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TOPEKA, Kan. (May 14, 2013) — Tim Wilkerson has never had any illusions about his place in the hierarchy of Ford Racing Funny Car drivers. He’s thrilled to have driven his Ford Shelby Mustang since 2009, and has represented the Ford Motor Company quite well with Countdown playoff appearances in every one of his Ford seasons, while also putting his Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang into the Winner’s Circle six times. But, with the John Force Racing empire, featuring three of the best Funny Cars in the sport, usually parked directly across from him at each race, while Bob Tasca’s flagship team is parked next door, there’s little question the smallest operation in the bunch belongs to Wilk.

With all of those details in the light of day, it’s a proud moment for Tim Wilkerson as the NHRA Mello Yello tour heads to Topeka this weekend, for the 25th Annual Kansas Nationals. One quick glance at the points standings shows Wilk in fifth place, but it also shows him as the top Ford driver in the class, albeit his lead over Ford stablemate Courtney Force is a razor-thin two points. Still, leading the Ford contingent into Topeka is a good thing, and being on a hot streak is even better. Over the course of the last three races, Wilk has picked up seven round wins and seven spots in the standings, and those seven round wins are more than the rest of the Ford contingent combined. Wilk, however, sees this moment as just that, a snapshot of one moment in a long season.

“When you race a Ford Funny Car, you’re going to spend a lot of time talking with the guys over at John Force’s operation, and we’ve always spent a lot of time working with Bob Tasca’s group, so you get to know what they can do,” Wilk said. “It’s a lot of fun to head to Topeka as the top Ford team, but all four of those other cars are more than capable of going on a tear that can turn the entire standings upside down. We’re just happy to be hot right now and do Ford some good.

“We have nine round wins at this point, and I was thinking back to last year and couldn’t even remember when we won our ninth round. Turns out it was Seattle, in August, so we’re definitely headed in the right direction this year and we’re just focused on getting better every week. If we do that, and stay focused on what we’re doing, the points will come and the wins will come. We’ve been the runner-up in our last four finals, so I hope we break through here at some point, and we’ll put this Ford in the Winner’s Circle.”

The NHRA Mello Yello season features a long haul through 18 races in the regular season, and throughout those months teams are battling to earn enough points to stay in the Top 10 in order to make the playoffs. With Topeka being the eighth race of the year it’s still early and there are a lot of points left to be earned but, just like in other sports, an early win counts just as much as one on the season’s last day. Just one year ago, after Wilk struggled in the early season, he needed a miraculous rally at Indianapolis to earn his playoff spot on the final day. This year, he hopes to be in a much more secure position.

“Every point counts, from the rounds you win in April to the bonus points you get during a qualifying session in June,” Wilk said. “Last year we were just horribly inconsistent, and every time we’d have a good day and think he had a handle on it, we’d struggle at the next race. This year, once we got some things sorted out we got over the hump a little bit, and we’ve been pretty good here for a few races. It’s a tough sport, though, and every driver in the class can tell you about the last time they had a slump and couldn’t buy a round win. It happens, and it happens to everyone.

“The key for us is to just be what we are and be the best we can be as the LRS Ford. We’re not a team that tries to set track records or run low e.t. every round. We try to take care of our parts, get in the show solidly, and hopefully be in the top half and win some rounds. If we do that, there will be days when the track comes to us and we’ll win a lot of rounds. Houston was kind of like that. We had a good handle on a track that was giving everyone else fits, and we almost won the thing. We’ll just go to Topeka and get back to work, and we’ll see how it plays out.”

The moment is now. It’s simply a snapshot of this point in time, when the Mello Yello tour is nearing the halfway mark in the regular season. Tim Wilkerson leads the powerful Ford Racing contingent in points and round wins. As snapshots go, it’s a nice one to look at for the Levi, Ray & Shoup team and the legions of Wilk’s Warriors around the world.

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Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com

Tim Wilkerson drove his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang to a pair of round wins at the delayed Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, adding to his points total and his confidence. In the end the sum total was another successful race, with the numbers (in a sport dominated by numbers) all trending in a positive direction for the LRS team.

