Wilkerson has some catching up to do
SONOMA, Prerace: The 20th Annual Fram Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway is the last stop of the mid-summer, three race Western Swing on the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series tour. The first two races have been grueling for Springfield, Ill. Funny Car pilot, Tim Wilkerson, but he's optimistic that this weekend will be the highlight of the trip. Infineon Raceway, nestled in the peaceful wine country of Napa Valley makes for a beautiful setting for a drag race, but Wilkerson isn't looking for peace and beauty at Infineon. He is focused on going rounds in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS and racking up the ever so valuable POWERade Championship points.
At the first race in Denver two weeks ago, Wilkerson destroyed more parts in one weekend than he usually does during the entire race season. At the second race in Seattle, Wilkerson fell victim to a ruling that moved him out of his qualifying position, because due to rain only one round of qualifying was completed and a top ten ranked car was put into the show in his place.
So, Wilkerson needs to score big this weekend because time is running out. With only three races left in the Countdown to the Championship, every point becomes critical. So, Wilk needs to accumulate as many points as possible, and fast.
"We would have liked to make more runs last week in Seattle," said Wilkerson, "but the weather just wasn't on our side. The one run we did get was a good run so we're still optimistic about our potential. We still keep going down the track and the more times we do that, pretty soon it will be in our favor. I just wish our bright side would shine on us and we could go some rounds on Sunday. We still have a chance to get into the top eight for the Countdown, so we have to do our very best. We won here in 2005, so I look forward to some good things happening this weekend."
