Pocono is Homecoming for Chris Whitenight

By Dino Oberto



             Berwick, PA native Chris Whitenight will have plenty to look
forward to when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debuts this weekend
at Pocono Raceway for the inaugural Pocono Mountains 125.

             Aside from being part of a possible championship team, he also
gets to stay in his own bed after months of traveling across the country.

             Since February of this year the 22-year has been working as an
intern with Billy Ballew Motorsports which fields the #51 Toyota for driver
Aric Almirola. Almirola comes to Pocono second in points, 177 behind Todd
Bodine.

             Whitenight is a recent grad of the University of North Carolina
Charlotte were he finished in the top 10% of his class and graduated cum
laude with a degree in mechanical engineering with a motorsports
concentration.

             Whitenight was quite lucky too when it came time to finding a
job. Even before receiving his diploma he was hired by Ballew to work as an
engineer.

Whitenight got his break thanks to his affiliation with John Ruggiero who
works for Toyota Racing Development. Ruggiero's father is noted NASCAR
Modified Tour driver Reggie Ruggiero and also the co-owner of Raceworks
chassis shop, a top builder in asphalt modifieds. Whitenight is also a race
car driver and runs a Raceworks modified when time permits at Sundance
Vacations Speedway in St. Johns.

"I asked him (Ruggiero) if he knew of any openings and if he could submit my
résumé for me. He did put it in but I never heard back from anyone. That was
at the end of the fall semester. At the beginning of the spring semester I
got a phone call from them that they were looking for an intern," recalled
Whitenight.

"I'm an engineer with the team where I have to get specific data and process
it. That's what they brought me in for. That was actually the first place I
sent out a résumé to so I got really lucky."

His first race with the team was Atlanta.

During the week he deals with all of the frontend geometry on the trucks and
also works on any data that Toyota sends to its teams. At the races he is
the track support engineer. On race day he is seated in the pit box
alongside crew chief Kevin "Cowboy" Starland figuring such things as pit
strategy and fuel mileage.

             Things were a bit hectic at first as he was juggling both
school and work.

"When I was still in school it was really tough because I had about 15
credits and it wasn't an easy 15 credits. Plus I was working about 20-25
hours a week at the race shop along with going to the track. To get that
done and school was hell. Once school was done things got a lot better,"
said Whitenight who graduated in mid May.

             While the ease of school is behind him, there is now the focus
of being part of a team that is vying for a championship.

"It's a lot more pressure on everyone and for good reason. The crew chief
gets strung out. There are good weeks and bad weeks. You put in a lot of
long hours to get everything ready for the next race.

"The level of detail goes up with every series. This is a long way beyond
short track where I come from. But then again what we're doing with the
trucks is a long way from Nationwide and Sprint Cup. They have much bigger
budgets and staff."

             With his educational background and working in his current role
could lead to much bigger things within the sport. The top job in racing for
someone with his ability -- crew chief.

"That would be very nice but it takes a long time to earn that kind of
respect to be a crew chief. It would be the ultimate goal," said Whitenight.

 Whitenight is serving a dual purpose by being back in the Northeast this
weekend. After Saturday's race he will take a ride up Interstate 81 to
Shangri-La II Speedway in New York to race a modified in a Race of Champions
Tour event.

"I'm going to be worn out by the end of the weekend. I'm just racing when I
can for now. My emphasis is on my job and the team."

Whitenight followed his father Dave into the racing circle. The elder was a
former Pro Stock division driver at Sundance before hanging up his helmet
and consternating on his son's career. He knows that had it not been for his
dad he may very well have not enjoyed such success.