Rum Bum Enters Finals in High Gear

© Neal Montgomery

Shawn Gann gears up for the Big One.

After a successful Day #1 of the NHRA World Finals at California's Pomona Auto Club Raceway, Rum Bum Racer Shawn Gann slurped down a bowl of potato soup. His teammate, Bailey Whitaker bided his time between his scores of fans, autographs, and local family members that came out for the big event. The top 23 drag racers in the world began the final leg of the 2009 season.  The consensus according to Crew Chief Blake Gann, "Everybody's doing really well!, he beamed. "And it's good California isn't on fire for a change."

The raceway at Pomona, known as one of the more historical sites in the world of racing – as the Crew Chief explained, it's the "home territory" of Wally Parks, the godfather of racing - experienced plenty of smoke-tainted air at this race a year ago as wildfires set parts of Southern California ablaze. At that same race, Shawn Gann still managed to run his Buell at 7.08 seconds. Now a year later, Gann already beat that time with a time of 7.06 that placed him at an impressive #6 for the day. It seems, so far, conditions are just right for the riders. Says the Crew Chief, "It's 70 degrees and overcast. There's no wind to speak of. Track conditions are optimum, and I think it's going to stay that way for the duration of the weekend." 

Team Whitaker made quite a showing at the track today, as much of the Whitaker clan resides in southern California, and they came out to support their kin. Team Whitaker would not be disappointed. Whitaker placed in the top #12 with his time of 7.14 on the drag. "That's where you want to be," he beamed. Between signing autographs and granting interviews, Whitaker also quelled the nervousness of his relatives not used to seeing their brother/uncle/cousin on a motorcycle going 184mph. "The energy is running through them," said Whitaker, "and the support is huge."

The Pomona track has been a winning one for Whitaker in the past – years ago he won there while with the All Harley Drag Racing Association. This round, he's feeling good and "focused," he said. "In big letters!" At races Friday and Saturday, we'll see if FOCUSED is the new VICTORY.