The upcoming Inaugural NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord is a highlight on the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series tour. Not only will the teams and fans enjoy exciting racing at the brand new state-of-the-art facility, but it also marks the start of the Countdown to 1. Funny Car points leader, Tim Wilkerson and his talented team know that all the success they have enjoyed this year is behind them now and they will have to work even harder to keep the beautiful Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS ahead of the pack until the season’s end.
In the first part of the season, called the Countdown to 10, Wilkerson captured first place at the St. Louis race and stayed on top in the points race for 12 races, which was equivalent to half of a season. That segment ended in Indianapolis where only the top 10 drivers advanced into the final part of the “playoffs.” Their points were reset to within 10 of one another, except for Wilkerson who received a 20 point bonus for being No. 1, which gives him a 30 point lead going into this weekend’s race.
Wilkerson knows that 30 points doesn’t give him much breathing room and that he has to keep up his momentum during the next few weeks because the competition is tough and they are poised to try to knock him off the top.
“We’ll continue racing the way we have all year long,” explained Wilkerson. “We have worked so hard to do this and I’m very proud of our efforts. It’s interesting being first. They take you a little differently than when you were just a guy that went down the race track from time to time. I go to each race and decide we’re going to be the fastest car down that lane on that run, and we’ve been fairly successful at that this year.
“But we need to keep our eye focused on the ball and hopefully we can keep our momentum up and keep those others behind us. But there are nine other drivers that I can tell you have a very good chance of winning this deal. There’s always the Force cars, and Jack Beckman’s car is running good, and you can’t count out the Pedregons and Gary Densham will hit you with a left hook when you’re looking the wrong way. It will be an interesting six races and hopefully we can come out on top”
Wilkerson is a rarity in the drag racing world. He is a so-called independent that owns the team, drives the car and is his own crew chief. Along with his hard working, dedicated team, he is enjoying undeniably the best season of his long and successful career.
“We’re not going to pound our chest about how great we are,” said the modest Wilkerson. “We’re going to try to continue approaching every race just the way we have been all along this year. We go out there and say this track is 120 degrees and by God we think we can go a 4.15 down it and that’s what we are going to try to do. If it’s 80 degrees, we are going to try to go 4.05. And whether we get it done or not, that’s how we approach every run.
“Believe it or not, we’re not going to worry about the Countdown or anything. I think it took me to the sixth race of the season to get the points lead and I have not relinquished it since then. And so if we stumble and it takes me six to get it back that’s fine. We’ve tried to learn something on every run we’ve made this year and recently we’ve been trying some new parts and have learned some more, so I’m feeling confident that we’ve got a good hot rod and I think we have something for them. And with a little luck we’ll be taken a lot differently when this is all over.”
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