Watch Annie Whiteley’s High-Speed Excursion Into The Beach!

Texas Motorplex owner Billy Meyer is certain to get a Christmas card from Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Annie Whiteley this holiday season.

On Sunday afternoon, Whiteley, the wife of former Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Jim Whiteley and a seasoned and successful veteran of the alcohol ranks in her own right, went for a hair-raising excursion into the beach at the Motorplex — which fortunately for her has the longest sand trap on the entire NHRA Mello Yello Series tour, allowing her to walk away unscathed.

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Whiteley, who qualified fourth at the AAA Texas NHRA Nationals with a 5.56, was racing alongside Doug Gordon in the second round of eliminations when, at the conclusion of a tough 5.52 to 5.50 holeshot loss, the parachutes failed to deploy on her J&A Service Chevy Camaro. Whiteley could be seen working valiantly to slow the car, but ultimately barreled into the sand trap at a particularly high rate of speed — a speed which would have been disastrous at nearly any other stop on the NHRA tour. 

Whiteley continued through the sand — which satellite photos pin at more than 100 yards in length — before striking the catch net at its terminus, causing some visible damage to the nose of the body but sparing it the type of destruction commonplace with high-speed impacts with the safety netting.

Annie emerged from the car, visibly frustrated but nevertheless unharmed and perhaps more worried about her racecar than anything.