For the third consecutive race, qualifying was limited to just two sessions and Wilk continued to show that he’s not only just fine with that format, he actually seems to excel at it. Here, it was a pair of fine runs on Friday, a 4.123 and a 4.089, that placed him fourth on the grid, following an identical fourth in Charlotte and a No. 2 spot in Houston. All were accomplished with only two qualifying runs.

“We’ve timed this pretty well, in terms of the car and the clutch coming around for us, because it might’ve been a different story if the car was still giving us fits like it was earlier in the year,” Wilk said. “Right now, it’s just nice and consistent and we feel like it will go down the track every time, so only making two runs has been okay with me. It’s lousy to get rained on, and it wasn’t any fun to have this race postponed a week, but if we can qualify this well and only make half the qualifying runs, that’s a good thing for the bank account, at least.

“We’re also starting to put some good mile-per-hour on the board, with a string of 307s here, and that’s pretty good for us. We’re not known as a big speed team, because we don’t tune the car that way, so running 307 means we’re not chewing up too many parts and not dropping too many cylinders. We’re on a pretty good little run right now, and my guys are earning their paychecks with the quick turn-arounds while we’re going rounds on race day.”

With the rescheduled Atlanta race being run under the threat of precipitation, the pressure was on to service the cars quickly as a number of small rain showers were in the area all day, and one such shower caused a delay between rounds one and two. Wilk faced Alexis DeJoria in the opening round, and he cruised to a 4.139 at 307.79 to get the win light. That set up a second-round date with Jack Beckman, who grabbed lane choice with his 4.122 in round one.

“That little rain shower might have really been a good thing, in terms of the track because it was a little sketchy out there in round one, but after the Safety Safari dried the track and dragged it again, things were pretty even with the lanes and you could get down either side,” Wilk said. “If there’s a better lane during any given round, that’s just the way it is and that’s drag racing. That’s why you want lane choice. It wouldn’t be fair to the teams that already lost if they went out there in the middle of a round to try to make it even. But, with the rain, it gave them a chance to prep things a little more, and they gave us a terrific track to race on. The track was great.”

In round two, after that rain delay and track prep, Wilk’s self-proclaimed “bracket car” went A-to-B again, putting a solid if unspectacular 4.142 on the board to vanquish a tire-hazing Beckman. It marked his third consecutive trip to the semifinals, and fourth such effort on the year. It also matched him up with No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan, who had posted a bit of a lucky win with a 4.663 in round one but then bounced back to trounce John Force with a 4.104 in round two.

Hagan reprised his 4.10, this time with a 4.106 to end Wilk’s day in the semifinal. The LRS Ford suffered through its first bit of tire smoke on the weekend, and Hagan tore away to punch his ticket to the final.

“Once again, my guys busted their tails to get us there, and we had a lot of help from Bob Tasca’s guys again, so it would’ve been nice to get back to the final and maybe finally get this bridesmaid’s dress off with a win, but it just pulled the tires loose there going by the tree, and for no good reason that I can see,” Wilk said. “That’s the same motor we put in the car for the final in Houston, and that was the only time we smoked the tires there. We’re thinking about taking this thing home and burying it in the backyard, because it’s not being very hospitable to us. A good day though, and the numbers are starting to add up.”

Here are just a few of those numbers. Wilk is now 9-7 on the year. Last season, he didn’t win his ninth round of racing until August 5, in Seattle. Once he gets out of the first round on race day, Wilk appears to be a lock to advance as far as the semifinals. He is 4-0 in round two this season. He moved up a notch to the fifth spot in the Mello Yello standings, but just as importantly he continued to put some space between himself and those chasing him, while he edged closer to those at the top. Just four races ago, he was 12th. As an example of nearly insane consistency, his qualifying speed in Atlanta was 307.58 mph, the exact same speed he qualified with in Houston. Even Wilk’s reaction times are trending positively, as he posted .090, .087, and .079 in Atlanta.

It’s all beginning to add up for Tim Wilkerson. Next weekend, in Topeka, he’ll try to keep the math moving in the right direction.

