Archive for category: Ashley Cappetta

Ashley Cappetta Racing (ACR) is excited to announce that the Gettysburg Trading Post will continue as the team’s main sponsor for the 2025 racing season. This marks the 14th season of partnership between ACR and the Gettysburg Trading Post, a collaboration that began in 2012, during Ashley’s debut racing season.

The Gettysburg Trading Post became ACR’s primary sponsor in 2021, a role that includes exclusive branding on the team’s trailer, car, and Ashley’s racing suit, as well as priority involvement in community events. “Having someone who stands by me through the highs and the lows means a lot,” Cappetta shared. “We’ve had some rough seasons, and it’s really special to have Shawn and the Trading Post there for the journey. I’m not sure I’d be where I am without their support.”

The partnership has been mutually rewarding, with both the Gettysburg Trading Post and ACR experiencing growth over the years. “I’m forever grateful for Shawn’s support,” Cappetta added. “Their sponsorship has grown alongside their business, which has expanded to a larger facility. It’s inspiring to watch them build something so strong.”

12th Annual “A Night at the Races” Fundraising Event Set for February 8

Fans and supporters are invited to the 12th Annual “A Night at the Races” event on February 8, 2025, for a night of fun, fundraising, and racing community connection. This annual event brings together friends, fans, and sponsors to kick off the new season and raise funds to support Ashley’s racing journey.

Stay tuned to Ashley Cappetta Racing on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ACappettaRacing89) for more info on the event! 

Ashley Cappetta’s night at Lincoln Speedway was anything but smooth, marked by early struggles and mechanical issues that derailed her hopes for a successful outing. A bad pill draw—going from a number 1 last week to drawing a 60 on Saturday—was the first sign that things were not going to go well. “I should have known right then and there it wasn’t going to be a good night,” Cappetta said.

Starting fourth in the makeup feature, Cappetta immediately sensed issues. “The car wasn’t good during warm-ups, so we made adjustments,” she explained. However, things took a turn in the first lap. As she went into turn 1, the car nearly got sideways. After adjusting the wing, the car broke loose in turns 3 and 4, causing her to spin. Thankfully, the rest of the field avoided contact.

After tagging the rear for the restart, Cappetta struggled to find her rhythm. “The car felt awful, so I pulled off and told Dad something wasn’t right,” she said. After a quick check, Cappetta was sent back out, but even with more adjustments—moving her wing all the way back—she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“I was questioning everything—was it me? The car? The setup? I knew it wasn’t the motor,” she shared. After the feature, they discovered that the w-link was tight with no play, and the torque ball was locked up. “We messed with the rear end and got everything free, but it was really disappointing.”

In her heat race, things didn’t improve. Starting eighth, Cappetta struggled to feel comfortable on a track with much different conditions from earlier in the night. “It was really frustrating after the car felt so good the first time out,” she noted.

In the B-main, Cappetta started 12th and worked her way up to 6th, but despite her progress, time was against her. “I think we could have finished at least 4th to qualify, but with all of the wrecks and the time limit, our night ended early,” she lamented.

Reflecting on the difficult week, Cappetta expressed her frustration. “When everything is going wrong, and you go to the track hoping for a good night, it’s defeating to have a night like we did.” Beyond racing, Cappetta has been managing other challenges, including a family member going through a tough time and the loss of a friend.

Looking ahead to the Weldon Sterner Memorial, Cappetta is optimistic. “I think we figured out what caused the lock-up, and we’re hoping that fixes our issue,” she said. Although she’s uncertain about whether she’ll make it to BAPS for practice, she’s putting her focus on being prepared for the big race.

“We’ll at least fire the car to make sure everything is free. The things that go wrong never go wrong in the shop—it’s always at the track,” she added. Despite the rough patch, Cappetta is determined to remain positive. “I’m trying to put things in perspective. Other drivers are struggling, too. It’s a part of racing—it’s not just talent, it’s a lot of luck.”

With the Sterner Memorial up next, Cappetta is ready to regroup and focus on turning things around.

