JIM WHITELEY IS GETTING
BACK ON TRACK
WHILE JIM WHITELEY partnered up with Stevie
“Fast” Jackson and the Killin’ Time Racing
(KTR) brain trust of Phil Shuler and Billy
Stocklin last season, the Pro Mod racer is really
starting to see the benefits of teaming up with
the NHRA Pro Mod defending world champions.
After two sessions, Whiteley was qualified No. 6
out of 33 cars with a 5.73 at 246.30 in his rootsblown
J&A Service ’63 Corvette. That run was
eventually bumped to No. 14.
Whiteley, who has one win in NHRA Pro Mod
after joining the series in 2014, attributes the
early success to the KTR team’s experience with
torque converters and automatic transmissions.
“I’m a clutch racer, [Jackson] has been racing
automatics forever, and that’s where it’s at,”
says Whiteley, a two-time NHRA Top Alcohol
Dragster world champion. “To have that in our
camp, I think I have the best. It shows. The car
goes down the track, and it’s pretty quick early.
If we figure out the back half, we can be a competitive
player.”
Whiteley’s Corvette showed promise during
testing at Orlando the week before the race. Jackson
handled the driving duties, as Whiteley was
working and his wife, Annie, was racing her Top
Alcohol Funny Car at an NHRA divisional race in
Belle Rose, Louisiana. Jackson clicked off a best
of 5.72 in the ‘Vette, so Whiteley’s 5.73 in the first
qualifying session wasn’t a surprise.
Still, the YNot Racing and KTR teams had to
make adjustments after the test session to get
the car set up for Whiteley, adjustments that he
believes will continue to pay dividends.
“We just kind of had to change the thing back
around because we couldn’t get the weight down
to where he was at,” Whiteley says. “It’s coming
around real well and they really have an A-to-B
program. The car goes down the racetrack every
time. I’m real excited about what we’re doing with
this thing and where we’re going.”
Whiteley posted another consistent 5.738 at
246.62 in the opening round of eliminations,
though it wasn’t enough to defeat Alex Laughlin’s
5.717. – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
KYLE ‘KID CHAOS’ KORETSKY
A PRO STOCK NATURAL
IN PROFESSIONAL DEBUT
KYLE KORETSKY came to Orlando just looking
to get his Pro Stock license.
It turned into far more than that, as “Kid
Chaos” has impressed right off the bat. Koretsky
made the required runs in testing to earn his
NHRA Pro Stock license, but things have improved
at a stratospheric rate.
With his dad, Kenny, on the starting line,
Koretsky went as quick as 6.494 at 212.39 in
his KB Racing-powered Nitro Fish Camaro to
open qualifying. He ended up qualifying seventh
with a sterling 6.480 at 212.29 and enjoyed every
minute of it.
“We came here, pretty much, just looking to
make the six runs required by NHRA and get my
license, and Jason Line, Greg Anderson, Dave Connolly,
and everybody here at KB Racing put me in
the right direction right off the bat,” Koretsky said.
“They’re helping me kick the bad habits and learn
to drive like they drive. I feel like this is a real good
start, not just to the weekend, but to my career.”
Dipping into the 6.40s was impressive, as was
jumping into the top half of a field that included
10 cars reaching the 6.40s in qualifying.
But Koretsky pointed to the first qualifying
session as the pivotal point. It was a solo session
to kick off official racing, but the second-generation
racer looked cool, calm and collected as he
zipped down the track with a head-turning run.
“I definitely felt a little bit of pressure [for
Q1] being the first car down the track in my first
official race,” Koretsky said. “But I had all the
confidence in the car and the team behind me.
They’ve been wrenching on this thing all week.
After we made that run [6.513, 209.92], the guys
came down to the top end smiling. We sat No. 1
for a little bit, and that was a cool, cool feeling.”
He lost to Greg Anderson in the opening round
of eliminations, but it didn’t take the shine off an
incredible start to his career.
“We had a great time. I really enjoyed, and every
run, I learned something different,” Koretsky
said. “I experienced my first tire-shake — that was
cool but not cool — and I had another little error
the next run, but we’re getting there. Every run,
I get more confident in myself. They keep telling
me to keep it up, keep doing what I’m doing, and
I’ll be fine.” – JOSH HACHAT DI
May 2020
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