Everybody thinks that they can be Billy Badass when it comes to the tree. They paid for the horsepower, they’re suited and booted, ready to go. All they have to do is stomp the skinny pedal on the right, hang the hell on and in a few seconds, all will be well. Ha! The reactions necessary to keep a no-joke race car in between the stripes and off of it’s lid are nothing short of astounding. Just the first second or so will determine if your night will continue on happily or if you’re going to be drinking very, very soon. The difference between those two outcomes is a near-ESP level of knowledge regarding how the machine is going to act. Get it right, you’ll look like a driving god. Get it wrong, and the best possible outcome is that you drive to the trailer and try again tomorrow.
You can be the judge of where Tony Whitmore sits in that definition, but make no mistake, this is one bad man behind the wheel of that Nova. Handling an all-four off kind of wheelstand with the kind of timing he showed off required the reflexes of a praying mantis moving in on dinner. The pedal job can be heard, but to pull off the trick he just did usually would end in concrete kisses.
That’s how you do it, folks.
Every other wheelie you see like that and the suspension is broken to pieces and the oil pan is four quarts smaller. That is innate ability and seriously impressive.