Jim, Annie Whiteley Dominate Vegas Regional

Courtesy of Todd Veney

For the second year in a row, Jim and Annie Whiteley's YNot Racing team swept the Las Vegas spring Regional, Jim in Top Alcohol Dragster and wife Annie in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Jim led the dragster contingent from wire to wire, setting low e.t. of all three qualifying sessions and two of three rounds of eliminations, and Annie came from the No. 2 spot to defeat Doug Gordon in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final with low e.t. of the event, 5.59.

Jim, who beat Chris Demke last season in a final that had to be rerun after something blew through the lights in Demke's lane as they approached the finish line the first time, was a winner before he passed the Tree this time on Don St. Arnaud's foul start. "I saw the red-light before my green came on," Whiteley said. "It can mess you up sometimes, but I didn't mind because we weren't running as good as we did here last year."

Arnaud, who had killed the Tree in the first two rounds, was .131-second early, but with a 5.343 (low e.t.), Whiteley would have been hard to get around regardless. He qualified on top with an almost identical run, 5.344, eliminated Megan McKernan in a much-closer-than-expected first-round match, 5.40 to 5.43, and took out Joey Severance in the semifinals, 5.35 to an early-shutoff 5.59. Severance had a realistic shot at unseating him after running slightly quicker in his first-round decision over Demke (5.401) than Whiteley had in his win over McKernan (5.408).

"We struggled a little all weekend," Whiteley said. "The car made good, smooth runs every time, but the numbers weren't the same as last year. We were trying to loosen up the clutch a little, and we probably went too far. We ran in the .20s here last year in similar conditions, so we definitely didn't get it all, but it was enough to win."

St. Arnaud put away Ray Martin, driving Canadian Hugh Ridley's car, in the other semifinal match, 5.40 to 5.46. Martin, who won the West Region opener at Firebird Int'l Raceway in Phoenix, still holds a commanding lead in the Jegs Allstars standings.

In the Top Alcohol Funny Car final, Annie Whiteley got a slight jump on Gordon with her best reaction time of the young season, .044, and outran his consistent 5.67 with the only run all weekend in the 5.50s, a 5.59. "I don't know where that came from," she said modestly. "That's the best one I've had in a while."

With the entire field separated by just six-hundredths of a second and a bump of 5.67, it was one of the toughest fields in regional/divisional event history. Jay Payne, who has the second-most wins in divisional history and won the 2013 opener in Phoenix, didn't qualify.

Three-time Division 7 champ Gordon was consistent all weekend, running between 5.659 and 5.678 in all three rounds. He ousted former Division 7 champ Terry Ruckman, who's making his return to Alcohol Funny Car this season with Alexis DeJoria's old equipment, in round one and 2011-2012 championship runner-up Tony Bartone in the semi's. Bartone red-lighted by just four-thousandths of a second, voiding low e.t. at the time (5.620) and preventing a Whiteley-Bartone rematch of last year's final.

Whiteley won the other semifinal bout when Houston Regional winner Shane Westerfield had an even closer red-light than Bartone's, a -.003. Westerfield shut down to a 6.32 while Whiteley drove her Roger Bateman-tuned YNot Funny Car to a second straight 5.67. She also ran 5.67 in the first round to eliminate perennial Top 10 player Steve Gasparrelli.

With both drivers coming off 5.67s his reputation as one of the best leavers in the country, Gordon had an excellent shot at his first divisional/regional win since 2010, but despite his solid .066 light and another 5.67, Whiteley had it all the way with a 5.59. "'Crew chief] Roger [Bateman] made a couple of changes to make the car more aggressive, and I think he was a little afraid that it might be too much, but it wasn't. It was smooth the whole way down the track, and the shift light came on for a third time, right before the finish line, so I knew it had to be running good."

Whiteley now has three wins in three career regional starts in Las Vegas after sweeping this race and the fall race there last year. "I have no idea why we've done so well at Vegas, but I've always liked it. It's the first track I ever raced at besides our home track, and it was my favorite track way before I ever started driving the Funny Car."

