Daniel Wilkerson Makes Nitro Funny Car Debut In His Dad’s Car
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May 26, 2008
NHRA
“But Daniel did a great job. The car is extremely fast. If I had to grade him, I’d give him a ‘B’. The track had a narrow groove and he kept it in the middle where he needed to be. He did everything I told him to correctly and he’d come back from the run and tell me everything that happened. Those are all the markings of a good driver. They announced that he hit the wall on Saturday’s first pass and it was hard to tell from the starting line because there was so much dust. So, when he came back from the run, I asked him about it and he told me that he knew he got close but that he didn’t hit it. ”
“I really want to thank Mom and Dad for this weekend; I have the best parents, ” said the rookie. “I really appreciate them for giving me the opportunity to do this. And I want to thank Dick Levi and Levi, Ray & Shoup. Plus I want to thank all the crew guys for the job they did. Dad talks about what a great job they do and he certainly is right about that.
“And IHRA treated me well and I want to thank them for that. It was pretty cool the way I was accepted by all the other racers and teams. I got to race the champ, Dale Jr. and that was exciting. Everyone was really nice and that made me feel good. ”
Being the reigning Top Alcohol Funny Car champion gives Daniel great driving experience, but the two cars are different machines.
“When I get back in my alcohol car, it’s going to seem slow, ” explained Daniel. “They may look the same, but they’re different animals. The alcohol car doesn’t do anything unexpected. But the fuel car, out of nowhere it does stuff. Alcohol cars are known to launch harder than a fuel car but that doesn’t last long. The fuel car launches easy but at about 150 feet – hold on!
“If I had to grade myself on this weekend, I’d give myself a ‘B’ because I kept it in the middle just like Dad told me to. I know I have a lot of room for improvement and I’m ready to work hard at being the kind of driver my Dad is. ”
Daniel is preparing for this coming weekend’s race which will be the O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, where he will be competing in his slower Top Alcohol Funny Car. And he will be focused with qualifying at the top of the pack and winning in that car. But the thrill of this weekend will still be fresh in his mind and it will be apparent by his radiant ear-to-ear grin that will appear every so often.
