Wilkerson Makes it Back-to-Back Wins for Team Chevy with Funny Car Victory at Memphis
All-Pontiac Pro Stock Finals Leads to Second Win on Season for Mike Edwards
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/wilkerson_199504.jpg" alt="wilkerson_199504" />
<br><font color="Navy">"This has just been a dream season for Team Wilkerson and all of my guys," Wilkerson said. </font>
<P> "We had a couple of lucky rounds today," Wilkerson said. "The first couple of round wins were just mistakes by other people and we were lucky enough to get by. In the semis I told my guys, 'Man, we've got to step this junker up; it's not doing what it's supposed to do.' And when you race the Force cars, if you can get by one of them you're fortunate; if you can get by any of them after that you're blessed. I look up to all of those guys, and to be as fast as them on any given day really makes me feel like my team and I did a terrific job.
"But we tuned it up a little bit and were lucky enough to beat Robert (Hight) in the semis, and then in the finals Ashley and I got to put on a good show. I hope everybody loves her as much as I do, but if you beat three Fords out there, you're doing a good job. For Chevrolet, we're happy to be in the winner's circle."
At Denver in July Wilkerson defeated three of the four John Force Racing Fords in consecutive rounds before facing off with Jack Beckman in the final round. There he defeated Ashley Force in Round 1, Mike Neff in Round 2, and Robert Hight in Round 3 before defeating the Dodge of Beckman for his fourth win of the season. Entering this season he had five career Funny Car victories and with today's win he has six on this season alone with three races remaining.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/wilkersonhead.jpg" alt="wilkersonhead"align="left"borders="0" />"This has just been a dream season for Team Wilkerson and all of my guys," Wilkerson said. "They do a helluva job. I think you kind of have to call it a Cinderella story, there's no doubt about it. We work hard on our car, and when things come right, they come right for us. We're fortunate and have seemed to get good draws this year. I look at the year (Ron) Capps had last year and he was racing well, running good and running the right people, winning rounds, and then all of a sudden it just went upside down on him. I'm just praying that that doesn't happen to us. We've got three more, so we're going to keep our nose down and make 'em mad."
In an all-Pontiac Pro Stock final round, Mike Edwards in the Penhall/Young Life Pontiac GXP drove past Jason Line in the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP for his second victory of the season (Atlanta) and the 15th of his career. In the finals Edwards had an elapsed time of 6.702 seconds at 207.27 mph as Line shook the tires off the starting line and had to lift off of the throttle, slowing to a 16.481 e.t. at 48.20 mph.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Edwards.jpg" alt="Edwards" align="right"borders="0"/>"We were pretty good for two rounds today, but the last two rounds were pretty ugly," Edwards said. "But Warren (Johnson) always says there are no ugly wins, and I'm here to tell you that I'm proud of my team. It's not just me, it's the whole team - Josh Robinson, Alan Lindsey, John Phillips, Terry Adams, the guys at the shop. My team, the guys at the shop, they just never give up. We may not be as big as some of the teams out here, but we sure try hard. And my hat's off to (Young Life's) Roger Stull who made the commitment last September to develop our own engine program, and there's no doubt in my mind that's the only way to remain competitive in this class. We're inching up. This was a big win for our team and I feel very blessed.
"We struggled there a little bit in a couple of our qualifying runs, but we changed engines for that last run and I think that was the right thing to do. We're just going to keep working hard; there are three more races left in the Countdown and we're just going to see what happens."
Edwards defeated Johnny Gray in Round 1, Dave Connolly in Round 2 and fellow Pontiac driver Warren Johnson in the semifinals before advancing to his second final round of the season. Edwards moved from ninth to fifth in the Pro Stock standings after three of the six races in the Countdown to 1.
"Beating Dave (Connolly) in the second round was huge," Edwards said. "He and Allen (Johnson, No. 1 qualifier) have had the two most consistent cars here all weekend between qualifying and eliminations. When I got by him I thought anything can happen now. The championship is out there, but we're just going to give it our best effort these next three races and see where it takes us."
This was the sixth final-round appearance on the season for Line with wins at Las Vegas and Seattle. Today's strong showing moves Line into third in the Pro Stock standings, 55 points in arrears of points leader Jeg Coughlin Jr.
"The guys did a good job getting us to the final round," Line said. "Unfortunately, we just didn't make it down the racetrack in the finals. The first couple of rounds it made really nice runs and the car finally ran like it should have. But it was a good day for us points-wise, it just would have been to win. It's always frustrating not winnig after reaching the finals."
