GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The "yacht car" will return, for one final act before bowing out, and Tim Wilkerson would like nothing more than to give it a splashy send-off at this weekend's historic Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals, in Gainesville. The car is, of course, Wilk's Shelby Mustang adorned with a design promoting Diversified Yacht Services (DYS), based in Fort Myers, Fla., and it made its debut one year ago at this same event. It remained in the Team Wilk boatyard as a back-up body for the rest of the 2012 season, and will make one final appearance before going into dry dock for an update.
Diversified Yacht Services is a one of the premier yacht service and maintenance centers in the country, and is owned by Levi, Ray & Shoup President Dick Levi. The Fort Myers-based company made waves when it adorned Wilk's car last year, and the popular Springfield, Ill. native would like to send it out on top.
"When Dick came to us last year and asked us to run a Diversified car in Gainesville, we were happy to do it and it was really popular with the fans down there," Wilk said. "It was also a brand new body, and we never painted it before we wrapped it in vinyl, so it was also our lightest body. Once we left Gainesville, we got into a time-crunch situation and finally decided to just leave the wrap on the body and keep it as our back-up. It got on the track a few more times last year, and it's still the best body we own.
"When we came up with our new LRS paint scheme for this year, I assumed we'd just paint two bodies at once but Dick looked ahead and asked us to run it with the wrap on it one more time, in Gainesville, and that's fine by us. With so many DYS people coming up to Gainesville for the race, you want them all to be excited and this is the way to do that. To cap it off by sailing that car right into the Winner's Circle would be the ultimate."
Wilk will enter the Gainesville event in a tie with John Force for the No. 7 position in the Mello Yello standings, having picked up two round wins on his way to a semifinal finish in Phoenix. Traditionally known as a bit of a slow starter, Wilk is pleased not only with his 2-2 record and Top 10 placement in the early going, he's also pleased to have done so with a crew that features a new blend of rookies and veterans, who have had to gel as a team during actual competition.
"The only reason we've been kind of known as slow starters is that we don't have the huge resources to run the wheels off the thing in preseason testing, so we're usually a little behind the curve when the season starts," Wilk said. "We made it even a little tougher on ourselves this year, mixing in some new guys and moving guys around a little, so I'm pretty happy to be competitive and right in the mix so far.
"As we move forward, and the guys understand what they need to do and how they need to develop as a team, I hope we can keep winning rounds and keep driving everyone else a little crazy. The big hitters out here know how we work, and what we have to work with, so we get a little extra satisfaction when we can outrun them or put them on the trailer. We may not have quite the resources as a lot of these teams, but we're not short on desire and competitiveness, I can promise you that. Our new guys have learned how hard this is, and how hard you have to work to make it happen, and they've gotten a little taste of how good it feels to turn on a win light. Maybe we can do that a few more times in Gainesville for Dick Levi, everyone at DYS, and Levi, Ray & Shoup."
It will be anchors aweigh and full speed ahead for the Diversified Yacht Services Shelby Mustang, with a course plotted for the Gainesville Winner's Circle.
From: Bob Wilber
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Diversified Yacht Services is a one of the premier yacht service and maintenance centers in the country, and is owned by Levi, Ray & Shoup President Dick Levi. The Fort Myers-based company made waves when it adorned Wilk's car last year, and the popular Springfield, Ill. native would like to send it out on top.
"When Dick came to us last year and asked us to run a Diversified car in Gainesville, we were happy to do it and it was really popular with the fans down there," Wilk said. "It was also a brand new body, and we never painted it before we wrapped it in vinyl, so it was also our lightest body. Once we left Gainesville, we got into a time-crunch situation and finally decided to just leave the wrap on the body and keep it as our back-up. It got on the track a few more times last year, and it's still the best body we own.
"When we came up with our new LRS paint scheme for this year, I assumed we'd just paint two bodies at once but Dick looked ahead and asked us to run it with the wrap on it one more time, in Gainesville, and that's fine by us. With so many DYS people coming up to Gainesville for the race, you want them all to be excited and this is the way to do that. To cap it off by sailing that car right into the Winner's Circle would be the ultimate."
Wilk will enter the Gainesville event in a tie with John Force for the No. 7 position in the Mello Yello standings, having picked up two round wins on his way to a semifinal finish in Phoenix. Traditionally known as a bit of a slow starter, Wilk is pleased not only with his 2-2 record and Top 10 placement in the early going, he's also pleased to have done so with a crew that features a new blend of rookies and veterans, who have had to gel as a team during actual competition.
"The only reason we've been kind of known as slow starters is that we don't have the huge resources to run the wheels off the thing in preseason testing, so we're usually a little behind the curve when the season starts," Wilk said. "We made it even a little tougher on ourselves this year, mixing in some new guys and moving guys around a little, so I'm pretty happy to be competitive and right in the mix so far.
"As we move forward, and the guys understand what they need to do and how they need to develop as a team, I hope we can keep winning rounds and keep driving everyone else a little crazy. The big hitters out here know how we work, and what we have to work with, so we get a little extra satisfaction when we can outrun them or put them on the trailer. We may not have quite the resources as a lot of these teams, but we're not short on desire and competitiveness, I can promise you that. Our new guys have learned how hard this is, and how hard you have to work to make it happen, and they've gotten a little taste of how good it feels to turn on a win light. Maybe we can do that a few more times in Gainesville for Dick Levi, everyone at DYS, and Levi, Ray & Shoup."
It will be anchors aweigh and full speed ahead for the Diversified Yacht Services Shelby Mustang, with a course plotted for the Gainesville Winner's Circle.
From: Bob Wilber
More...
