NHRA
Millington: Mark Whisnant preview
A determined Whisnant heads for Memphis. MEMPHIS, Tenn. ^Ö This weekend Mark Whisnant, driver of the RW Performance Pro Stock Chevrolet Cavalier, will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to race the 15th Annual O^ÒReilly Mid-South Nationals. At the last ...
Published: Sep 20, 2002, 5:45 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
A determined Whisnant heads for Memphis.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ^Ö This weekend Mark Whisnant, driver of the RW Performance Pro Stock Chevrolet Cavalier, will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to race the 15th Annual O^ÒReilly Mid-South Nationals.
At the last three races Whisnant has had what he calls ^Ñdisappointing^Ò finishes. In the last three races he has exited the race in the first round twice, and the second round once. Although Team RW has consistently qualified well, Whisnant is not content with his performance as of late, and is determined to turn his luck around in Memphis.
"To say that I was very disappoint with myself after Reading would be an understatement," said Whisnant. "Lately I have been letting my team down and not getting the job done. We have also had some mechanical failure, which cost us the race in Indy. It^Òs very discouraging to know that you have your opponent covered, and then give the race away at the starting line, or have the car break.
As any driver will tell you a string of bad luck can mess with a driver^Òs mind. There is enough pressure on a driver to perform, but when you add the extra pressure the driver puts on himself after a few bad races, it will undermine the driver^Òs confidence. That kind of tension will make a driver get out of sync, throw off his timing, and make him second-guess his self.
"To be a good driver you have to be able to disregard the pressure, and concentrate on driving. When you pull up to the starting line it has to be automatic, if you think too much, you will be in trouble. I guess that has been my problem lately, thinking too much. I need to get out of this rut for myself, but more importantly for my guys.
"This RW Performance team gives me a great racecar every weekend. They dig hard, and consistently give me a car that could win every race. They^Òre good, but going out first round is wearing on them too.
"Together as a team, we are determined to turn our performance around in Memphis. This weekend I am going to dig deep and concentrate harder on driving this Cavalier. My crew is going to concentrate on giving me the best possible racecar. Together we are going to wrestle this monkey off our backs and get back to racing like we know we can."
Qualifying at the 15th Annual O^ÒReilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., begin on Friday Sept. 20, and continues on Saturday Sept. 21. Eliminations begin at 11:00 AM EST on Sunday Sept. 22.
-wr-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Moreca: Event preview
Next article Morgan returns to Le Mans Classic
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Mark Whisnant
Indianapolis: Day final test times
NHRA
NHRA
Indianapolis: Day final test times
Commerce: Warren Johnson pre-race notes
NHRA
NHRA
Commerce: Warren Johnson pre-race notes
Denver: Friday qualifying results
NHRA
NHRA
Denver: Friday qualifying results
Latest news
How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
17 min
How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil
Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
37 min
Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff
Winners and losers from MotoGP’s contentious Qatar Grand Prix
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
1 h
Winners and losers from MotoGP’s contentious Qatar Grand Prix
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe