Jim Yates spent the past two days in Bradenton, Fla., but he wasn’t a Northeasterner going south for the sunshine. This was a business trip, one he termed “successful. â€
Yates put some test miles – one-quarter mile at a time – on his Sea Ray Boats/Wiley X Eye Wear Pontiac Pro Stock GTO in preparation for the 38th running of NHRA’s ACDelco Gatornationals, March 16-18, at Gainesville Raceway.
“We did what you’re supposed to do at sessions like this – test a lot of parts, †said the veteran driver from Occoquan, Va. “We tried a lot of different combinations on our Pontiac GTO chassis and our Bill Jenkins (built) motors. We got a lot accomplished. We are pretty confident going into Gainesville. I think we are headed in the right direction. â€
Yates enters the third NHRA event of the season seventh in points with 104 and is coming off a semifinal finish at Phoenix. He turned a good reaction time,. 041 of a second, into a first-round win over Warren Johnson, 6.692 seconds to 6.659, and then had a solo run in the quarterfinals when Greg Anderson’ s car sprung an oil leak. Yates left first against Jason Line but couldn’t hold him off in the semifinals, 6.699 second to 6.723 seconds.
“We are really looking forward to this race, †said Yates, a two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion (1996-97). “Gainesville has always been good to us. I think because this is the first NHRA race of the year on the east coast that we have a lot of fan support here. We are going have a lot more fans on our side this weekend because there will be about 250 Sea Ray Boats employees attending the race.
Yates has two wins (1996-97) and one runner-up (1998) at Gainesville Raceway to go along with many fond memories.
NHRA’s new Countdown to the Championship currently has drivers focused on earning as many points as possible in the first 17 races. That’s when the contending field will be trimmed to the top eight drivers.
“It’s important to win multiple rounds each Sunday to make sure you get a place in the top eight, †Yates commented.
That is his mission this Sunday – and every racing Sunday – until the end of the season.
Pro Stock qualifying is schedule at noon and 2:30 p. m. on Friday and Saturday, followed by eliminations Sunday at 11 a. m.
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