Annie Whiteley hopes to repeat last year’s Vegas success

Annie Whiteley hopes to repeat last year’s Vegas success

LAS VEGAS – Every new driver hopes to make a strong debut. That’s exactly what NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car rookie Annie Whiteley did in her competition debut last year in Las Vegas. In her first run she went straight to the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot. As her and husband Jim’s YNot Racing team enter this weekend’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Western Regional at “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Whiteley hopes to build on her success in Vegas last year.

The YNot team is no stranger to success and winning. Her husband won the season closer in Vegas in his Top Alcohol Dragster, and she is driving the car that Roger Bateman won the Division 5 Top Alcohol Funny Car Championship with last season. Naturally, that leads to high expectations. However, the Grand Junction, Colo., native has her eyes on incremental success this weekend – getting her first round win.

“We are hoping to do well and get my first round win,” said Whiteley. “Between Denver and Vegas, they are some of the nicest tracks we race on and the closest. We ran pretty good here last fall and Jim has done pretty good here over the years. We are excited to get back out there.”

One added benefit for the new driver will be the fact that this weekend’s event will be followed by the SummitRacing.com Nationals next weekend. This weekend’s event will feature test sessions on Thursday and Friday, so there is an opportunity to make a lot of runs in a relatively short period of time.

“It definitely helps not having much down time,” cited Whiteley. “We get two races in a row here, plus all the testing we can do. That’s the main reason we ran the Phoenix regional event, so that I wouldn’t have all the down time between Pomona and here. I learn something each run, so I’m looking forward to the experience.”

Top Alcohol Funny Car will have two qualifying sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations will conclude the event on Sunday.

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 James Drew Photography