TAN

Whiteley Completes Perfect Season in TAFC, Martin Wins TAD in Vegas

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photos courtesy of Bob Johnson

At the 24^th and final regional event of the year, the husband-and-wife team of Jim and Annie Whiteley locked up West Region championships at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jim in Top Alcohol Dragster and rookie Annie in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Jim clinched the title when yearlong rival Chris Demke hit the wall in the first round, and Annie completed a perfect five-win regional season, putting away Tony Bartone in the final just as she had at this same track eight months ago for her first win anywhere. Ray Martin of Anchorage persevered in Top Alcohol Dragster, where there were a lot more good runs in qualifying than in eliminations, for his third final-round appearance of the year and first win.

It was a huge upset when Whiteley beat Bartone here this spring in just her fourth start in a Funny Car, and Bartone again was the favorite after qualifying No. 1, but Whiteley left first with a .048 light and made her best run of the weekend, 5.57. "The car didn't shake at all," she said. "Absolutely no issues. He shook, and that was it." Bartone slowed to a 5.76, almost the same e.t. he ran against her in their first head-to-head final.

Whiteley now has five victories and a perfect score of 425 points in a region that includes Jay Payne, Bartone, five-time division champ Steve Gasparrelli, and 2011 Division 7 champion John Lombardo Jr. After qualifying just sixth with a 5.66, she took care of Payne in round one, 5.63 to a shut-off 9.25.

Earlier in the round, Bartone beat Shane Westerfield, 5.58 to 5.67, Dallas winner Clint Thompson moved on when Gasparrelli tapped the wall, and Lombardo's 5.70 to 5.71 decision over Kris Hool gave the Central Region title to Kirk Williams over Hool by a single point, 299 to 298.

Every car in attendance ran at least a low .70 in qualifying, and past event winners Doug Gordon, Jason Rupert, and Keeter Ray missed the all-5.60 field. Bartone led the way with a 5.550 that held up all weekend for low e.t., and took his third runner-up in four regional starts this year.

In the semifinals, Bartone, who swept both Vegas national events this year, including the Big O Tires Nationals over Whiteley last weekend, won a battle for traction with Thompson, 6.04 to Thompson's shut-off 9.68. Whiteley won the other semi over Lombardo on a holeshot, 5.64 to 5.60, with a .037 light against his not-bad .078.

"It's exciting to leave on some people," said Whiteley, who was out first in all three rounds. "Jim promised it would help if I practiced with him, so I did, and Roger kept saying that the good lights would come, and they did."

With two runner-ups in national event competition and seven final-round appearances overall, she's number 4 in the country with one race to go, the same place crew chief Roger Bateman finished last year when he drove the car. "Roger told me before the race that Vegas is hard to win once," she said. "He warned me not to get my expectations up because we won here in the spring, but I just like this track."

In the Top Alcohol Dragster final, in a battle of the last two qualifiers, No. 7 Martin pedaled to a 5.85 at 250 mph after No. 8 Don St. Arnaud red-lighted by 16-thousandths of a second.

Martin and St. Arnaud had taken out the perennial favorites, third-ranked Chris Demke and newly crowned 2012 world champ Jim Whiteley, respectively, in consecutive pairs in round one. Demke's first-round loss settled his yearlong battle with Whiteley for the regional championship in Whiteley's favor, 351 points to 330. Martin survived a 5.72 when Demke got loose around mid-track and swiped the wall. St. Arnaud advanced with a strong 5.38, his best run of the weekend, when Whiteley spun the tires and slipped to a 5.56, about three-tenths off his 5.28 qualifying pace.

Sixteen cars going for eight spots made for a 5.42 bump, and all top-half qualifiers ran at least 5.30s. Whiteley was the only one in the .20s, and Joey Severance, outgoing world champ Duane Shields, and Chase Copeland surprisingly missed the cut.

In the semifinals, Martin benefited from the first of two red-lights against him, this one by Greg Hunter, who had cut a .016 light first round. That put him in his third final in just six starts all year; he was runner-up at Mission and Sonoma. St. Arnaud joined Martin in the money round with a holeshot on Phoenix winner Megan McKernan in the other semifinal match, 5.43 to 5.36. Needing a .009 light to advance, he pulled out a .005.

TAN