Veteran tuner Mike Green joins Justin Ashley Racing
Justin Ashley Racing has announced that world championship-winning crew chief Mike Green has joined the Strutmasters.com/Auto Shocker Top Fuel dragster team. The move comes as Ashley looks ahead to the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and a serious run at the NHRA Top Fuel world championship. Green replaces veteran tuner Aaron Brooks who tuned Ashley to his first win and a top ten finish in the shortened 2020 NHRA season.
“Adding Mike Green to our team provides us with an opportunity to take our program to the next level,” said Ashley. “Mike is a championship winning crew chief with a championship winning mentality. It is a perfect fit. I am grateful to Mike for deciding to join our racing family. I am looking forward to learning from his invaluable knowledge and experience throughout the season. Our goal is to race together for many years to come.”
“I have a tremendous amount of respect and gratitude for Aaron on a personal and professional level. I have known Aaron for a long time and my feelings about him will never change. He’s an outstanding crew chief and a great person. We accomplished a lot together during a short period of time. I am looking forward to watching him have continued success in the sport for years to come,” added Ashley.
Last season Green began the season as the tuner of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster wheeled by 2019 rookie of the year Austin Prock. Green was crew chief on eight-time champion Tony Schumacher’s dragster and he spent time in DSR’s machine and fabrication shops.
“Justin’s attitude is great and he has been racing for a few years. He has great ability and he has proven himself,” said Green. “I just really love his attitude and how dedicated he is to driving. I worked with Tony Schumacher for a long time and there is a lot to driving these race cars. There is the burn out, how you back up, staging and everything else once you take the tree, Justin has been really good at all of it. I am looking forward to working with him, Dustin Davis and the rest of the team.”
Before he joined DSR prior to the 2008 season, Green worked at Don Prudhomme Racing, Darrell Gwynn Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. As a crew chief, Green had led drivers to 50 wins – nine in Funny Car and 36 No. 1 qualifying positions. Green’s Top Fuel roots go back to the 1980s when he was a crewman on world champion Gary Ormsby’s entry.