Whiteley wins Houston for second year in a row

Whiteley wins Houston for second year in a row

BAYTOWN, Texas – For the second year in a row, NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Jim Whiteley took home the win during this past weekend’s O’Reilly Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway just outside of Houston. The win also marked Whiteley and the YNot Racing team’s second straight national event win this year.

Whiteley, from Grand Junction, Colo., qualified his Norm Grimes tuned blown alcohol dragster on top of the field with a 5.279 second elapsed time at 273.16 mph. Whiteley, Grimes and the YNot team then displayed a level of consistency during eliminations that would make a bracket racer proud. Whiteley ran a 5.300 at 272.61 on a competition bye in the first round, and then took out local racer Buddy Domingue in round two with a 5.295 at 272.01. In the semifinals, he defeated Texan Mark Taliaferro with a 5.294 at 272.83 mph.

That would set up a final round with defending World Champion Duane Shields. Whiteley left the line first and never looked back, running a 5.264 at 273.77 mph to defeat Shields’ 5.380 at 268.97.

“We are just tickled to death with the way the weekend went,” said Whiteley. “Norm and the team really have a handle on what the car wants right now. The car was very consistent in the early numbers all weekend. We didn’t make many changes until the final when Norm decided to try to tickle it a little from half track on.

“We were also very happy to have our friends from Talisman Energy enjoy the win with us this weekend,” added Whiteley.

Whiteley’s newly established win streak has prompted the team to add the upcoming O’Reilly Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan., May 18-20, to their schedule.

“We’re on a roll right now, so we need to stay on it,” explained Whiteley. “We had originally planned to skip Topeka, but I don’t think it would be wise to back off now. The car is just running too good.”

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 YNot Racing