Mark Whitener went 3-for-3 during the FASTRAK Racing Series’ first visit to East Bay Raceway Park. Photo courtesy EBRP
The term “hat-trick” is normally used in hockey to describe scoring three goals in a game. In the 37th edition of the East Bay Winter Nationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL, that was the word talked about by everyone Saturday in regards to Mark Whitener from Middleburg, Florida.
No one had been able to totally “sweep” an entire FASTRAK Touring Series event before. Whitener made history by winning not only the third and final race for the event, but by winning the previous two nights, including his first series win on Thursday.
At the drop of the green flag another driver wanted to spoil Whitener’s chance at three wins in a row. Steve Miller was on the pole with Whitener on the outside. As the field cycled through turn 1 they would battle door to door all the way around to complete the first lap. The top three rows were all in the mix as they fought for positions. Miller would jump out in front early to take the lead.
The first caution would fly on lap five when Bryan Bernhardt stalled his car in turn three. Meanwhile, Bill Tesh looped his car on the backstretch. On the restart, Dennis Franklin sustained heavy damage on the right front when Chris Cantrell checked up in front of him on the inside row.
The restart sparked a 26 lap green flag run in the 40 lap feature, with Miller, Brandon Umberger, Keith Nosbisch and Whitener fighting for position. In addition to battling each other for the lead on track they also had to contend with lap traffic.
The caution flag would interrupt the proceedings on lap 31 when Wallace Peacock spun off turn four. With less than 10 laps to go in the feature the restart would be single file. Whitener was the man everyone was trying to run down again but Dennis Franklin was on the charge.
The caution flew again when Chris Ferguson spun off turn two, lining up the final restart with nine laps to go. Still being locked on lap 31 the final restart would take place. When the green flag fell, Whitener quickly sailed out in front, with Keith Nosbisch trailing him.
Whitener switched on the afterburners, and crossed the finish line with a 4.058 seconds interval over Dennis Franklin at the line to win his third event in as many nights. Keith Nosbisch finished third, with Chris Cantrell in fourth and Wayne Robertson in fifth.
The next event for the FASTRAK City Chevrolet Touring division will be the inaugural Gordon Park 100 at Gordon Park Speedway in Grovetown, GA on March 1–2. Visit www.fastrakracing.com for more info.
FASTRAK Racing Series
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL
37th Annual Winter Nationals Night Three – Feb. 3, 2013
1. #58 Mark Whitener
2. #2 Dennis Franklin
3. #02 Keith Nosbisch
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5. #20 Wayne Robertson
6. #8s Steve Miller
7. #14 Mavrick Varnadore
8. #75 Colton Flinner
9. #99 Rick Singleton
10. #44w Brandon Umberger
11. #8b Steve Banal
12. #21p Josh Peacock
13. #11c Chris Ferguson
14. #01 Jack Nosbisch Jr.
15. #23 Corey Gordon
16. #07 Doug Watson
17. #95 Devin Dixon
18. #68 Kurt Waush
19. #69b Bryan Bernhardt
20. #41 Travis Varnadore
21. #1p Wallace Peacock
22. #95jr Steven Mathis Jr.
23. #23 Derrick Brown
24. #11 David Smith
25. #11b Jamie Slatton
26. #300 Bill Tesh
27. #99 Scott Chenoweth
28. #32c Phillip Cobb
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