After a strong start to the season, Ashley Cappetta faced a rough night at the track this past weekend. Despite her early momentum, the challenges of the night proved formidable, testing her resilience and determination, “Unfortunately with the way the track was with all of the rain it received it was tough to pass.” The night started with a high pill draw lining Ashley up seventh for her heat race, “Had to make something happen on the start and I just couldn’t get anything to work. The car felt good but I didn’t want to put myself and any of my competitors in a bad spot.” Cappetta finished her heat race where she started, seventh, which had her lined up sixth for the B-main.

“In the B-main it was tough to get going but after the caution, we were better.” Ashley was up to fourth and was going for fourth when she misjudged the guardrail and ended up on her side, “I’m shocked it happened, I lacked judgment and after I hit the guardrail I gathered it back up and then spun and the car stood up and tumbled over.” Cappetta was able to restart as it did not appear that the car suffered much damage, but Ashley said the car did not feel right for the rest of the race. Cappetta would finish the night with a sixth place finish in the B-main, “All in all it was a frustrating night, especially after testing on Wednesday went well.” After a tough night Cappetta and the team are looking forward to their next race, “One positive is that we have the speed we were looking for, it just wasn’t our night. It was the first feature we haven’t qualified for this year which is still ahead of where we were compared to last season.” Another positive from the night, “In 12 years of racing I haven’t made too many mistakes and it makes you feel good knowing nights like this don’t happen often.”

Ashley and the Cappetta Racing Team will be back in action Saturday at Lincoln Speedway for the Kramer Klash.

Saturday night started with another good pill draw and this time it put Ashley on the pole to start her heat race, “The heat race was good. I had a little bit of stumble in the engine, we had too much fuel going into it.” The engine stumble hit the hardest on the starts, “I felt bad for the guy in third, I’m thankful that he gave me a little shove.”
Cappetta won her heat, putting her in the redraw for the feature. After the heat, Cappetta and the team called the engine builder and were able to change things in the fuel system for the feature, “The temperatures were cooler than they have been on Saturday which made a big difference. We ended up having to make some adjustments due to the weather conditions.”

When the field saw the green for the feature the engine stumble was gone. With the engine stumble not an issue Cappetta could focus on the race, “The car was loose early and I was not comfortable. I ended up with the wing in the trunk early, I didn’t want it back so early but I had no choice based on what I was working with.” Having the wing so far back helped Cappetta glue the car to the bottom of the track, “Unfortunately it was too late, I was getting ready to pass a car before the third red. It’s hard to say where I would have ended up. We ended the night with a top 10 but not sure that would have happened if the top two cars hadn’t wrecked out.”

With a week off to regroup Cappetta and the team will be focused on figuring out how to get the car better in the features, “We really need to get this slick track figured out. We’re having a heck of a time and can’t figure out why.” During the downtime, Ashley will be on vacation with her family, a much-needed respite from the grind of running her own business and race team.

Ashley would like to thank the fans and everyone who purchased merchandise on Saturday, “I appreciate all of the support from the fans before and after the races, and for everyone that bought merchandise. We are going to be able to give the Emig Family a good amount as a portion of my merchandise sales from the weekend will go to them.”

During intermission it was brought to Cappetta’s attention that another team filed a complaint with officials that she was wearing an Apple watch, something that is not permitted per Lincoln’s rulebook, “I screwed up not knowing the rulebook, there’s no excuse to miss knowing the rules. As soon as the official approached me, I removed the watch and did not put it back on for the rest of the night.” As many people do, Ashley uses the watch to track her health and fitness, “When I think of my Apple watch, I use it to track steps and keep tabs on reminders throughout the day. I’ve never used it for anything other than that.”

The amount of effort it would take to use an Apple watch to gain an advantage is not something that Cappetta is interested in, “My mind is so focused on what I need to do in the car I don’t have time to worry about communicating with the team. Plus the team is older and technology is not something they would even think about trying to figure out and use. Then there’s the fact that you’d have to have both your watch and phone to do anything illegal and I’ve never taken my phone onto the track.”

Cappetta had one final statement regarding the allegations made: “Our trailer is always open. Anyone can come in and take a look or talk to me at any time. I’ve put too much into what I’ve built and have too much pride to cheat. That is something the ACR team will never do.”

Up Next

Lincoln Speedway, Saturday, August 3 at 7PM

Season Stats

7 races, 0 wins, 0 top 5’s, 4 top 10’s, 6 top 15’s