After Completing A Very Busy and successful 2007 race season behind the wheel of his family owned Sprint car, the off season brought great promise for James Whittaker and Wit Racing Team.

“ We were going to go hard at it again and do another 40 race schedule to gain more valuable seat time”

Unfortunately things did not unfold the way the team would have liked, The teams brand new motor was delayed at the engine shop and it was Friday June 13^th before they could tow to there first race. Unfortunately James and the rest of the Ohsweken Speedway competitors were not as lucky on this Friday the 13^th as the rains poured down before hot laps forcing an early end to the night.

The Wit Racing team managed there first start of the year at the ESS / World of Outlaws Late Model Race the week after. “ We managed to stay on the lead lap in the heat race and that was a small accomplishment because that was the first time in the car this year. We made some changes before the B Main, started last and made it up to 5^th but missed the transfer spot by 3 positions.

The next race for the team would be the ASCS summer nationals at Ohsweken on July 4^th and 5^th. After running strong in hot laps and mid way through the heat race while in a transfer position, The U joint exploded forcing the #83 Quaker State Maxim to the sidelines for the weekend.

After the #83 was repaired in the shop the next race action would be the July 22^nd and 23^rd WOO races @ Ohsweken. “ We wanted to practice our qualifying runs both days and see how we would compare in lap times to the other 360’s in attendance. “ Unfortunately Mother Nature won the two biggest races on the Canadian Motor Sports Calendar.

After talking with Terry McCarl in the pits about pit crew jobs on the WOO tour, James made the decision to park the car and travel with the Big Game Tree Stands team for a few weeks. “ It was a priceless learning experience. I helped Terry until after the Knoxville Nationals and then made the decision to join Chad Hiller’s race team for a few more weeks in a more hands on role”

After the Gold Cup in Chico, California, James would return home to attend school for his General Machinist Apprenticeship. The Wit Racing team went to work on preparing the car for the 4^th annual Canadians Nationals. “We ran real strong at the Canadian Nationals Friday Night. I tested a few things I learned and we ran fast all night. Unfortunately a broken tie rod on the second lap of the A Main put us out of that one. Saturday we missed our setup for qualifying so that put us at the back of the heat race. Midway through the heat the rear caliper broke so we loaded it up for the night and because of school called it the last race of the 2008 season” .

After many nights of rain and frustrating mechanical failures the 2008 season came to a merciful end for the Wit Racing team. “ It was the worst year on the track but the most fun I’ve had off of it. The learning experience with the WOO was invaluable. We are optimistic that we can come back strong next year and compete for the heat race wins and hopefully top 5 feature results.

Plans for 2009.…

Preparations for 2009 have already began at the Wit Racing team shop. We Had our Maxim chassis sand blasted and re powder coated in mid October. We have been putting the car back together and cleaning and preparing new parts for next season. We are in the process of preparing and building our spare parts inventory for next season.

Because of the lack of sponsorship on the Wit Racing Quaker State Maxim we are cutting back our 2009 schedule to 20 races. We only live 25 minutes from Ohsweken Speedway so we will race everything there and the races at Humberstone Speedway and Merrittville Speedway as well..