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Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com

COMMERCE, Ga. (May 9, 2013) — Mother Nature has a way of intruding on even the best laid plans, and she usually does so at a most inconvenient time. With the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals originally scheduled on the NHRA Mello Yello tour as the third of three consecutive races, and with intermittent rain having afflicted both Charlotte and Houston on the previous two weekends, it came as hardly a surprise when incessant precipitation washed out the Atlanta event completely. This weekend, Tim Wilkerson and his Levi, Ray & Shoup team are back at Atlanta Dragway, along with the rest of the NHRA traveling circus, to give it another shot in what is now a string of five race tracks in five weeks. Topeka will host the Mello Yello series next week.

Wilk and his team took advantage of the postponement by making a quick sprint back to their shop in Springfield, Ill. after the first attempt to race in Atlanta was called off last Saturday morning.

“I guess if you’re going to get rained out, doing it this way and calling it on Saturday morning is the way to do it,” Wilk said. “If we sit there and watch it rain for three days, and then the towel finally gets thrown in on Sunday night or even Monday, it’s almost not worth it to head back home, but this time we loaded up our duallie with as many parts and as we could, wrapped a tarp over the bed, and took off for home. We went to the final round at Charlotte and Houston so we had a lot of stuff that needed to be serviced, but we originally figured we could get through Atlanta and then work on it all during the week off between Atlanta and Topeka.

“With the re-run happening this weekend now, and with Topeka right after it, we needed to reload so we went on a little road trip and got back to Illinois. We left our pit completely set up, and we’re ready to go if Mother Nature cooperates this time around. It’s looking pretty good, and we’re eager to get going. We might as well make the most of it, now that we’ve come back here to try it again.”

There will be one day of pro qualifying for the rescheduled Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, on Friday. Sessions are set for 2:00 and 4:00, with Top Fuel preceding the Funny Car class. Final eliminations will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, and will follow the standard race-day format.

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Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com

Incessant rain and a forecast for more of the same conspired to cause the postponement of this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, at Atlanta Dragway.

The professional classes will make two qualifying runs next Friday (May 10) and eliminations will be held on Saturday.

Tim Wilkerson comment:

“You had to be here to know how raw and ugly it was, and the worst of it hadn’t even gotten to the track yet,” Wilkerson said. “They made the right call, because we could’ve easily sat here until Tuesday or Wednesday, waiting to run. This way, we can leave our transporters here and head home for a few days, then all meet up again at the end of the week to try to make this happen. Only getting the two qualifying runs is always tough, but that’s the way it’s been at the last two races and we’ve done okay, so I’m not complaining. We’re all in the same boat on that deal, and if we stayed here any longer we were going to need a boat. We’ll see you next Friday.”

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Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com

Persistent drizzle throughout much of the afternoon turned to heavy rain, complete with thunder and lightning, late in the day and professional racing was cancelled before a Top Fuel Dragster or Funny Car could take to the track. 

 After a brilliant start to the season, in terms of weather, this represented the second consecutive weekend where the Funny Car class lost an entire day due to inclement weather. It was Friday, last weekend in Charlotte, when the rains came just as the Funny Cars arrived in the lanes. Here, with it being Saturday, the Top Fuel cars were in the lanes when the skies opened up in earnest. The Team LRS Ford never left the pit area all day.

 ”Tough deal for everyone, and these days are worse than the busiest days of racing,” said Tim Wilkerson. “We had a big group of Levi, Ray & Shoup guests, and my guys over there did all they could to keep them entertained, but it’s no fun for anyone to spend a full day at the race track and not get to see their favorite car run.  We were keeping tabs on the radar all day, and all the weather websites, and basically they all missed by a mile. The same sites say it looks tough for tomorrow, so let’s hope they’re just as wrong on that call.”

 With the field set, Wilk will race from the No. 2 spot and will face Del Worsham in round one. There are a number of intriguing pairings in round one, including the Courtney Force / Alexis DeJoria match-up, the all-DSR Matt Hagan / Ron Capps tussle, and the wily veteran versus the youngest driver in the field, as John Force faces off against Blake Alexander.