Pontiac Motorsports racers held down three of the four semifinal positions as Warren Johnson in the GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP joined Line and Edwards in the round of four. Johnson, who entered eliminations qualified third, defeated a pair of Dodges in the first two rounds, V. Gaines in Round 1 and Larry Morgan in Round 2, to advance to his second semifinals of the season before losing to Edwards. Edwards had a winning elapsed time of 6.714 seconds at 206.61 mph as Johnson had severe tire shake at the start and had to lift out of the throttle, slowing to a 14.226 e.t. at 61.66 mph.
"We got a little off to the left in the first round, but thankfully V. (Gaines) red-lighted and allowed us to move on," Johnson said. "In the second round, our GM Performance Parts GXP made a nice, solid run at 6.641, so we felt we were looking pretty good for the semis. We really didn't change much for the third round, but apparently the track went away, because it blew the tires off instantly. It never had a chance to make a run. We didn't do anything unusual, or make any major changes, but it still picked up over a thousand rpm's in driveshaft speed at half a second, which spelled doom. Simply put, we just never got a hold of the racetrack.
"Still, it was good to get back in the swing of things and a go a few rounds. The car was fine all weekend, we certainly have more than enough power, so it's all a matter of getting it hooked up to the track, which is pretty tricky to do when dealing with something made out of string and rubber. Even so, today was a step in the right direction - all we have to do now is go two steps further."
It was also a banner day for the red bowtie in the Sportsman classes asTeam Chevy posted wins in Comp Eliminator (Arnie Martel in a '34 Chevy), Super Stock (Edmond Richardson in a '92 Camaro), Stock Eliminator (Adam Davis in a '67 Camaro), and Super Gas (Carl Shane in a '00 S-10).
The next stop on the 24-race NHRA POWERade circuit is the fourth race of NHRA's six-race playoffs, the Countdown to One, the third annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Va., on Oct. 10-12, 2008.
PRO STOCK
Winner - Mike Edwards (Pontiac GXP), 6.702ET/207.27MPH
Runner-up - Jason Line (Pontiac GXP), 16.481ET/ 48.20MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Allen Johnson (Dodge), 6.591ET/208.52MPH
Low elapsed time - Allen Johnson, 6.591 seconds (track record)
Top Speed - Greg Anderson (Pontiac GXP), 208.94MPH
Top 10 - 1. Jeg Coughlin (Chevy Cobalt), 2,277; 2. Kurt Johnson (Chevy Cobalt), 2,245; 3. Jason Line (Pontiac GXP), 2,222; 4. Greg Anderson (Pontiac GXP), 2,214; 5. Mike Edwards (Pontiac GXP), 2,208; 6. Dave Connolly (Chevy Cobalt), 2,183; 7. Allen Johnson (Dodge), 2,177; 8. Greg Stanfield(Pontiac GXP), 2,153; 9. V. Gaines (Dodge), 2,134; 10. 10. Ron Krisher (Chevy Cobalt), 2,041.
FUNNY CAR
Winner - Tim Wilkerson (Chevy Impala SS), 4.166ET/298.47MPH
Runner-up - Ashley Force (Ford), 4.183ET/294.18MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Ashley Force (Ford), 4.079ET/298.87MPH
Top 10 - 1. Tim Wilkerson (Chevy Impala SS), 2,332; 2. Jack Beckman (Dodge), 2,260; 3. Robert Hight (Ford), 2,258; 4. Tony Pedregon (Chevy Impala SS), 2,256; 5. Ashley Force (Ford), 2,240; 6. Cruz Pedregon (Toyota), 2,217; 7. John Force (Ford), 2,139; 8. Gary Densham (Chevy Impala SS), 2,125; 9. Mike Neff (Ford), 2,118; 10. Ron Capps (Dodge), 2,106.
TOP FUEL
Winner - Tony Schumacher, 3.880ET/309.91MPH
Runner-up - Doug Herbert, 3.979ET/295.85MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Brandon Bernstein, 3.825ET/313.88MPH
Top 10 - 1. Tony Schumacher, 2,409; 2. Cory McClenathan, 2,243; 3. Antron Brown, 2,230; 4. Larry Dixon, 2,219; 5. Hillary Will, 2,218; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 2,208; 7. Doug Herbert, 2,169; 8. Rod Fuller, 2,146; 9. Doug Kalitta, 2,111; 10. Dave Grubnic, 2,058.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at General Motors | Corporate Website | GM.
