It was a tough day for Wilkerson
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LAS VEGAS, Sunday: It was a tough day for Tim Wilkerson and his Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car team. Wilkerson rolled into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway several days ago holding the lead in the NHRA POWERade point standings. But at the conclusion of the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals, Wilkerson leaves sitting in the No. 2 spot, eight points behind the lead.
Wilkerson had a 51 point lead at the start of the weekend, and knew he had to go rounds in order to stay in front. But Wilkerson stumbled in the first-round and the day only got worse for the Springfield, Ill. Funny Car favorite. Wilkerson smoked the tires against Mike Neff and handed over the win to Neff for the first time in their six match-ups.
“We were just too greedy,” said Wilkerson. “It was a little too aggressive out there, that’s all that happened to it. It went out there 150 feet and started to spin the tires. I thought I had it gathered up but when I stepped back on it, it pulled them lose again. I lifted up off the gas pedal a little, but I just didn’t get off it long enough. We took out a few pistons because I pedaled three times and it wasn’t digging that.
“We’re disappointed with today’s outcome, but that’s part of it. You live by the sword and die by the sword. We’ve got a good car but we can’t get beat first-round. That’s all there is to it.”
When the Countdown to1 started several weeks ago in Charlotte, Wilkerson predicted it might take him all six races to capture the crown and it may go down to the last minute.
“Well, here we are facing the last minute,” said Wilkerson. “When we left Charlotte, we were down and the next race we weren’t. So that’s what we have to hope happens again now. It’s going to be alright. I really thought we’d go some rounds today to tell you the truth, but that’s part of it. We’ll take it to Pomona and try again, there’s not much we can do about it.”
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/t_wilkerson.jpg" alt="t_wilkerson" align="left"borders="0"/>
LAS VEGAS, Sunday: It was a tough day for Tim Wilkerson and his Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car team. Wilkerson rolled into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway several days ago holding the lead in the NHRA POWERade point standings. But at the conclusion of the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals, Wilkerson leaves sitting in the No. 2 spot, eight points behind the lead.
Wilkerson had a 51 point lead at the start of the weekend, and knew he had to go rounds in order to stay in front. But Wilkerson stumbled in the first-round and the day only got worse for the Springfield, Ill. Funny Car favorite. Wilkerson smoked the tires against Mike Neff and handed over the win to Neff for the first time in their six match-ups.
“We were just too greedy,” said Wilkerson. “It was a little too aggressive out there, that’s all that happened to it. It went out there 150 feet and started to spin the tires. I thought I had it gathered up but when I stepped back on it, it pulled them lose again. I lifted up off the gas pedal a little, but I just didn’t get off it long enough. We took out a few pistons because I pedaled three times and it wasn’t digging that.
“We’re disappointed with today’s outcome, but that’s part of it. You live by the sword and die by the sword. We’ve got a good car but we can’t get beat first-round. That’s all there is to it.”
When the Countdown to1 started several weeks ago in Charlotte, Wilkerson predicted it might take him all six races to capture the crown and it may go down to the last minute.
“Well, here we are facing the last minute,” said Wilkerson. “When we left Charlotte, we were down and the next race we weren’t. So that’s what we have to hope happens again now. It’s going to be alright. I really thought we’d go some rounds today to tell you the truth, but that’s part of it. We’ll take it to Pomona and try again, there’s not much we can do about it.”
