Jim Whiteley and his Norm Grimes-tuned YNOT Racing dragster in the Top Alcohol Dragster final alongside Chris Demke. Photo by Rob Kinnan.

Prior to this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, there would have certainly been some debate around the sport regarding the singular performance of the season. After all, from the NHRA professional ranks to the heads-up doorslammer realm, it’s been a record-shattering year across the board. But newly crowned NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Dragster national champion Jim Whiteley silenced the entire discussion at the Fairplex with not just one “Run of the Year” nominee, but a weekend-long string of jaw-dropping performances unlike anything the sport has seen in a long while.

Whiteley, with veteran tuner Norm Grimes turning the screws on the YNOT Racing dragster, stunned the fans, the media, and certainly the rest of the Top Alcohol Dragster field when he blasted to a 5.227 elapsed time at 274.27 mph in the second round of qualifying, which at the time was the quickest and fastest lap ever recorded by a supercharged alcohol car. That run, however, was just the appetizer.

In the first round of eliminations on Saturday, Whiteley marched away from opponent Larry Miersch on his way to a stunning 5.205 at 274.50 mph. By the time Sunday’s final eliminations rolled around, Whiteley’s performance was as much the talk of the town as the exciting championship battles in the professional classes.

In the semifinals, with the air temperature at 68 degrees and the track temperature ripe for records at 85 degrees, Whiteley made what was easily the most impressive run of the year and one of the most incredible passes in recent memory at 5.178 seconds and an astounding 277.43 mph to dispose of Randy Meyer’s likewise impressive 5.25. The YNOT dragster was .903 to sixty-foot, 2.305 to the 330 clocks, 3.41 at an incredible 222.66 mph to half track, and 4.368 to the 1,000-foot mark.

Crew Chief Grimes, considered one of the greatest blown alcohol tuners the sport has ever seen, is certainly no stranger to the record books. During the late 1990’s, Grimes and sportsman racing icon Rick Santos accomplished everything one could possibly accomplish in the Top Alcohol dragster class, earning five consecutive national titles from 1997-2001 and acting as the performance benchmark for the class year in and year out. This year, the dynamic duo of Whiteley and Grimes became the first champions of the category in a blown alcohol car since that final title run by Santos in 2001.