In a scene eerily reminiscent of the 2019 Gainesville regional opener, where, shockingly, Annie Whiteley didn’t qualify, she found herself on the wrong side of the bump spot once again as time wound down. Eleventh of 11 potential qualifiers two years ago, she stood ninth of nine this time – the only driver not in the field – when Top Alcohol Funny Car was called to the lanes for last-shot qualifying.
With everything on the line, Whiteley’s YNot/J&A Service Camaro shook the tires and kicked itself sideways for an instant right before the 1-2 shift, but she deftly short-shifted to save the run and charged through the back half to a 5.61 at 267 mph to easily make the cut. “You think you’re good, you’re definitely gonna make it, everything’s fine, and all of a sudden it’s, ‘Oh boy,’ that caught me off guard,” Whiteley said. “I had to drive my ass off. When the car’s moving around that much, it feels like you’re running a 5.30-something and then they tell you it was a 5.60.”
Lined up in the inverse order of their incoming qualifying position, every driver in line behind Whiteley stared down the prospect of a disastrous DNQ but got into the field, too – first Whiteley with the 5.61 that bumped out DJ Cox, then Cox with a 5.44 that erased upstart Rob Pfeister, then Pfeister with a 5.91 that squeaked in ahead of Kris Hool, and finally Hool with a 5.47 that knocked Pfeister back out of the program.
“In a deal like that, you just try not to put everything on your shoulders,” Whiteley said. “You try not to think too much about anything – there’s nothing you can do anyway. Everybody’s telling you, ‘Last shot here, gotta get it in the show,’ but you have to just ignore the pressure and do your thing. When the car’s not going down the track, my guys are pretty good at figuring out why – I knew they’d know what to do.”
They did, but instead of parlaying last-shot heroics into victory, as the team did here at the 2017 Gatornationals, or throwing down the fastest run in Top Alcohol Funny Car history (276.18 mph), as they did last year, her stay in eliminations was short. Returning veteran Bob McCosh, who narrowly lost to Whiteley last week in the Belle Rose final, chose this moment to lay down the quickest, fastest run of his new career – an outstanding 5.44 at 269.83 mph, top speed of the meet to that point and ultimately second only to his subsequent 270.00.
Leaving first and running a 5.54 typically is more than enough to win a round – especially in regional competition and particularly in the first round – but not this time. “That was the smoothest run we made all weekend,” Whiteley said of an otherwise fine 5.54/268 that left her a car-length short in the lights. “It felt good, but I guess that time it wasn’t good enough.”
With everything on the line, Whiteley’s YNot/J&A Service Camaro shook the tires and kicked itself sideways for an instant right before the 1-2 shift, but she deftly short-shifted to save the run and charged through the back half to a 5.61 at 267 mph to easily make the cut. “You think you’re good, you’re definitely gonna make it, everything’s fine, and all of a sudden it’s, ‘Oh boy,’ that caught me off guard,” Whiteley said. “I had to drive my ass off. When the car’s moving around that much, it feels like you’re running a 5.30-something and then they tell you it was a 5.60.”
Lined up in the inverse order of their incoming qualifying position, every driver in line behind Whiteley stared down the prospect of a disastrous DNQ but got into the field, too – first Whiteley with the 5.61 that bumped out DJ Cox, then Cox with a 5.44 that erased upstart Rob Pfeister, then Pfeister with a 5.91 that squeaked in ahead of Kris Hool, and finally Hool with a 5.47 that knocked Pfeister back out of the program.
“In a deal like that, you just try not to put everything on your shoulders,” Whiteley said. “You try not to think too much about anything – there’s nothing you can do anyway. Everybody’s telling you, ‘Last shot here, gotta get it in the show,’ but you have to just ignore the pressure and do your thing. When the car’s not going down the track, my guys are pretty good at figuring out why – I knew they’d know what to do.”
They did, but instead of parlaying last-shot heroics into victory, as the team did here at the 2017 Gatornationals, or throwing down the fastest run in Top Alcohol Funny Car history (276.18 mph), as they did last year, her stay in eliminations was short. Returning veteran Bob McCosh, who narrowly lost to Whiteley last week in the Belle Rose final, chose this moment to lay down the quickest, fastest run of his new career – an outstanding 5.44 at 269.83 mph, top speed of the meet to that point and ultimately second only to his subsequent 270.00.
Leaving first and running a 5.54 typically is more than enough to win a round – especially in regional competition and particularly in the first round – but not this time. “That was the smoothest run we made all weekend,” Whiteley said of an otherwise fine 5.54/268 that left her a car-length short in the lights. “It felt good, but I guess that time it wasn’t good enough.”
In a scene eerily reminiscent of the 2019 Gainesville regional opener, where, shockingly, Annie Whiteley didn’t qualify, she found herself on the wrong side of the bump spot once again as time wound down. Eleventh of 11 potential qualifiers two years ago, she stood ninth of nine this time – the only driver not in the field – when Top Alcohol Funny Car was called to the lanes for last-shot qualifying.
With everything on the line, Whiteley’s YNot/J&A Service Camaro shook the tires and kicked itself sideways for an instant right before the 1-2 shift, but she deftly short-shifted to save the run and charged through the back half to a 5.61 at 267 mph to easily make the cut. “You think you’re good, you’re definitely gonna make it, everything’s fine, and all of a sudden it’s, ‘Oh boy,’ that caught me off guard,” Whiteley said. “I had to drive my ass off. When the car’s moving around that much, it feels like you’re running a 5.30-something and then they tell you it was a 5.60.”
Lined up in the inverse order of their incoming qualifying position, every driver in line behind Whiteley stared down the prospect of a disastrous DNQ but got into the field, too – first Whiteley with the 5.61 that bumped out DJ Cox, then Cox with a 5.44 that erased upstart Rob Pfeister, then Pfeister with a 5.91 that squeaked in ahead of Kris Hool, and finally Hool with a 5.47 that knocked Pfeister back out of the program.
“In a deal like that, you just try not to put it all on your shoulders,” Whiteley said. “You try not to think too much about anything – there’s nothing you can do anyway. Everybody’s telling you, ‘Last shot here, gotta get it in the show,’ but you have to just ignore the pressure and do your thing. When the car’s not going down the track, my guys are pretty good at figuring out why – I knew they’d know what to do.”
They did, but instead of parlaying last-shot heroics into victory, as the team did here at the 2017 Gatornationals, or throwing down the fastest run in Top Alcohol Funny Car history (276.18 mph), as they did last year, her stay in eliminations was short. Returning veteran Bob McCosh, who narrowly lost to Whiteley last week in the Belle Rose final, chose this moment to lay down the quickest, fastest run of his new career – an outstanding 5.44 at 269.83 mph, top speed of the meet to that point and ultimately second only to his subsequent 270.00.
Leaving first and running a 5.54 typically is more than enough to win a round – especially in regional competition and particularly in the first round – but not this time. “That was the smoothest run we made all weekend,” Whiteley said of an otherwise fine 5.54/268 that left her a car-length short in the lights. “It felt good, but I guess that time it wasn’t good enough.”