the hardships brought on by the shortcomings of the new car, there were things to smile about. Ashley thoroughly enjoyed meeting many race fans, some of whom had come a long way to see the action. But the highlight of the weekend came when Ashley ended up at a private party hosted by Jacques Villeneuve in the VIP room of his restaurant on Crescent Street. Ashley said it was a thrill to meet Jacques.

As a result of the car problems endured in Montreal, Ashley has had to withdraw from running a second NASCAR Canada event at Trois Rivières on August 17. In the meantime, she'll be in action this Saturday as the Ontario Sportsman Series heads to Peterborough Speedway.

[Prepared with notes supplied by Ashley Taws.]