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Milan, Mich., May 26, 2008: All across America young men are borrowing their father’s car for the weekend, some to impress a special young lady, others to haul their possessions home from school. 20 year-old college student, Daniel Wilkerson borrowed his dad’s car this weekend. Only he didn’t get a big SUV or a luxury car, instead he got a 7,000 horsepower nitro burning Funny Car. By the way, his father happens to be the current NHRA POWERade points leader, Tim Wilkerson. And Daniel took the Lev, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS to the IHRA Motor City Nationals in Milan, Mich. to make his nitro Funny Car debut.
The talented young driver is no stranger to drag racing, having started his career at the age of 12 in Junior Dragster. Last year in his first full Top Alcohol Funny Car season of racing, he was the Lucas Oil Div. 3 Champion. But his dream of driving a race car started before the ripe old age of 12.
As mom, Krista explains, “in his mind, Daniel has been driving this race car since he was five years old. I think he did a terrific job this weekend and I’m very proud of him. He takes after his dad and that gives me goose bumps."
On his first professional pass down the quarter-mile on Friday night, Daniel brought the drag racing community to its feet as he posted a 4.831 at 316.01 mph capturing the No. 1 position in the Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro qualifying and earning the coveted Last Man Standing award. And to top off his stunning performance, this was the quickest Funny Car pass in IHRA history.
In the second day of qualifying at the Milan Dragway, Daniel didn’t fare as well. On his first pass, he dropped a cylinder and the car moved close to the wall. It was reported that he hit the wall, but he did a good driving job and kept it off. He posted a 4.962 at 289.94 mph. In the last session, Daniel smoked the tires and coasted across the finish line at 9.086. Even though he didn’t improve on his Friday night run, he remained the No. 1 qualifier.
Race day continued to be a dream come true for this second-generation driver. Daniel drove his way to a final-round appearance, by first taking out Dale Creasy Jr. and then Jack Wyatt. This matched him up against Paul Lee in the final-round. Here Daniel didn’t have enough to hold off his opponent, only posting a 5.201 against Lee’s 4.956.
“It was a fairytale weekend, from beginning to end,” expressed Daniel, “and we had fun the whole time. There are no words to describe it, it’s unbelievable. It was really exciting to get to race Dad’s car, it’s really fast. It was a great weekend. I didn’t need to win for it to be great.
“That 4.83 run on Friday night was the fastest I’ve ever gone in my entire life. It would have been cool if we could have backed it up and gotten the world record. And it would have been out of this world if we would have won, but I’m glad for Paul Lee. He’s in the points hunt and we’re not. And with the way Dad’s year is we know how important points are and how much fun that is. We’re just trying to get me some seat time. We don’t even know how many races we’re going to do, so it was good for Paul.”
“I’m extremely proud of Daniel,” said proud dad, Tim. “This weekend was a good time and it was great to be in the finals. I let him down there because I put on our old, crummy blower and it was a slug. I wish I could blame something other than me, but I don’t think so. There may be an ignition problem because I thought it would be better than that, so we’ll look into it at the shop.
“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.
Daniel Wilkerson takes the world by storm in his Funny Car debut
Milan, Mich., May 26, 2008: All across America young men are borrowing their father’s car for the weekend, some to impress a special young lady, others to haul their possessions home from school. 20 year-old college student, Daniel Wilkerson borrowed his dad’s car this weekend. Only he didn’t get a big SUV or a luxury car, instead he got a 7,000 horsepower nitro burning Funny Car. By the way, his father happens to be the current NHRA POWERade points leader, Tim Wilkerson. And Daniel took the Lev, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS to the IHRA Motor City Nationals in Milan, Mich. to make his nitro Funny Car debut.
The talented young driver is no stranger to drag racing, having started his career at the age of 12 in Junior Dragster. Last year in his first full Top Alcohol Funny Car season of racing, he was the Lucas Oil Div. 3 Champion. But his dream of driving a race car started before the ripe old age of 12.
As mom, Krista explains, “in his mind, Daniel has been driving this race car since he was five years old. I think he did a terrific job this weekend and I’m very proud of him. He takes after his dad and that gives me goose bumps."
On his first professional pass down the quarter-mile on Friday night, Daniel brought the drag racing community to its feet as he posted a 4.831 at 316.01 mph capturing the No. 1 position in the Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro qualifying and earning the coveted Last Man Standing award. And to top off his stunning performance, this was the quickest Funny Car pass in IHRA history.
In the second day of qualifying at the Milan Dragway, Daniel didn’t fare as well. On his first pass, he dropped a cylinder and the car moved close to the wall. It was reported that he hit the wall, but he did a good driving job and kept it off. He posted a 4.962 at 289.94 mph. In the last session, Daniel smoked the tires and coasted across the finish line at 9.086. Even though he didn’t improve on his Friday night run, he remained the No. 1 qualifier.
Race day continued to be a dream come true for this second-generation driver. Daniel drove his way to a final-round appearance, by first taking out Dale Creasy Jr. and then Jack Wyatt. This matched him up against Paul Lee in the final-round. Here Daniel didn’t have enough to hold off his opponent, only posting a 5.201 against Lee’s 4.956.
“It was a fairytale weekend, from beginning to end,” expressed Daniel, “and we had fun the whole time. There are no words to describe it, it’s unbelievable. It was really exciting to get to race Dad’s car, it’s really fast. It was a great weekend. I didn’t need to win for it to be great.
“That 4.83 run on Friday night was the fastest I’ve ever gone in my entire life. It would have been cool if we could have backed it up and gotten the world record. And it would have been out of this world if we would have won, but I’m glad for Paul Lee. He’s in the points hunt and we’re not. And with the way Dad’s year is we know how important points are and how much fun that is. We’re just trying to get me some seat time. We don’t even know how many races we’re going to do, so it was good for Paul.”
“I’m extremely proud of Daniel,” said proud dad, Tim. “This weekend was a good time and it was great to be in the finals. I let him down there because I put on our old, crummy blower and it was a slug. I wish I could blame something other than me, but I don’t think so. There may be an ignition problem because I thought it would be better than that, so we’ll look into it at the shop.
“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.
