Chevy’s In Her Blood

Why Ashley Bognar’s 2014 Silverado lights the way

April 2017 Duramax, Power of Pink, Feature Austa Cook

Ashley Bognar is a tried-and-true farm girl from Salamanca, N.Y., who has Chevy in her blood.

“All my family owns Chevys, so it runs in the family,” Ashley grins. “I’ve driven them all and Chevy is by far my favorite. The look, especially over others like Ford and Dodge, is the best.”

Having always had diesels around throughout her younger years, Ashley naturally grew up loving them as she’s worked hauling her horse trailer, stock trailer, machine trailers, wheelers, hay, and whatever else needs to be done. It’s simply a way of life for the Bognars.

“My brother and Dad both own trucks as well, and we use them everyday,” she explains.

Ashley personally calls a 2014 3500HD LTZ 6.6L Duramax her own. This stout workhorse of a truck was made for serious hauling and towing, and that’s something Ashley can appreciate every time she slips behind the wheel. Along with all the day-to-day work, Ashley has dipped her toe in pulling sleds in the street legal diesel class. So far her personal best is 212 feet, which is awesome considering her modification work has just begun.

“Myself, my brother Billy, and our good friend Jeremy Kessler came up with the group name Dirty Ideas for all our Duramax trucks that we’re customizing to our own tastes,” Ashley says. Considering the hard paces these diesels are put through, they’re aptly named.

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Having bought her Silverado stock, Ashley’s first wave of modifications have mostly focused on fine-tuning the appearance of her rig while adding to its functionality. She lit it up with red fog lights, red grille lights, a Go-Rhino bull bar with a 24-inch LED bar, and a Backrack truck rack with LED pods. New mudders are dolled up with 18-inch Rockstar Rims with a “0” offset and wheel covers. A little functionality was thrown into the mix with additions like the gooseneck hitch and black tool box.

The interior makes its own statement with a red vinyl-wrapped dash, Browning camo seat covers, and eye-catching pink interior glow. Blacked out emblems and tinted custom decals added the final personal touch that make this third member of the Dirty Ideas its own distinct build. If the appearance isn’t enough to catch your attention, the installed train horn will be.

All these mods were added to start taking away the stock feel of her truck, but the work is far from over. Ashley is just now greeting spring by turning her attention under the hood. What’s on the agenda, you ask?

An EFILive 5 stage tuning and all-around delete will kick off the season, with an aftermarket exhaust and cold air intake next on the list. Ashley is toying around with installing a faster fuel pump and adding a bull bar or Road Armor bumper with an LED bar to light the way. Column gauges will likely grace the interior and Ashley is thinking about upgrading to 20-inch red and black Moto Metal wheels with a negative 44 offest. She’s also going to add red Oracle Wheel Rings and color-changing halo headlights for that extra splash of attitude that clearly says, “Life’s too short to drive a boring truck.” And this is what motivates her to keep dreaming up bigger and better modifications.

“Every time I see a badass-looking truck, it gives me more ambition to make mine better,” Ashley says. “I have a lot of friends with trucks and it makes things fun and interesting when everyone’s got trucks they’ve put time and work into to make them nice. It makes for good memories when you and your friends are all together with your rigs.”

As she moves forward mapping out future plans for her rig, Ashley is grateful for all the help and advice her parents, Billy, Jeremy, Courtney Eberle and Nick Chuppa have given along the way. It’s obviously paid off; whether she’s lining up at the next truck pull, towing her 40-foot horse trailer to horse shows, rodeos, and state fairs, or simply driving to work, one thing is certain—Ashley will never get enough of her truck.

After all, she says, “If you can park it and walk away without looking back at it, you built the wrong truck.”

Backrack Inc.

800-265-8137

www.backrack.com

EFILive

www.efilive.com

Go-Rhino

888-427-4466

www.gorhino.com

MBRP Inc

888-636-7223

www.mbrp.com