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BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- Funny Car pro, Tim Wilkerson has always done well at Brainerd International Raceway and this year's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals holds true to tradition. Wilkerson has not had the best season in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Monte Carlo but he had one of his best outings this weekend.
Wilkerson didn't win the race or set any records, but he laid down six nice non-tire smoking runs, proving that changes he made to his hot rod has got him going in the right direction. Even though the day was plagued with rain and drizzle, it couldn't dampen the spirits of Wilkerson and his team, who were enjoying working on a car that was responding to their hard work.
In the first-round of action, Wilkerson's 4.805 at 325.14 mph was a thing of beauty. It sent his opponent, No. 2 qualifier Tony Pedregon to the trailer and gave Wilkerson lane choice over his next opponent, Jim Head. In the second round, as the two cars rolled up to the starting line, it began to drizzle. But the cars were able to sit in the staging lanes during the short delay. Wilkerson was again on a good run, but the car dropped a cylinder and threw off the blower belt. Wilkerson crossed the finish line at 4.972 seconds behind Head's 4.829.
"I knew we had that 4.80 in there," said a pleased Wilkerson, "we just had to keep all eight cylinders lit all the way down the track. On the second pass, it was on a good run but it spun the tire just a bit, which made it drop a cylinder, which made it spit the belt.
"We just have a little work ahead of us. We need to get the thing to run on all eight cylinders, and we will. When you put a new fuel system on it and all the other stuff we changed, it always takes a little time. I'm confident that we will see some faster numbers out of us in the very near future."
The future starts next week at the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Wilkerson Pleased with Brainerd Results
BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- Funny Car pro, Tim Wilkerson has always done well at Brainerd International Raceway and this year's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals holds true to tradition. Wilkerson has not had the best season in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Monte Carlo but he had one of his best outings this weekend.
Wilkerson didn't win the race or set any records, but he laid down six nice non-tire smoking runs, proving that changes he made to his hot rod has got him going in the right direction. Even though the day was plagued with rain and drizzle, it couldn't dampen the spirits of Wilkerson and his team, who were enjoying working on a car that was responding to their hard work.
In the first-round of action, Wilkerson's 4.805 at 325.14 mph was a thing of beauty. It sent his opponent, No. 2 qualifier Tony Pedregon to the trailer and gave Wilkerson lane choice over his next opponent, Jim Head. In the second round, as the two cars rolled up to the starting line, it began to drizzle. But the cars were able to sit in the staging lanes during the short delay. Wilkerson was again on a good run, but the car dropped a cylinder and threw off the blower belt. Wilkerson crossed the finish line at 4.972 seconds behind Head's 4.829.
"I knew we had that 4.80 in there," said a pleased Wilkerson, "we just had to keep all eight cylinders lit all the way down the track. On the second pass, it was on a good run but it spun the tire just a bit, which made it drop a cylinder, which made it spit the belt.
"We just have a little work ahead of us. We need to get the thing to run on all eight cylinders, and we will. When you put a new fuel system on it and all the other stuff we changed, it always takes a little time. I'm confident that we will see some faster numbers out of us in the very near future."
The future starts next week at the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.
