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ATLANTA, Friday: At the close of the first day of qualifying at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, Tim Wilkerson blasted his way to the top, putting his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS in the No. 1 qualifying position.
During the winter months the entire quarter-mile length of the Atlanta Dragway surface was replaced. So, as the day began, the tuners and drivers didn’t know what to expect of the racing surface. But Wilkerson didn’t let the unknown deter him. In the opening round of qualifying, Wilkerson dropped a cylinder and ran 4.950 at 301.60 mph, and ended in the fourth spot. Then as the air became cool and skies overcast, Wilkerson made a monster leap to the top, posting an impressive 4.774 at 325.92 mph.
“The track was redone over the winter,” explained Wilkerson, “but it’s pretty good, especially early. It was missing some rubber. But that doesn’t matter when it gets cool and overcast, like it did for the second pass.
“I know that when we run well, I get all the praise, but I don’t want my guys to be forgotten. I’m very proud of all of them. I’ve got two guys with tons of experience and the rest are newer at this and they all are doing a good job. And I know Dick Levi, is pretty happy about all of our success this year, and that makes me feel good. You know, he stood by us during our tough years, so now sharing our good times means so much more. And the same goes for Summit. They’ve hung around with us a long time and I hope we’re making them glad that they did.”
Since Wilkerson feels he should stay in the show, he may use tomorrow’s passes to do some testing.
“We tested all of our blowers at Don Prudhomme’s shop last week,” said Wilkerson, “and what we learned was unbelievable. Our new one tested to be pretty good, so I’m thinking tomorrow might be a good time to run it and see how it acts. Hopefully it will show us how good it really is and it will help keep us on top of the heap.”
Wilkerson blasts his way to the top spot
ATLANTA, Friday: At the close of the first day of qualifying at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, Tim Wilkerson blasted his way to the top, putting his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS in the No. 1 qualifying position.
During the winter months the entire quarter-mile length of the Atlanta Dragway surface was replaced. So, as the day began, the tuners and drivers didn’t know what to expect of the racing surface. But Wilkerson didn’t let the unknown deter him. In the opening round of qualifying, Wilkerson dropped a cylinder and ran 4.950 at 301.60 mph, and ended in the fourth spot. Then as the air became cool and skies overcast, Wilkerson made a monster leap to the top, posting an impressive 4.774 at 325.92 mph.
“The track was redone over the winter,” explained Wilkerson, “but it’s pretty good, especially early. It was missing some rubber. But that doesn’t matter when it gets cool and overcast, like it did for the second pass.
“I know that when we run well, I get all the praise, but I don’t want my guys to be forgotten. I’m very proud of all of them. I’ve got two guys with tons of experience and the rest are newer at this and they all are doing a good job. And I know Dick Levi, is pretty happy about all of our success this year, and that makes me feel good. You know, he stood by us during our tough years, so now sharing our good times means so much more. And the same goes for Summit. They’ve hung around with us a long time and I hope we’re making them glad that they did.”
Since Wilkerson feels he should stay in the show, he may use tomorrow’s passes to do some testing.
“We tested all of our blowers at Don Prudhomme’s shop last week,” said Wilkerson, “and what we learned was unbelievable. Our new one tested to be pretty good, so I’m thinking tomorrow might be a good time to run it and see how it acts. Hopefully it will show us how good it really is and it will help keep us on top of the heap.”
