Whiteley wins Tucson divisional race

Whiteley wins Tucson divisional race
March 30, 2010 – Lucas Oil Series Top Alcohol Dragster Driver Jim Whiteley and the J&A Service Dragster took home the hardware this weekend at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Ariz. The win marked YNot’s second straight at the track, having won the Tucson event at YNot’s last try in 2008.

Whiteley earned top speed of 263.51 miles per hour and low ET of 5.415 for the weekend among the Top Alcohol Dragster competitors.

Whiteley qualified No. 1 for the weekend after spending Thursday making test passes on the track. According to Crew Chief Norm Grimes, track conditions were elusive throughout the weekend. “We chased the track the whole weekend and seemingly were a step behind,” said Grimes, the consummate perfectionist.

With only seven cars in the Pacific Division race field, Whiteley earned a bye on the first round. The semifinals against No. 5-qualifier Mark Niver of Phoenix is where Whiteley posted his best times of the weekend: Top Speed – 263.51 and Low ET – 5.415.

The finals put Whiteley against No. 3-qualifier Shawn Cowie of British Columbia. Whiteley edged him out with a 5.525 ET at 259.81 mph to Cowie’s 5.570 ET and 257.53 mph.

“Continued performance improvement is the focus,” said Grimes. “We managed to win this one and we managed to gain more information for our race program. We’re putting it all to good use for YNot’s push to take a championship in 2010. We’re one for two so far this season. That’s pretty good.”

Whiteley competed without a win in the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals in early February and was enrolled in the Firebird International Raceway divisional race that was cancelled in late February. The Southwestern International Raceway divisional counts as Whiteley’s second effort in the Lucas Oil Series points chase.

The YNot Team plans to race in the 11th Annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas April 16-18.