An uplifting story of Jewish pride by Justin Ashley

I know that there are many horrible stories out there of anti Semitism, I wish to highlight a beautiful story of a young Jewish man who recently became a father standing up for what he believes.

At a time where many Jews I know won’t wear their Star of Davids openly due to fears of being harassed, my friend Justin took Jewish pride to a whole other level.

Justin Ashley is a 31-year-old Jewish NHRA Top Fuel driver from Plainview, Long Island, and this is the second time he has deliberately sacrificed racing opportunities because of Yom Kippur.

What happened this year

At the 2026 NHRA Great Lakes Nationals in Martin, Michigan, Ashley had already qualified No. 8 for eliminations, running 3.733 seconds at 333.58 mph. The eliminations were scheduled for Sunday, but rain and dropping temperatures forced NHRA to postpone them until Monday.

Monday was Yom Kippur.

Ashley therefore chose not to race, even though this was the opening event of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. His scheduled opponent, Billy Torrence, received a first-round bye.

What makes this particularly striking is that Ashley asked NHRA whether he could have a substitute driver run his car. NHRA had denied the same request when this happened in 2024. They denied it again this year.

And Ashley specifically rejected the possibility of trying to get around the rule by pretending to be sick or obtaining a doctor’s note.

He said:

“To me, that’s cheating and that’s unacceptable.”

And then he said something that I think is especially meaningful for a young Jewish person:

“This is important to me and my relationship with God is important to me and it’s something that needs to be done.”

And this wasn’t his first time

In October 2024, Ashley was No. 2 in the NHRA Top Fuel championship standings going into the Texas Fall Nationals. Yom Kippur fell during the race weekend.

He made one qualifying run and then deliberately sat out the next three qualifying sessions.

That was not a symbolic gesture. There was a genuine competitive risk: he could have failed to qualify.

NHRA itself described the decision as potentially risky because of the importance of the event and the championship. But Ashley made the run he needed, qualified, and then went on to win the race, beating points leader Antron Brown in the first round.

So, there is a remarkable continuity here:

2024: Yom Kippur → sacrifice competitive opportunity → qualifies → wins the race.

2026: Yom Kippur → already qualified → rain moves eliminations to Yom Kippur → chooses not to compete and accepts the competitive consequences.

I think there’s something especially beautiful about his reasoning

Ashley isn’t presenting this as some publicity stunt for Judaism.

He explicitly said:

“It’s not to make a statement or to show us, it’s just simply it’s principle based.”

That’s important.

He’s essentially saying: I don’t observe Yom Kippur because I want people to see me observing Yom Kippur. I observe it because this is who I am and because my relationship with God matters to me.

And he went even further. He said his faith and family are “uncompromised principles.” He expressed gratitude that his team and organization supported him despite the enormous competitive cost.

His team issued a statement afterward saying his heart broke for the team, partners and organization because they deserved the opportunity to compete—but that he was “incredibly grateful for their unconditional support.”

Ashley is from Plainview, NY, and he’s only 31. His official biography says he began racing Junior Dragsters and eventually became an NHRA Top Fuel driver; he has already accumulated 19 Top Fuel victories and five consecutive top-five championship finishes.

So, this isn’t a young kid who isn’t serious about his career.

He’s a professional at the highest level of his sport, competing in a machine traveling more than 330 mph, with sponsors, a team, championship points and enormous financial and professional stakes.

And yet, when the calendar forced him to choose, he chose Yom Kippur.

I actually think this is a very powerful story for young Jews, because there is no sermon attached to it. The message is simply demonstrated:

You can be completely immersed in the modern world, pursue excellence, compete at the highest level—and still have something that is non-negotiable.

And perhaps even more importantly, Ashley didn’t say, “I’m giving up racing because I’m Jewish.”

He said, essentially:

“My relationship with God matters to me. This is something I need to do.”

That is a very different message.

I am proud to call Justin my friend. Godspeed.