All-Pontiac Pro Stock Finals Leads to Second Win on Season for Mike Edwards
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/GMLogo_99390.jpg" alt="GMLogo_99390" />
<p style="width:300px;float:right;font-weight:bold;padding-right:0px;"><img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/wilkerson_199504.jpg" alt="wilkerson_199504" />
<br><font color="Navy">"This has just been a dream season for Team Wilkerson and all of my guys," Wilkerson said. </font>
<P> "We had a couple of lucky rounds today," Wilkerson said. "The first couple of round wins were just mistakes by other people and we were lucky enough to get by. In the semis I told my guys, 'Man, we've got to step this junker up; it's not doing what it's supposed to do.' And when you race the Force cars, if you can get by one of them you're fortunate; if you can get by any of them after that you're blessed. I look up to all of those guys, and to be as fast as them on any given day really makes me feel like my team and I did a terrific job.
"But we tuned it up a little bit and were lucky enough to beat Robert (Hight) in the semis, and then in the finals Ashley and I got to put on a good show. I hope everybody loves her as much as I do, but if you beat three Fords out there, you're doing a good job. For Chevrolet, we're happy to be in the winner's circle."
At Denver in July Wilkerson defeated three of the four John Force Racing Fords in consecutive rounds before facing off with Jack Beckman in the final round. There he defeated Ashley Force in Round 1, Mike Neff in Round 2, and Robert Hight in Round 3 before defeating the Dodge of Beckman for his fourth win of the season. Entering this season he had five career Funny Car victories and with today's win he has six on this season alone with three races remaining.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/wilkersonhead.jpg" alt="wilkersonhead"align="left"borders="0" />"This has just been a dream season for Team Wilkerson and all of my guys," Wilkerson said. "They do a helluva job. I think you kind of have to call it a Cinderella story, there's no doubt about it. We work hard on our car, and when things come right, they come right for us. We're fortunate and have seemed to get good draws this year. I look at the year (Ron) Capps had last year and he was racing well, running good and running the right people, winning rounds, and then all of a sudden it just went upside down on him. I'm just praying that that doesn't happen to us. We've got three more, so we're going to keep our nose down and make 'em mad."
In an all-Pontiac Pro Stock final round, Mike Edwards in the Penhall/Young Life Pontiac GXP drove past Jason Line in the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP for his second victory of the season (Atlanta) and the 15th of his career. In the finals Edwards had an elapsed time of 6.702 seconds at 207.27 mph as Line shook the tires off the starting line and had to lift off of the throttle, slowing to a 16.481 e.t. at 48.20 mph.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Edwards.jpg" alt="Edwards" align="right"borders="0"/>"We were pretty good for two rounds today, but the last two rounds were pretty ugly," Edwards said. "But Warren (Johnson) always says there are no ugly wins, and I'm here to tell you that I'm proud of my team. It's not just me, it's the whole team - Josh Robinson, Alan Lindsey, John Phillips, Terry Adams, the guys at the shop. My team, the guys at the shop, they just never give up. We may not be as big as some of the teams out here, but we sure try hard. And my hat's off to (Young Life's) Roger Stull who made the commitment last September to develop our own engine program, and there's no doubt in my mind that's the only way to remain competitive in this class. We're inching up. This was a big win for our team and I feel very blessed.
"We struggled there a little bit in a couple of our qualifying runs, but we changed engines for that last run and I think that was the right thing to do. We're just going to keep working hard; there are three more races left in the Countdown and we're just going to see what happens."
Edwards defeated Johnny Gray in Round 1, Dave Connolly in Round 2 and fellow Pontiac driver Warren Johnson in the semifinals before advancing to his second final round of the season. Edwards moved from ninth to fifth in the Pro Stock standings after three of the six races in the Countdown to 1.
"Beating Dave (Connolly) in the second round was huge," Edwards said. "He and Allen (Johnson, No. 1 qualifier) have had the two most consistent cars here all weekend between qualifying and eliminations. When I got by him I thought anything can happen now. The championship is out there, but we're just going to give it our best effort these next three races and see where it takes us."
This was the sixth final-round appearance on the season for Line with wins at Las Vegas and Seattle. Today's strong showing moves Line into third in the Pro Stock standings, 55 points in arrears of points leader Jeg Coughlin Jr.
"The guys did a good job getting us to the final round," Line said. "Unfortunately, we just didn't make it down the racetrack in the finals. The first couple of rounds it made really nice runs and the car finally ran like it should have. But it was a good day for us points-wise, it just would have been to win. It's always frustrating not winnig after reaching the finals."
