Team YNOT Wins Topeka

There’s No Place Like Home Team YNOT Wins Topeka

Topeka, Kansas - “I’m gonna have perma-grin for quite some time I think! This is just fabulous, I can’t thank those guy’s Norm, Alan, Dirk, Don, Norm Hill, and Timmy enough. This is just great!” Those are the words and the feelings of a winner, Jim Whiteley and the YNOT Racing Top Alcohol Dragster team, which achieved another goal set at the beginning of the year, winning a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series National Event, by winning the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

The team’s accomplishments, since the well documented accident at the season opener at Pomona, was not lost on the local or national media at Topeka. Local TV and Radio interviews along with a segment on ESPN2’s coverage of the Lucas Oil Series, which will show on Saturday, June 9th kept Whiteley hopping all weekend.

While Whiteley was busy with media request, Crew Chief Norm Grimes, consultant Alan Russell and the crew where busy making sure the big white dragster was ready for battle. “We had some minor issues with parts in Brainerd, and we feel that cost us the win. So we are going to address those and see where it takes us” said Grimes. From the results it would be safe to say the fix was found.

In the first round Whiteley faced off against Kate Harker and took care of the Division Four driver with a 5.47 second run at over 261 miles per hour.
In round two on Sunday Whiteley’s victim was Brandon Pierce who he defeated with a very nice 5.37 to the Texas drivers 5.43.

In the semi-final round Whiteley faced Thomas Bayer driving Steve Federlin’s Toyo Tires TAD. Whiteley was ready to face the challenge and 5.39 seconds later Bayer was one the trailer and Whiteley was headed to his first National Event Final Round and second final of the year.

In the final Whiteley faced another Division Four A/Fuel Car with Brandon Lewis in the saddle. But once again the Grand Junction, Colorado driver and Team YNOT were ready. Lewis was quicker at the start by a 22 thousands of a second but by the 60 foot mark Whiteley had erased that lead and put 10 thousands in the bank, was never headed, pulling away to a very convincing 5.37 second 265 mile per hour run to cover Lewis very game 5.65 second run.

Team YNOT’s next NHRA national event will be their first excursion to Englishtown, NJ for the ProCare Rx NHRA SuperNationals June 21-24, 2007.
Team YNOTwould like to thank those companies who have supported us this year. Tom Dobruck and Permatex, Kris Zdrel and NGK, John Schnieder and Impact Race Products, Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil, Goodyear Eagle Racing Tires, everybody at J & A Services, Raptor Industries, the great staff at Heartland Park Topeka, and all the fans who came by and gave their support.