Tire shake derails Annie Whiteley in Houston

Tire shake derails Annie Whiteley in Houston

BAYTOWN, Texas – Tire shake. It is probably a Top Alcohol Funny Car driver’s worst enemy. Drag Racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits once used up an entire trailer door to write all the causes of the dreaded tire shake. After a strong effort in qualifying, tire shake derailed the efforts of up and coming rookie driver Annie Whiteley and her YNot Racing team during this past weekend’s O’Reilly Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway just outside of Houston.

Whiteley and her Roger Bateman lead crew qualified the YNot Racing Ford Mustang second in the field with a 5.601 second elapsed time at 255.48 mph. In round one, she defeated Ross Strickler, who was unable to make the call, with a 5.612 at 258.32 mph. In the next round, she squared off with eventual event winner Jay Payne. Whiteley’s mount encountered heavy tire shake in low gear, while Payne took the win with a 5.784 at 254.42 mph.

“The car shook pretty good in the second round,” said Whiteley. “It was just a bad run. We had the brake plunger get caught in the master cylinder, so I didn’t have enough brakes to hold it and almost rolled through the beams staging. That didn’t have anything to do with the tire shake, but I guess we will just have to chalk the round up to experience. We ran pretty good otherwise and really enjoyed racing at the facility.

“Our goal was to get our first national event round win, and as small as that sounds, we are just trying to take it one step at a time,” Whiteley continued. “I feel more and more comfortable with the car and everything that is going on every run. I have a great team behind me, so I have faith in this team that if we keep doing what we are doing, success will follow.”

The next event for the YNot Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car team will be the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Central Regional at Bandimere Speedway just outside of Denver, June 15-17. Whiteley currently leads the Western Region points standings.

To find out more about YNot Racing’s promotional partners, visit the websites below:

RaceGoodyear.com - Goodyear's position as the leading tire maker in drag racing is unquestioned. The quickest, fastest and most powerful earth-bound machines in the world look to Goodyear for tires that generate enough traction to take advantage of their stunning ability to go fast in a straight line.

NGKSparkPlugs.com - When performance counts, the fastest teams on two wheels or four, on land or on water choose NGK Spark Plugs.

The team would also like to thank the continued support of J&A Services and Advanced Oilfield Services.

Contact: Pro Race Communications 979.415.4959
Attached photo courtesy of James Drew Photography