Payne, Whiteley have good weekend in Texas

Words by Eric Lotz and Kay Burk
Photos by Joe McHugh

Jim Whiteley and Jay Payne took home wins April 29 for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway.

Payne, Claremont, Calif., grabbed his 40th national event career win as he ran down fellow California racer Steve Gasparrelli of West Covina, Calif., in the final of Top Alcohol Funny Car. Payne had his work cut out for him with close races in every round including a first-round match up with Mark Billington with Payne running a 5.622 to Billington’s 5.644.

Gasparrelli took the early lead in the final with a starting line advantage but Payne moved ahead by half-track and stayed there for the win, 5.631, 260.06 to Gasparrelli’s 5.652, 259.26. 

With more than three decades in the sport of drag racing, FireIce Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Jay Payne knows that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

"It was a weekend where we were really lucky," Payne said. "It was ugly, but the FireIce car did well. We were in the right place at the right time. Hey, we've lost a lot of races that way, and today we were lucky enough to win one. We were luckier than the car ran well, if that makes sense."