(Sep 7, 2003) Whit and Team Matco watched Sunday morning as points leader Tony Pedregon lost in round #1 by smoking the tires in the first pair of Funy Cars out. This opened the door for Whit to gain ground on Pedregon in the championship hunt. But what was probably the best side-by-side drag race of the day, Cruz Pedregon beat Whit and the Matco Tools Dodge Stratus by .007 seconds. Cruz ran a 4.887 to Whit’s quicker but losing 4.886. Cruz had only a .008 second headstart, but as unbelivable as it sounds that was enough for the win.
“That’s what is great about this sport as well as disappointing, that a race can be decided with a winner and a loser by only .001 of a second. We just didn’t get it done today. We were ready to race, we ran well and I had a decent light. We just got beat. We beat Tommy Johnson, Jr. on a “holeshot” yesterday in the Bud Shootout and he wasn’t late, I just had a really good light. That is just how it goes sometimes. We have three more races in a row and we will see how we end up points wise at the end of this swing. We just need to take advantage of any opportunity we have to gain ground.”
Whit trails Tony Pedregon bu 57 points going to reading, PA, this weekend with 6 races remaining.
Whit Finishes In The #3 Spot After trip to The Bud shootout Semi’s
(Sep 6, 2003) Whit put the Matco Tools Dodge Stratus into the #3 spot after reaching the semi-finals against John Force in the Budweiser Shootout and then ran the second quickest time in the final qualifying session with a 4.811 ET @ 320 MPH. Whit started the day by beating Tommy Johnson, Jr. in the opening round of the shootout on a holeshot with a 4.92 ET beating a quicker 4.91 ET. In the second round of the Shootout, Whit’s 4.90 ET fell just short of Force’s 4.82 ET. Force went on to lose to Tony Pedregon in the final of the Shootout.
Whit will meet Cruz Pedregon in the first round of eliminations tomorrow scheduled to begin at 11:00a.m.
Whit Holds On To #3 With An Excellent 4.77 Friday Night
(Sep 5, 2003) Whit and Team Matco turned in thier third excellent pass of the event with a cylinder dropping 4.77 ET @ 321 MPH in the Friday night session. Whit previously posted a 4.856 ET and a 4.767 ET last Saturday to continue with a consistent high level of performance. His 4.77 ET allowed him to hold onto the #3 spot with two more sessions tomorrow and the Budweiser Shootout.
Whit will face Tommy Johnson, Jr. in round one of the Shootout scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. His consistent performance should make him a good contender for the $100,000 purse for winning the Shootout.
Whit Holds The 2nd Spot Going Into Indy Continuation
(Sep 4, 2003) It will be nearly a week, but Whit and the Matco Tools team are anxious to resume the rain delayed qualifying for the 49th annual Mac Tools US Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday. The two qualifying sessions from last Saturday will count and they will have one session Friday night and two more on Saturday, including the Bud Shootout. Friday night is important because it gives Whit a chance to put the Matco Tools Dodge Stratus on the pole since Saturday they will be racing for $100,000 in the Bud Shootout instead of going for the #1 spot. Whit will bring his second quickest 4.767 ET into Friday evening’s session hoping to improve. He was only .002 seconds off the #1 spot held by his teammate Gary Scelzi.
On Saturday, Whit will face off against Tommy Johnson, Jr. in the first round of the Budweiser Shootout scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Final eliminations for the US Nationals are scheduled to begin Sunday at 11:00 a.m