Kris Whitfield doesn’t lie in mattress at night time and dwell on issues that may have been, however he does admit he felt a little bit of a sting of dropping the 2025 NHRA Super Comp world title late within the season.
Whitfield is effectively revered as one of many sport’s finest massive cash bracket racers, and he additionally places a number of effort into his NHRA Super Comp program. Last 12 months, Whitfield, who operates an auto detailing enterprise in his native Colorado, got here out swinging final 12 months when he reached the ultimate spherical in 4 of his first 5 begins in Super Comp, recording two wins. He grabbed an early factors lead and because the season progressed, he continued to tug away from the sector.
Whitfield started his memorable run in Las Vegas in April. During a two-week stretch, he gained the Four Wide National occasion after which scored a win and a runner-up on the Division 7 Lucas Oil Series occasion every week later. All instructed, he turned on 20 of 21 attainable win lights and added 304 factors to his complete. His most spectacular efficiency could have come within the nationwide occasion remaining the place he coupled a .006 gentle with a 9.055 on the 9.05 index to freeze out Cooper Chun, who truly left first with a .005 gentle, however broke out with a 9.036.
With only a quarter of the season within the books, Whitfield’s many associates and supporters have been already starting to name him “champ” however he knew higher than to get complacent.
“Yes, there was a lot of that, but I think it’s because I have good friends and good support from manufactures,” Whitfield said. “They’d say, ‘It’s over.’ And ‘It’s yours’ but I know how Murphy’s Law works. Even with big lead all year, I knew it wasn’t over. It may be easy to fall into complacency but every weekend there was another reminder that nothing is easy about this sport.”
Following his memorable Las Vegas efficiency, Whitfield rolled into St. Louis for the Division 5 double-header and boosted his rating with a runner-up and a spherical three end. If he wasn’t the championship favourite earlier than, he actually was after leaving the Gateway City.
Then, catastrophe struck. And Whitfield admits that it was largely of his personal making. In this occasion, the perpetrator was a cussed race automotive, and the usage of pre-event waivers.
For these unaware, A reasonably latest NHRA guidelines revision permits sportsman racers to waive their factors previous to the beginning of a selected occasion. The rule is designed to assist a racer who could be experiencing mechanical points or is visiting a brand new observe for the primary time or for no matter cause doesn’t really feel assured. The downside is as soon as a waiver is executed, there is no going again.
Whitfield elected to pre-event waive a number of races throughout the season and he ended up successful each of them. He bought the Wallys and the prize cash, however not the factors.
“Last season was an interesting dynamic,” Whitfield defined. “We were struggling with the race car early in the season, but the win lights were still coming on. It wasn’t exactly my version of a good race car, but somehow we made it work. Going forward, we knew we needed to get it fixed in order to really contend for a championship.”
Having a automotive that might not produce constant sixty-foot occasions put Whitfield ready the place he elected to waive a number of races.
“During the season, I had a lot of good conversations with some really smart racers; world champion caliber racers and the consensus was that I needed to get my car right. After St. Louis, we lost in the first round three times in a row in Brainerd. I’ve got a great support system, and we made a lot of changes from front to back, but we still couldn’t figure it out.”
“We got to St. Louis [in October] and made five runs during the Tuesday test session and I still didn’t have much confidence. I waived those races and won one of them. Honestly, that was the worst feeling. Here I am, with a trophy and I’m filling out contingency forums and I was so conflicted. It felt like a low point because as far as the championship goes that would have made all the difference in the world. I would have wrapped it up that day.
“f I had to go back and do it again, I feel fully justified in what I did,” Whitfield stated. “We did what we thought was right. I just happened to win race but go no points for it. I did make a lot of good runs in St. Louis and I thought we’d be okay. I was in a really good spot with a lot of racing left.”
Whitfield’s plan was to say factors on the finish of the season, particularly the Las Vegas observe that had beforehand been so good to him. So, he went to Dallas and elected to make use of another waiver for the nationwide and divisional occasion. Naturally, he gained once more.
“Yes, I shot myself in the foot a second time,” he admitted. “I did beat some guys who would have been in contention for the title so I did what we set out to do, but I would have locked it up again if I had counted points. In Dallas, with the JEGS Allstars, there are so many great racers there. With the waiver, I knew I wasn’t getting any points, but my goal was to make sure no one else got them. I wanted to put my fate in my own hands. Sometimes, a win isn’t measured with a Wally and that was all part of our strategy.
“The truth is that I used my first waiver at the [Division 5 Lucas Oil event] in Earlville and that would have been my eighth divisional. I lost in the first round so in the end, my score would have been the same if I had never used a waiver. So yes, I played the game, but in the end, the result would have almost certainly been the same.”
Even after waiving two wins, Whitfield entered the ultimate weeks of the season with the factors lead, and a robust shot to win the title. He wasn’t in a position to enhance his rating in Las Vegas and Pomona ending with a decent complete of 623 factors.
On the ultimate day of the season, Whitfield watched as Chad Webber confronted a should win state of affairs on the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals and made it occur, successful the title by simply 12 factors.
“I can be pretty superstitious, so I tried a few different things,” Whitfied stated. “I stood on the starting line when Chad ran a couple of times and that didn’t work so then we went to the stands and he still kept winning. For the final, I was in out pit with my girlfriend. We didn’t watch the race, but we listened to the radio and heard Chad win. I hated to have my fate in someone else hand but that’s how it played out.”
Whitfield is clearly an optimist, and when he appears to be like again at his 2025 season, he sees three wins in Super Comp, a Division 5 championships, and a really respectable second place end within the nationwide standings. Whitfield additionally continued to construct on a formidable bracket racing resume. His largest win got here on the authentic Mickey Thompson Million Dollar Race in St. Louis, the place he gained one of many $20,000 warm-up occasions, outlasting a subject of practically 700 racers. Whitfield was additionally within the remaining spherical of a $50,000 to win race at U.S. 131 Dragway in Martin, Mich., incomes another strong payday.
“Winning a race at the OG Million was big. It wasn’t a huge payday, but the money doesn’t matter,” Whitfield stated. “It gets spent buying more parts or taking more trips. When they give you that trophy, no one can take that away. I got down to six cars in the $50,000 race the next day so it was a good weekend. We raced until 3:30 a.m. for two nights in a row.”
So, what in retailer for Whitfied in 2026?
“This year, I’ve got my car figured out and I’m not going to touch it and my schedule might look significantly different,” Whitfield stated. “There are new places on the schedule and I want go try some of them. My plan is to fill in the calendar with a lot of NHRA stuff and a lot of bracket races. When my rig leaves Colorado, its gone for most of the season so I try to hit races two and three weeks at a time because I fly in and out.”
As Whitfield beforehand famous, he’s bought an unbelievable help system that features his dad and mom, Steve and Nancy, brother, Kameron, his aunt, Marcie, and girlfriend, Victoria Christensen. He additionally will get a lift from a number of outstanding companies together with Dialed In Details, Get Em Carburetors, Mickey Thompson Tires, DMP Awnings, Bishop’s Performance, Go Lithium Batteries, Alliance Racewear, This is Bracket Racing.com and Goethe Enterprises.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more motivated to get season kicked off,” he says. “What happened last year is the biggest thing that will push me. You know, they say do you love to win or hate to lose? I hate to lose. That’s what keeps me up at night. The cuts and scars of losing the championship faded quickly, and now that’s turned into the excitement of 2026. I feel good. If I hadn’t come so close last season, I might not have the same drive as I do now but I’m very motivated.”