J. Whiteley Victorious at NHRA SpringNationals

Jim Whiteley drove to victory on Sunday during the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway

BAYTOWN, TX – April 23, 2018 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Jim Whiteley drove to victory on Sunday during the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Tige Boats, is the second of 12 events this season.

Whiteley ran a 5.834-second pass at 239.14 mph in his J&A Services 1969 Yenko Camaro to take down Rick Hord in the final round and earn his first victory since Houston 2016 and second of his career. He defeated Mike Castellana, Khalid AlBalooshi and Steve Jackson on his way to the win.

“This is very special,” Whiteley stated. “We’ve tested and worked our butt off here the last two months. We’ve definitely got a hot rod here. Beating Stevie was just icing on the cake today.”

Whiteley finished the 2017 season 15th in the points standings and leaves the event in the No. 2 spot in pursuit of his first championship.

The E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service continues at the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, N.C. on April 27-29.

NHRA Springnationals

BAYTOWN, Texas — Final finish order (1-16) at the 31st annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. The second of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

PRO MODIFIED:
1. Jim Whiteley; 2. Rick Hord; 3. Steve Jackson; 4. Bob Rahaim; 5. Mike Janis; 6. Rickie Smith; 7. Jose Gonzalez; 8. Khalid alBalooshi; 9. Todd Tutterow; 10. Shane Molinari; 11.
Michael Biehle; 12. Chad Green; 13. Mike Castellana; 14. Steven Whiteley; 15. Jeremy Ray; 16.
Danny Rowe.

BAYTOWN, Texas — Sunday’s final results from the 31st annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. The second of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Pro Modified — Jim Whiteley, Chevy Camaro, 5.834, 239.14 def. Rick Hord, Chevy Corvette, 5.818, 252.43.

BAYTOWN, Texas — Final round-by-round results from the 31st annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway, the second of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE — Bob Rahaim, Chevy Camaro, 5.748, 250.46 def. Jeremy Ray, Chevy Corvette, Broke; Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.729, 250.78 def. Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.818, 247.79; Jim Whiteley, Camaro, 5.749, 247.43 def. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 8.555, 105.93; Jose Gonzalez, Camaro, 6.495, 134.98 def. Danny Rowe, Corvette, Foul – Red Light; Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.723, 248.71 def. Michael Biehle, Ford Mustang, 5.834, 250.74; Mike Janis, Camaro, 5.789, 245.85 def. Steven Whiteley, Cadillac CTS-V, 12.134, 68.74; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.725, 251.86 def. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.759, 247.61; Rick Hord, Corvette, 5.749, 254.62 def. Chad Green, Corvette, 6.057, 245.85;

QUARTERFINALS — Hord, 5.742, 258.02 def. Janis, 5.785, 248.39; Rahaim, 6.715, 207.46 def. Gonzalez, 13.773, 58.39; Jackson, 5.766, 248.16 def. Smith, 8.327, 112.62; J. Whiteley, 5.778,
247.52 def. alBalooshi, Broke;

SEMIFINALS — J. Whiteley, 5.777, 246.98 def. Jackson, 5.759, 248.98; Hord, 5.776, 255.29 def. Rahaim, 5.915, 218.27;

FINAL — J. Whiteley, 5.834, 239.14 def. Hord, 5.818, 252.43.

BAYTOWN, Texas — Point standings (top 10) following the 31st annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway, the second of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Pro Modified

1. Rickie Smith, 168; 2. Jim Whiteley, 163; 3. Mike Janis, 149; 4. Steve Jackson, 134; 5. Mike Castellana, 114; 6. Bob Rahaim, 103; 7. Chad Green, 102; 8. Rick Hord, 97; 9. Khalid alBalooshi, 86; 10. Todd Tutterow, 85.

About NHRA

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 24 national events featuring the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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