 Funny Car pairings for round one:

 (1) Cruz Pedregon vs (16) Terry Haddock

 (2) Tim Wilkerson vs (15) Del Worsham

 (3) Robert Hight vs (14) Johnny Gray

 (4) Jack Beckman vs (13) Tony Pedregon

 (5) Courtney Force vs (12) Alexis DeJoria

 (6) Matt Hagan vs (11) Ron Capps

 (7) John Force vs (10) Blake Alexander 

(8) Bob Tasca vs (9) Jeff Arend

Tim Wilkerson had an almost flawless Houston race, in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford. He put back-to-back brilliant qualifying runs on the board, and then plowed through three rounds of eliminations better than any other Funny Car driver on the property. Then, with the drama of a short turn-around and and “live” television for the final, his tune-up finally slipped, as did his traction. Cruz Pedregon powered cleanly down the track for the win.

Like Charlotte before it, Houston featured only one day of qualifying when the other was rained out. Here, it was Saturday that was a wash, but Wilk’s two terrific runs on Friday had him sitting pretty in the No. 2 spot. His initial pass, a 4.161 right out of the box, was good enough for the 2nd spot, and worth two bonus points. He then came back with a 4.103 in Q2, which was also good enough for the No. 2 spot and worth another two bonus points.

“We came here feeling way better about the car, after Charlotte, and it showed right out of the blocks,” Wilk said. “That first one was big, because it not only takes the pressure off but it also gives you the confidence to push it a little more. The track came around, we stepped on it a little more, and it flew right down there. Easily our best qualifying effort on the year so far. That was good.”

After Saturday’s massive washout, which many forecasters missed, the teams came into Sunday not knowing what to believe in terms of weather. What they got was mostly sunny skies and humid conditions. Not ideal for going fast, but way better than the wet stuff.

Traction was not at a premium in the opening round, as pedaling jobs and tire smoke consumed the action, but Wilk found a way to get to the other end in fine fashion against a tire-smoking Del Worsham. He gave his car a quick slap of the pedal around 200 feet out, and it hooked up to run a solid 4.267, easily the lowest elapsed time of the round. It earned him a second-round date with 15-time champ John Force.

This time, Wilk powered end-to-end effortlessly, posting a big 4.198 to vanquish Force and move on to his second consecutive semifinal. Ron Capps would be waiting there.

“I got a little lucky on the pedal job in round one, and it hooked back up,” Wilk said, with far too much modesty. “I had a handle on it, though, and my guys worked their tails off. I figured we had a really good chance to make another solid lap.”

That he did. Posting a 4.202, Wilk sent Capps to the showers and advanced to his first true final of the year (not counting the 4-Wides, where the semis and final are the same round). Cruz Pedregon would be one opponent. 55-minutes for a “live” TV turnaround would be the other.

With big help from members of the Bob Tasca and TJ Zizzo teams, the thrash began with cameras in the pit. The action was furious, and this young crew was working their guts out to make it happen. As national TV viewers watched, they were ready to fire at 42 minutes, but some pesky ignition problems had to be solved. At 50 minutes, they were warmed up. At 55, the car was on the ground.

“That was about as stressful as you can get, and huge thanks to Marc, Tom, Tony, Mike, and all those guys who came over to help,” Wilk said. “Help is good, but only when it’s good help, if you know what I mean. Those guys knew where they could dive in and make the process shorter, without getting in the way and actually making it longer. My crew guys were busting their tails so hard, with such great determination, it was thrilling. They earned every bit of getting on TV in the final round.”

Pedregon’s team also had problems during the short service, and the TV audience was along for the ride as both teams sprinted to the line to make their deadline. With seconds to spare, the Pedregon team was ready and fired up.

This time, Wilk’s streak of strong laps finally ran its course. Tire smoke before mid-track ended his day with tired disappointment, but it wasn’t long before the owner/tuner/driver could see what a great weekend it had been.

“We’ll get one,” he said. “We’re so much farther ahead right now than we were just a couple of weeks ago it’s not funny. It was a letdown for us to mess up there, but we’ll get one and these guys will get their Wallys. It’s about to be summer, and we have a great hot rod right now. We’ll get there.”

One would be mistaken to not believe him.

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Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car

http://www.timwilkerson.com