The 8th and 14th Best Racers in the World

© Neal Montgomery

Bailey Whitaker gets ready to rumble at the NHRA Finals in Pamona, CA.

What a season for our Rum Bum Race Team! The elimination rounds on Sunday at the NHRA Full Throttle World Finals at California's Pomona Raceway were not as strong as Saturday's qualifiers for the Rum Bum Race team, but the team is still coasting out of the season as the 8th (Shawn Gann) and 14th (Bailey Whitaker) best drag racers in the world. At the most packed house of the year, crowds screamed their support to racers Gann and Whitaker, and begged for autographs. Still, when it comes to taking a pro stock motorcycle down a quarter-mile drag, even the most accomplished racers can't control the uncontrollable.

"Ohhh," said a crestfallen Gann in a drawn out sigh. "I'm licking my wounds." After remarkable races on Saturday, wherein his bike generated optimal performances rendering the rider speechless with happiness, Gann's trusty Buell, Jupiter, suffered a mishap during the first elimination round. Strong off the line, the bike refused to shift and left Gann with a time of 7.318 and speed at 185mph. "It didn't have anything to do with me. It didn't have anything to do with anybody. It was just bad." With a decade of experience under his belt, Gann knows these catastrophes happen. You just wish they didn't happen in the first elimination round at the world finals. 

Though he didn't quite go out with a bang on Sunday (though he did place 8^th in the world), the victorious tambour of his career best on Saturday still marches on. "There were no happy moments today," said Gann, "but there were enough yesterday to last through tomorrow." To celebrate those happy moments, Gann hit up the Beverly Hills Hotel Saturday night, where the purchase of a $200 coral-colored polo and brief encounter with Usher left indelible marks on his LA experience. But to really congratulate himself on a season well done, Gann will hit up somewhere nice for dinner, give his slightly scruffy face a cleansing, meditative shave before the NHRA Full Throttle ESPN Awards Banquet on Monday, and then head back to Stoneville, North Carolina for some much desired quality time with his wife and sons. His eyes, though, always remain on his next race. "I'm anxious for next year... the motor shop is getting better and better." 

Bailey Whitaker, Rum Bum's surf bum, ran a great race for his first elimination round. He felt calm at the line as Rum Bum Crew Chief, Blake Gann, gave him some pointers - mainly to stay focused - and Whitaker flew down the drag as best he could. He busted out a fantastic 7.091 at 185mph to place him 14th to wrap up the season; if he wasn't racing Hector Arana (who would later go on to win the world finals), he may have taken the win. "I did really good, but [Arana's] bike just had more power," explained Whitaker. "Through the winter, we'll work hard to find some more power," Whitaker said. Though Sunday's race marked the end of the road for Whitaker's 2009 Full Throttle season, he performed remarkably well the entire season and has much to be proud of.

"We made the show and that's what's important," said Whitaker. "This is the world finals, and that's a big deal.  If you qualify here with all the heavy hitters, that's a big deal. And I did good. I made it in. It's a big accomplishment to be a rookie and make it as far as I did." For his support and encouragement this season, Whitaker would like to thank the entire Rum Bum Racing Crew, including Luis, Craig, Brian, Jonathan, and Lendell. He's ready to jump into winter back in North Carolina to prep for next season with testing and tuning, and lots of "seat time" (a.k.a. practice runs). "I did the best I could do this season, and next year I will be a lot better cause now I know what to look forward to," explained Whitaker. "Every lap I take down the track I get calmer and more confident."

Whitaker's opponent, Arana, later red lit ("I wish he'd red lit against me!" Whitaker interjected) but raked in enough points to emerge #1 in the NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship, regardless of Krawiec's win in the final elimination round against Horne. 

For now, the team heads home, to rest up and find their speed for next season. Given their grit and spirit this season it will be exciting what the team can do next season. We hope that they'll be able to take it all the way. (Say it with us: All-the-way! All-the-way! All-the-way!)