Tim Wilkerson wasn’t the most flamboyant or attention-grabbing Funny Car driver, during this one-day qualifying effort in Norwalk. As a matter of true fact, he wasn’t even the most spectacular Wilkerson on the grounds, as his son Daniel used his final qualifying run to jump from outside the field all the way up to the 6th spot. But, importantly, the senior Wilk put a consistent, safe, and solid race car on the track, posting runs of 4.164 and 4.171 on the scoreboard to qualify 9th. He will face Cruz Pedregon in round one.
“We weren’t happy to get washed out on Friday, believe me, because we need all the runs we can get right now,” Wilkerson said. “So, we came out here today with the mission to be consistent, solid, and finish the day not only in the field but also feeling that we had a good car to race with on Sunday. Mission accomplished.
“It may not have been spectacular, but it went right down there both times and we can race like that. We have a tough opponent in round one, but Cruz and I have raced so many times we can’t count them up. I’m sure he’ll go up there like I will, just trying to have a good solid lap and we’ll see how it shakes out.
“I’m not going to deny that I was pretty pumped up when Dan ran, either. I was just a couple of pairs behind him, so I was already strapped in and about to turn the corner from the staging lanes when I heard what he did. Good for him, good for his team, and good for Summit. A good day all around for Team Wilkerson, and now we’ll try to capitalize on it on Sunday.”
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