Gainesville: Marc White preview

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Just a few weeks ago at the O'Reilly Nationals in Houston, Federal Mogul Funny Car racer Marc White looked unstoppable. He was No. 1 qualifier with an elapsed time of 5.67 seconds at over 253 mph, and appeared to have the race won when he hit a finish line cone in round 2, disqualifying him. This weekend, at the resumption of the rain delayed Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., White hopes to beat the competition rather than beat himself.

White, from Glendale Heights, Ill., qualified the Etterman Racing Firebird No. 2 with a 5.76 at 251 mph, and defeated Mike Preslar with a 5.75 in round one at the first running of the race. White and the team then put their Firebird down into the 5.60's the next weekend in Houston, becoming one of only four cars in the country to run in the 5.60's this year.

When eliminations resume on Saturday, White will face former Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Jay Payne's Valvoline sponsored Camaro, with White having lane choice. The winner of the round will have a bye run in the semifinals into the finals.

"We're going to take our two test runs on Friday and try some things we have been wanting to try," said White. "What better place to try them than at a track that's prepared for a national event? We'll try that, then we'll put in a combination for Jay that we think will get down the track and be pretty quick."

White also feels that if he can get by Payne in the second round, he will use the semifinal bye to further test.

"IF we get a bye run," stated White. "The only thing I'm concerned with right now is Jay Payne. I'll put it this way: Whenever we get a bye run, we always try something. We feel we can put the car back at a combination that will get down the racetrack, so whenever we can test some new ideas, that's what we like to do. But all I'm worried about is Jay Payne."

If White does make it past Payne, he knows he has a good chance of running six time World Champion Frank Manzo, who has run as quick as a 5.63 here in March, in the finals. White feels that by the finals, he may be ready for Manzo.

"I think we should be able to run .60's down there if the weather stays good," commented White. "If it's in the low 80's, and the track is in typical Gainesville form, I definitely think we can run some 5.60's down there. We'll just have to see what Frank has. He's just about the fastest in the country everywhere he goes, so that's who you compare your stuff to. We'll do our best."

The Federal Mogul Funny Cars will receive two test runs on Friday, with eliminations resuming on Saturday. Stay tuned to SummitRacing.com's Drag Race Central for round by round updates of the racing action in Gainesville.

-Etterman Racing
ettermanRacing.com