We recently connected with Ashley Afdahl and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashley, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
I realized in life, no matter who you are or what you are pursuing, people will always have a say about it. The unfortunate part about humanity is that people selfishly don’t want to see others do better than them. Now not everyone is like that but a good majority are. 99% of the time it’s not you that’s doing something wrong to receive hate, it’s often the person giving hate dealing with their own personal problems and reflecting it on you. For me I just try to always remember that you can be the sweetest peach on the tree, but not everyone loves peaches and that’s okay!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a first generation racecar driver and recently moved to Oklahoma to purse my dreams of racing for a career. I grew up around the racetrack but didn’t have the means to race myself until I was 17 years old. My passion for racing was rooted so deep but I had no financial help from my family to make it happen. I worked hard and bought my first go kart in 2018. It wasn’t until 2021 that I had the opportunity to move up to micro sprints thanks to another racecar driver in the community, Tony Morris. For the past few years I have been working hard on and off track to make racing my reality. Motorsports is no easy avenue and there are a lot more downs than ups but the adrenaline and love for the sport is what keeps the motivation train moving. As we head into 2024 this will be my first year running a micro sprint full time in Oklahoma. I will be heading into the new year with many amazing partners on board, especially Hoosier Racing Tires as one of their 2024 Hoosier Heroes. We plan to up our usual 25 race schedule to 70+ races this year. We came to race with the best of the best and I am excited to hit the ground running here in a few weeks for the season opener.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back I would say the three most valuable things I learned and had an impact on my journey were; marketing, patience and mindset.
When you break them down I’d say marketing played a huge roll in my racing journey and still does. It’s single handily the most important part of where I am today. I don’t have financial help from my family like a lot of race teams and I didn’t grow up in generations of racers so I had to learn early on the importance of marketing yourself. The biggest thing I learned was the internet is forever and how you display yourself off the track is just as important as important as how you are on the track.
As for patience I feel like this was something that took many years and is still something I have to remind myself of. Success takes time and being a racecar driver that wins on a weekly basis takes even more time. Early on I was always down on myself because I wasn’t good right out the gate but then I realized the people I was wheeling with had 15+ years of experience behind them. Patience is hard to learn but when you do it’s helpful in many aspects of life. Learning to slow down and understand everything happens for a reason. You are where you are meant to be and don’t waste time dwelling on things that could be by rushing the process.
Lastly I’d say mindset was a quality that I learned early on. The mental side of being in a racecar is just as important as the physical side. When you factor in the different aspects of racing itself, it’s important to have a strong mindset to put it all to fruition. As I mentioned before, racing has many ups and downs then when you add haters and naysayers, having a tough mindset is key. At the end of the day, no one can take your mental toughness away.
My biggest advice is, never give up. The qualities I mentioned above take time but when you are disciplined in achieving your goals, then the biggest obstacle in achieving them is yourself. Keep chasing your dreams no matter how hard the path may seem.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
The person who has been the most helpful in every aspect of my life is Tony Morris. I met him originally when I first started racing go karts and he was one of the few men that rooted for me even though we were going head to head each week in competition. In 2021 he lost his wife and son in a car accident. I never in a million could imagine what he went through yet he became one of the most influential people I know to this day. He set on a path to make his wife and son proud by continuing to race himself. He moved up to micro sprints to honor his son that passed and I helped wrench on his cars. When he gave me the opportunity to race micro sprints I thought I was dreaming. From day 1 he always believed in my ability to be a racecar driver and even after what he went through, he never gave up being my biggest supporter. I truly don’t think I’d be where I’m at in my racing career if it wasn’t for him. When I would get down on myself after races or become doubtful of where I’m at in my racing journey, he always reassured I was on the right path. He always pushes me to be the best version of myself and to truly grab life by the horns. Waking up everyday isn’t guaranteed and to have someone who wholeheartedly pushes you to succeed even on the hard days is what makes life worth it. I could write an essay on the things he’s taught me and the attributes he’s instilled in me over the few short years but I will say this; whatever you are doing in life have one person in your corner that will always back you. Having a constant reminder that achieving your goals is possible will make the road to getting there, a lot easier and the end goal that much more rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.ashleyafdahl.com
- Instagram: @AshleyAfdahl
- Facebook: Ashley Afdahl Racing
- Youtube: Ashley Afdahl Racing
- Other: Tik Tok: @AshleyAfdahl
