Championship Drag Racing

Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals
Madison, Ill.
(June 25-27)

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Jim Yates Pontiac Grand Am Pro Stocker

Reports: Sunday Saturday Pre-race

St. Louis, Sunday: Jeg Coughlin Jr. had Jim Yates' number Sunday in the first round of the Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway. Coughlin left the starting line first and stayed there all 1320 feet.

Yates, hoping to repeat his best qualifying time from Saturday night, slowed to 6.822 seconds at 202.45 mph while Coughlin won with a 6.764 at 204.29.

Yates came up with his best run of the weekend on his last qualifying attempt Saturday night, 6.758 seconds at 202.97 mph, to get the No. 11 starting position and he hoped to continue the run Sunday, but the car slowed in the first round.

"The conditions were similar to our good qualifying run but the track wasn't as good,," said Yates. "When I let the clutch out, the tires spun through the first three gears. We just had it set up for a more aggressive race track. Jeg was a tough draw. Bob Ingles, our engine builder, has an aggressive engine project for the next three weeks before we go to Denver (July 18), and we are looking forward to that."

St. Louis, Saturday: When the pressure was on, Jim Yates and the Sea Ray Boats/B&W Pontiac Pro Stock Grand Am came through Saturday night. Yates stopped the timer in 6.758 seconds at 202.97 mph to claim 11th place going into Sunday afternoon's Sears Craftsman National eliminations at Gateway International Raceway.

Yates wasn't in the 16-car field when he made the run that was his best of the weekend. He races Jeg Coughlin (sixth, 6.745 at 204.42) in the first round.

"We have a lot of confidence in the car. It's continually done what we've asked it to do," he said, adding his Jamie, his son and crew chief "did a good job fixing a clutch problem on the last run."

St. Louis, pre-race: The NHRA POWERade season reaches its median point this weekend at the eighth annual Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway. It's make-or-break time, and competitors running under the GM Racing banner are ready to battle in the first of six events that over the next nine weeks, take the series westward for a key series of meets. When the tour completes its stop this weekend on the eastern banks of the Mississippi River, only 11 events will remain, making that much more important every qualifying session and every contested round of eliminations.

Two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jim Yates is looking to reach a pair of career milestones this weekend at the Sears Craftsman Nationals. The driver of the Sea Ray Boats/BW Pontiac SC/T Grand Am will be competing in his 300th national event, and if he successfully qualifies on Saturday, his first-round match-up will be his 600th career round of competition.

"It's hard to qualify in Pro Stock and you can never take for granted that you will," said Yates. "Just being there for Sunday eliminations is an quite an accomplishment given the competitive nature of this category. Truthfully though, when we first started racing in Pro Stock, our attitude was that we just wanted to qualify, because like it is today, just getting in the field was a heck of a challenge. Once you get to that point, once you get qualified, you don't sit around very long because now you want to win. The thrill of competition is addictive and it's why I race. Some people race because they like to go fast. I race because I love the competition and going head-to-head with the guy in the other lane. I enjoy driving the car and testing, but the real reward is when you get to tee it up against another car on Sunday.

"It's a great feeling that's hard to describe when you see that win light come on. Critics say we're not athletes, but I disagree. On the starting line you're calm, cool and collected, you have to stay focused, and learn how to pace yourself. When you get to the finish line after going 0 to 200 mph in less than 6.8 seconds, you have so much adrenaline running through your body that you're just shaking. You feel like you've just jumped out of an airplane or been in the fight of your life. You experience an entire spectrum of emotions in just a short amount of time."

Yates success at Gateway International Raceway is well documented and includes a win in 1999, runner-up finishes in '97 and '01, and low qualifying honors in '97 and '02.

"We've spent a lot of time there over the years because it's been such a great place to test," said Yates. "The people at the racetrack treat us wonderfully and they always accommodate our needs. Testing there as much as we have has given us an advantage on how to run on the racetrack. We know about what it does in the afternoon, we know how it is in the evening, we have a pretty good idea how to react to the barometer and the various atmospheric conditions, and all of that helps when you go there to race. The race we won there in 1999 was by a thousandth of a second, and when it's that close, it's nice to have that experience and knowledge on your side."