Pontiac Motorsports racers held down three of the four semifinal positions as Warren Johnson in the GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP joined Line and Edwards in the round of four. Johnson, who entered eliminations qualified third, defeated a pair of Dodges in the first two rounds, V. Gaines in Round 1 and Larry Morgan in Round 2, to advance to his second semifinals of the season before losing to Edwards. Edwards had a winning elapsed time of 6.714 seconds at 206.61 mph as Johnson had severe tire shake at the start and had to lift out of the throttle, slowing to a 14.226 e.t. at 61.66 mph.
"We got a little off to the left in the first round, but thankfully V. (Gaines) red-lighted and allowed us to move on," Johnson said. "In the second round, our GM Performance Parts GXP made a nice, solid run at 6.641, so we felt we were looking pretty good for the semis. We really didn't change much for the third round, but apparently the track went away, because it blew the tires off instantly. It never had a chance to make a run. We didn't do anything unusual, or make any major changes, but it still picked up over a thousand rpm's in driveshaft speed at half a second, which spelled doom. Simply put, we just never got a hold of the racetrack.
"Still, it was good to get back in the swing of things and a go a few rounds. The car was fine all weekend, we certainly have more than enough power, so it's all a matter of getting it hooked up to the track, which is pretty tricky to do when dealing with something made out of string and rubber. Even so, today was a step in the right direction - all we have to do now is go two steps further."
It was also a banner day for the red bowtie in the Sportsman classes asTeam Chevy posted wins in Comp Eliminator (Arnie Martel in a '34 Chevy), Super Stock (Edmond Richardson in a '92 Camaro), Stock Eliminator (Adam Davis in a '67 Camaro), and Super Gas (Carl Shane in a '00 S-10).
The next stop on the 24-race NHRA POWERade circuit is the fourth race of NHRA's six-race playoffs, the Countdown to One, the third annual Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Va., on Oct. 10-12, 2008.
PRO STOCK
Winner - Mike Edwards (Pontiac GXP), 6.702ET/207.27MPH
Runner-up - Jason Line (Pontiac GXP), 16.481ET/ 48.20MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Allen Johnson (Dodge), 6.591ET/208.52MPH
Low elapsed time - Allen Johnson, 6.591 seconds (track record)
Top Speed - Greg Anderson (Pontiac GXP), 208.94MPH
Top 10 - 1. Jeg Coughlin (Chevy Cobalt), 2,277; 2. Kurt Johnson (Chevy Cobalt), 2,245; 3. Jason Line (Pontiac GXP), 2,222; 4. Greg Anderson (Pontiac GXP), 2,214; 5. Mike Edwards (Pontiac GXP), 2,208; 6. Dave Connolly (Chevy Cobalt), 2,183; 7. Allen Johnson (Dodge), 2,177; 8. Greg Stanfield(Pontiac GXP), 2,153; 9. V. Gaines (Dodge), 2,134; 10. 10. Ron Krisher (Chevy Cobalt), 2,041.
FUNNY CAR
Winner - Tim Wilkerson (Chevy Impala SS), 4.166ET/298.47MPH
Runner-up - Ashley Force (Ford), 4.183ET/294.18MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Ashley Force (Ford), 4.079ET/298.87MPH
Top 10 - 1. Tim Wilkerson (Chevy Impala SS), 2,332; 2. Jack Beckman (Dodge), 2,260; 3. Robert Hight (Ford), 2,258; 4. Tony Pedregon (Chevy Impala SS), 2,256; 5. Ashley Force (Ford), 2,240; 6. Cruz Pedregon (Toyota), 2,217; 7. John Force (Ford), 2,139; 8. Gary Densham (Chevy Impala SS), 2,125; 9. Mike Neff (Ford), 2,118; 10. Ron Capps (Dodge), 2,106.
TOP FUEL
Winner - Tony Schumacher, 3.880ET/309.91MPH
Runner-up - Doug Herbert, 3.979ET/295.85MPH
No. 1 Qualifier - Brandon Bernstein, 3.825ET/313.88MPH
Top 10 - 1. Tony Schumacher, 2,409; 2. Cory McClenathan, 2,243; 3. Antron Brown, 2,230; 4. Larry Dixon, 2,219; 5. Hillary Will, 2,218; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 2,208; 7. Doug Herbert, 2,169; 8. Rod Fuller, 2,146; 9. Doug Kalitta, 2,111; 10. Dave Grubnic, 2,058.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at General Motors | Corporate Website | GM.
