Jim Whiteley Topeka wrap up

Whiteley reaches semifinals in Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. – NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Jim Whiteley and his YNot Racing team scored a semifinal finish during this past weekend’s O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. Whiteley and his Norm Grimes lead team ran strong throughout qualifying and eliminations only to have the same ‘mystery’ problem that has plagued them throughout the year lead to heavy tireshake in the semifinals.

Whiteley, from Grand Junction, Colo., qualified the Grimes tuned Blown Alcohol Dragster second in the field with a 5.346 second elapsed time at 266.79 mph. In round one, he defeated recent Brainerd winner Diana Harker with a 5.374 at 266.21 mph, then took out newcomer Justin Davis with a 5.349 at 267.11 mph.

Whiteley’s semifinal opponent would be eventual winner Mark Niver’s Injected-Nitro entry. Whiteley took the jump off the line with a stellar .007 reaction time (.000 is perfect), but launched into heavy tireshake and slowed to a 5.635 at 264.91 mph which was not enough to cover Niver’s 5.476 at 261.42 mph.

“We really can’t complain about how good the car is running,” said Whiteley. “This is the same problem that has been plaguing us all year; it just decides to go nuts out of nowhere one run for whatever reason. That’s what happened to us in the Vegas final. Norm and the guys are looking at the problem very closely. We have a few theories as to what the problem might be and we’ll be monitoring it next weekend in Chicago.”

“That’s just drag racing,” Whiteley continued. “You find problems, you try to fix them.”

Whiteley and the YNot Racing team will head north to Chicago for race two of their three week swing for this weekend’s Torco Race Fuels Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

For more information on the team, visit their website at www.YNotRacing.com

For more information on the team's fine partners visit the websites below:

www.bandjtransmission.com - Choose the racing transmission that powers the YNot Top Alcohol Dragster down the track.

www.Goodyear.com - Fly with the Eagles with Goodyear Tires.

www.NGKSparkPlugs.com - Choose the spark plugs winning teams like YNot Racing use, NGK.

The team would also like to thank: J&A Service, Raptor Industries, Advanced Oil Field Service and Knowles Enterprises

Contact: Will Hanna/ Pro Race Communications
Email: Will.Hanna@InsideTopAlcohol.com