Joliet: Mark Whisnant final qualifying summary

Whisnant qalifies tenth in Chicago.

JOLIET, Ill. -- Mark Whisnant, driver of the RW Performance Pro Stock Cavalier, has qualified tenth for the 5th Annual Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet Ill.

It was in the Friday night qualifying session that Whisnant drove his Cavalier to a 6.885 / 200.44 mph to secure a place on Sunday's eliminations roster. Round 1 of eliminations has Whisnant paired with against Gene Wilson.

Since Englishtown Whisnant and the RW Performance team have been without a designated crew chief to guide the team. Instead, they have successfully relied on input from all the crewmembers to make the tuning decisions on their Cavalier.

"I can't say enough about this RW Performance race team," said Whisnant. "This team has good chemistry and communicates well together. Everyone is stepping in and helping out. We listen to all suggestions and ideas before we change anything in the set up of the car. James, Brent, Terry, and Dennis have made all the calls on this Cavalier, and they have done a very good job. For the last three weeks, they have given me a great racecar to drive. Our qualifying and race success proves what a good job they are doing.

"Historically tuning 'by committee' has never worked with other teams, but it seems to be working for us. I do not know if it will work out long term, but right now we are doing so good that we are not going to change anything.

"Tomorrow morning it will, for the most part, be the same scenario we had last weekend in Topeka. The lanes are evenly matched, the weather is similar, and I have Gene Wilson again in Round 1. Last weekend it worked out pretty well for us, but I lost in the final. This weekend, with a little luck, maybe Sunday night it will turn out a little better."

Eliminations at the 5th Annual Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals will begin at 11:00 Am CST on Sunday June 2.

-rwp-