Franklin Ashe, Team driver

Team driver, Franklin Ashe, pilots the number 27 for Ashe Racing. He has been racing since 2004 starting in junior sportsman champ karts at Capital City Speedway in Ashland, Va., and Amelia Motor Raceway in Amelia, Va.

 

After moving to western Tennessee in 2006, he competed at Atoka Raceway Park (ARP)  in Brighton, Tenn.; his current home track. After a couple of seasons off, he got behind the wheel again in the last race of the year in 2011 but this time in a borrowed kart to see if he was ready to go racing again. He finished fourth and the racing bug bit again.

 

In 2012, Franklin piloted an Enik Engines-powered Prowler speedway chassis to a second place finish in the Clone Heavy class but claimed the point championship in the Maxxis Mid-South National Championship Qualifier series at ARP.

 

2013 proved to be a better season as Franklin won the class championship in Clone Heavy at ARP winning seven races including the grueling 40-lap Survivor Race. He finished second in the Mid-South National Championship Qualifier series and won the fast time award and took the win in Stock Super Heavy at the Mid-South Shootout at ARP.

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In 2014, Franklin wheeled his kart to another point championship, this time in the Stock Super Heavy class again at ARP. He won ten races in Stock Super Heavy, Champ Heavy and Stock Heavy classes. He won the championship in the Kings of Atoka Oval Series (KAOS) and was awarded the Kirk Harris Award for outstanding sportsmanship and a can-do attitude.

 

The 2015 season was kicked off with the King of Kings Shootout indoor race in Martin, Tenn., where he qualified 11th and finished ninth with 45+ karts attempting to make the 14-kart field. The season was then plagued with rain-outs but once it got going, he won every race he entered and won the championship in the Stock Super Heavy class. One strong point was his improved race starts with his new sponsor's racing clutch - Tomar Engineering - and that launched him on the starts.

 

Franklin has won a few races so far in 2016. Feature wins at Atoka Raceway Park, Dyer County Fair and Hartsmill Highbanks to name a few. He had finishes of second and third in the Blues City Kart Nationals in Memphis, Tenn. Franklin switched over to the Outcast chassis late in the season with two wins in the first two outings. The next big race for Franklin is November 25-26, 2016 in Batesville, Miss., at the O'Reilly National Indoor Kart Championships.

 

You can contact Franklin directly at franklin@asheracing.com