I recently had an article up about Mark Whitener and the only thing I can say about his season is "whoa". He started the season out by breaking his back in an accident at North Florida Speedway and came back to win 14 features and 15 second place finishes and two separate championships in the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series and the Bubba Raceway Park Championship.
When he had his accident on January 28th last year he was out for a total of five weeks but came back to finish the season off unlike the way it started. He raced at multiple tracks this year like Phenix City, Savannah, Waycross, Bubba Raceway Park, East Bay, Clewiston, Needmore, 441 Speedway, and North Florida Speedway. That is a lot of tracks. To say he had a good year would be an understatement. He credits having dedication to racing is important. Where would you think I would find this driver in the off season? At a go kart track of course. That is showing a dedication to your craft and a drive to keep making yourself a better driver at no matter what you're in.
Having good equipment is another essential in his arsenal with one of the best assests being his crew chief Mike Rey who makes sure that equipment is in top form and ready for Mark to chase the checkered flag. His sponsors and owners, Augie Burttram, Craig Berry, and Bruce Langford are another formula in his success and definitely his wife Bridgett who never misses a race to cheer on her husband. Making a good driver to him can happen when someone shows progress in their driving and who has lots of heart. It's what is a driving force for him.
With the many wins he had this year one of the highlights was when he went to Savannah and won the Showdown on the Coast and also coming back from having a broken back early on in the season to ending the way he did. It was a five week stretch that he was out but he came back stronger and more determined than ever. Mark says without the fans he wouldn't be able to do what he loves to do. They are the ones who come each and every week to support the drivers and make it all possible. Hopefully next year they'll see an even better season than the remarkable one he had this year. There are plans to race the Fastrack Crate series at Eastbay Speedway along with his other late model and super late model races added in there. If he plans to add to the season he already had by outdoing it, he has a lot of work to do but with Mark Whitener I do not at all think it's impossible for him. All you have to do is look at his past season, and to see what he WILL do, just check him out when he comes to a track near you. You'll be able to see why they call him "The Magic Man".
