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POMONA, Thursday: Excitement filled the air today for the season opener of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing series. Funny Car pro, Tim Wilkerson is glad to be back behind the wheel of his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS and is anticipating a great year.
Wilkerson holds the No.12 position after the first-round of qualifying came to a close today at the CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals. He would have liked to do better, but a broken exhaust valve had a different idea and Wilk was held back to a 5.212 at 227.69 mph.
“It broke a valve when I stepped on the gas,” explained Wilkerson, “so it only had seven holes. It just broke the tip off an exhaust valve. It seems like it does that a couple of times a year. So, now we have one of them over with, I guess. There’s nothing really to say after it does that because it doesn’t have any power at all with an exhaust valve broke and hung open. Every time that intake valve is open every boost that’s in the manifold goes right out the pipe. So, it just makes the whole thing a dog. At least when it puts a whole out, fuel wise, the rest of the seven valves get to do something. Well, this way it probably looses 1000 horsepower instead of 500-600. So, it’s bad.
“It was nothing we did wrong. It’s just something that happens from time to time. But we’ll check it out and make sure we don’t have some type of valve problem. But, I don’t think so. I just think it’s one of those things. So, we’ll just take her up there tomorrow and try again and maybe we’ll make a better run.”
A broken valve holds Wilkerson back in the opening round of qualifying
POMONA, Thursday: Excitement filled the air today for the season opener of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing series. Funny Car pro, Tim Wilkerson is glad to be back behind the wheel of his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS and is anticipating a great year.
Wilkerson holds the No.12 position after the first-round of qualifying came to a close today at the CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals. He would have liked to do better, but a broken exhaust valve had a different idea and Wilk was held back to a 5.212 at 227.69 mph.
“It broke a valve when I stepped on the gas,” explained Wilkerson, “so it only had seven holes. It just broke the tip off an exhaust valve. It seems like it does that a couple of times a year. So, now we have one of them over with, I guess. There’s nothing really to say after it does that because it doesn’t have any power at all with an exhaust valve broke and hung open. Every time that intake valve is open every boost that’s in the manifold goes right out the pipe. So, it just makes the whole thing a dog. At least when it puts a whole out, fuel wise, the rest of the seven valves get to do something. Well, this way it probably looses 1000 horsepower instead of 500-600. So, it’s bad.
“It was nothing we did wrong. It’s just something that happens from time to time. But we’ll check it out and make sure we don’t have some type of valve problem. But, I don’t think so. I just think it’s one of those things. So, we’ll just take her up there tomorrow and try again and maybe we’ll make a better run.”
