[coverattach=1]Tim Wilkerson drove his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang to a top half qualifying position at the AC Delco Gatornationals, and then took out Jack Beckman in the first round to pick up his third round win of the year. That was the end of the good results, as Shelby Mustang teammate Bob Tasca took the win in a head-to-head match-up in round two, but final results aside it was a positive weekend for the popular LRS driver, and another step in the right direction in terms of performance and consistency for Wilkerson and his team.
The LRS Shelby made three solid laps throughout the four qualifying sessions, only missing on the first Saturday run when tire smoke was a common occurrence throughout the Funny Car class. In all, Wilkerson went 4.238 and 4.226 on Friday, and then finished up with a 4.163 in Saturday's Q4, which was good enough to move him into the top half of the field, in the 8th position. In addition, his speed on that final qualifying lap, 302.08 mph, was the fastest clocking in the class, to that point. Finally, with a round win on Sunday, Wilkerson kept his 2009 record above .500, and he is now 3-2 after three races.
"Kind of disappointing to lose in the second round, but we ran better here than we have at the other two races, and maybe running side-by-side and losing is a bit of the payback for the round wins we picked up in Phoenix, where we didn't run all that well but got the light twice, if you know what I mean," Wilkerson said. "And hey, we won the first round by about as little as you can win one of these things, just getting by Jack (Beckman) in the lights, so you take the good with the bad and I think we had more of the good than the bad here this weekend. If we keep getting better, and keep getting a good handle on this car, we'll be okay."
As Wilkerson mentioned, his first-round race was about as close as they come. As the 8th and 9th qualifiers, Wilkerson and Beckman were the two closest-matched drivers in the opening round, and as the final pair to take the track in that opening stanza they had both seen plenty of big performance in both lanes. With all that as background, it seemed obvious that the winner of this race would have to earn it over the course of the entire 1,000 feet. Beckman got the jump at the tree, taking a two-hundredths edge as the two cars left the line, but Wilkerson began to make up the difference by the 60-foot mark. At the stripe, it was Wilk's 4.153 (his quickest run of the weekend) beating Fast Jack's 4.177, and once the reaction times were factored in, the margin of victory sounded every bit as close as it looked in real time. Wilkerson won it by exactly one thousandth of a second.
"When they're that close you don't know who won, or by how much, but it sure is nice when the ESPN guys come running over to talk to you," Wilkerson said. "I knew I had won, and when they told me the margin I wasn't surprised. We were pretty even in qualifying all weekend, and we were right there in the eighth and ninth spots, so if we both got down the track it was probably going to be close. It sure was, too."
In the next round, Wilkerson lined up against his teammate Tasca, who happened to be the No. 1 qualifier here in Gainesville. Tasca had won his opener with a 4.198, so Wilkerson had lane choice and both drivers had consistent, fast, cars. Both also had Shelby Mustangs, in this all-Ford battle. This one wasn't quite as close as the Wilkerson/Beckman tussle, but it was side-by-side for the length of the Gainesville track, and in the end it was Tasca's 4.191 over Wilk's 4.201. In the black and white world of drag racing, the day was over for the pride of Springfield, Ill.
Three good qualifying laps, two good elimination rounds, and a competitive race car all added up to a positive step forward, and Wilkerson now looks ahead with a slightly improved outlook.
"We weren't going to keep banging our heads against a brick wall chasing this new three-rail chassis much longer, if we weren't starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, but this was a good weekend and it makes us all feel a little bit better. It wasn't a great weekend, but it was good and we got better as we went. Our three quickest laps were the last three we made, so we're gaining on this thing, and now the car is cooperating and doing what we ask it to do, so we're in good shape. We're not quick enough, yet, but we'll get there."
Oddly, even with the round win Wilkerson slipped a spot in the early-season standings when John Force and Tony Pedregon both advanced beyond the second round and moved around him. Wilk leaves Gainesville in 12th, with his 3-2 record.
The LRS Shelby made three solid laps throughout the four qualifying sessions, only missing on the first Saturday run when tire smoke was a common occurrence throughout the Funny Car class. In all, Wilkerson went 4.238 and 4.226 on Friday, and then finished up with a 4.163 in Saturday's Q4, which was good enough to move him into the top half of the field, in the 8th position. In addition, his speed on that final qualifying lap, 302.08 mph, was the fastest clocking in the class, to that point. Finally, with a round win on Sunday, Wilkerson kept his 2009 record above .500, and he is now 3-2 after three races.
"Kind of disappointing to lose in the second round, but we ran better here than we have at the other two races, and maybe running side-by-side and losing is a bit of the payback for the round wins we picked up in Phoenix, where we didn't run all that well but got the light twice, if you know what I mean," Wilkerson said. "And hey, we won the first round by about as little as you can win one of these things, just getting by Jack (Beckman) in the lights, so you take the good with the bad and I think we had more of the good than the bad here this weekend. If we keep getting better, and keep getting a good handle on this car, we'll be okay."
As Wilkerson mentioned, his first-round race was about as close as they come. As the 8th and 9th qualifiers, Wilkerson and Beckman were the two closest-matched drivers in the opening round, and as the final pair to take the track in that opening stanza they had both seen plenty of big performance in both lanes. With all that as background, it seemed obvious that the winner of this race would have to earn it over the course of the entire 1,000 feet. Beckman got the jump at the tree, taking a two-hundredths edge as the two cars left the line, but Wilkerson began to make up the difference by the 60-foot mark. At the stripe, it was Wilk's 4.153 (his quickest run of the weekend) beating Fast Jack's 4.177, and once the reaction times were factored in, the margin of victory sounded every bit as close as it looked in real time. Wilkerson won it by exactly one thousandth of a second.
"When they're that close you don't know who won, or by how much, but it sure is nice when the ESPN guys come running over to talk to you," Wilkerson said. "I knew I had won, and when they told me the margin I wasn't surprised. We were pretty even in qualifying all weekend, and we were right there in the eighth and ninth spots, so if we both got down the track it was probably going to be close. It sure was, too."
In the next round, Wilkerson lined up against his teammate Tasca, who happened to be the No. 1 qualifier here in Gainesville. Tasca had won his opener with a 4.198, so Wilkerson had lane choice and both drivers had consistent, fast, cars. Both also had Shelby Mustangs, in this all-Ford battle. This one wasn't quite as close as the Wilkerson/Beckman tussle, but it was side-by-side for the length of the Gainesville track, and in the end it was Tasca's 4.191 over Wilk's 4.201. In the black and white world of drag racing, the day was over for the pride of Springfield, Ill.
Three good qualifying laps, two good elimination rounds, and a competitive race car all added up to a positive step forward, and Wilkerson now looks ahead with a slightly improved outlook.
"We weren't going to keep banging our heads against a brick wall chasing this new three-rail chassis much longer, if we weren't starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, but this was a good weekend and it makes us all feel a little bit better. It wasn't a great weekend, but it was good and we got better as we went. Our three quickest laps were the last three we made, so we're gaining on this thing, and now the car is cooperating and doing what we ask it to do, so we're in good shape. We're not quick enough, yet, but we'll get there."
Oddly, even with the round win Wilkerson slipped a spot in the early-season standings when John Force and Tony Pedregon both advanced beyond the second round and moved around him. Wilk leaves Gainesville in 12th, with his 3-2 record.
