Jim Whiteley Tucson wrap up

Whiteley resets track records en route to Tucson win

TUCSON, Ariz. – NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Jim Whiteley shook off a slump of two straight first round losses to score his first win of the ’08 season at this past weekend’s Division 7 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Ariz. Whiteley and his ‘YNot Racing’ team reset both ends of the track record in his final round defeat of Cody Perkins.

Whiteley, from Grand Junction, Colo., qualified his Norm Grimes tuned Blown Alcohol Dragster thired with a 5.424 second elapsed time at 262.95 mph. In round one, he used a 5.518 at 260.21 mph to defeat Larry Miercsh, then ran a 5.395 at 264.96 mph to take out Chris Demke in the semifinals.

In the final, Whiteley would square off with young Cody Perkins, who had runner-upped at the Phoenix Division 7 event the week prior. The pair squared off in front of the Saturday night crowd in unseasonably cool conditions. When the light went green, it was all Whiteley as he fired a shot heard around the racing world with a stellar 5.311 at 268.65 mph to take the victory over Perkins’ 5.477 at 258.52 mph.

“We have learned a lot over our struggles the past two weeks and it finally came together this weekend,” said Whiteley. “We really had it set up to run a .41 or .42 in the final; that .31 really surprised us. The track was really killer and it was 48 degrees outside. It was so cool my visor started fogging up in high gear. Going 268 mph with your visor fogged up at night can be pretty wild, but we’ll take the win.”

The next event for the YNot Racing team will be the SummitRacing.com Nationals at “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Apr. 10-13. Team Crew Chief Grimes has had much success at the Vegas track.

“After learning what we did in the finals this weekend, we’re very excited about getting to Vegas,” stated Whiteley. “Vegas is about the only national event on the schedule that really favors the blown cars. There will be some stiff competition from the A/Fuel teams that show up, and there’s a few blown teams you can’t count out, either. It should be a fun race.”

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