Jim Whiteley Joliet preview

Whiteley ready for slugfest in Chicago

JOLIET, Ill. – After a strong outing en route to a semifinal performance at last weekend’s national event in Topeka, NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Jim Whiteley and the YNot Racing Team are ready for the slugfest that will be this weekend’s Torco Race Fuels Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago. The pre entry list for the event boasts over 33 of the top cars from around the nation, including all ten of the top ten points finishers from last season.

Whiteley, from Grand Junction, Colo., was one of the favorites to win last weekend with his Norm Grimes tuned Blown Alcohol Dragster in the hot conditions in Topeka. However the team has been plagued by ‘random’ shake at nearly every event this year. The team will make several solid runs; stick with the tune-up for raceday, then without any major changes, the car will go into violent tireshake or smoke the tires.

“It’s not that we’re changing a lot of things when this happens,” said Whiteley. “We’ll leave the car alone after making several strong runs with the same tune-up, then out of nowhere; it will either smoke the tires or go into violent tireshake.”

“After it bit us again last weekend, we’ve narrowed it down to a few possibilities,” Whiteley continued. “There are some things that we are going to be monitoring closely and we’re going to change the way we approach a few situations. That’s drag racing though. If we had all the answers, we would all be geniuses. I have a heck of a crew with Norm and the guys, and I have full faith they’ll get to the bottom of the problem.”

With such a stout field on hand, there will be little room for error.

“We’re all pretty psyched for the race this weekend,” commented Whiteley. “To have all the heavy hitters in one spot like this, it’s going to be fun. Chicago is a great track, so it’s going to be a fast field. When you get so many good cars together like you’ll see this weekend, I think you’ll see everyone bump their game up another notch. Whoever wins this weekend can be very proud. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars, followed by one final session on Saturday. Final eliminations will conclude the event on Sunday.

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