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Indianapolis, Monday: Teams head into raceday with high hopes and great expectations, and the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals has added meaning. Former Funny Car champion, Tim Wilkerson and his dedicated team, looked for the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Monte Carlo to be a strong performing hot rod today, but their dreams were shattered before Wilk even got a chance to leave the starting line.
Wilkerson struck the tires at the hit and coasted down the track. His opponent, Whit Bazemore made a great run, posting a 4.790 at 324.05 mph.
"We had a problem with the bellhousing," explained Wilkerson. "We hurt the bellhousing on our last run yesterday and we put a different one in last night. This one hung up on one of the primary fingers up there, so I couldn't get the thing in and out of gear. So, it just nuked the clutch hat sitting there. I knew we were trouble before I even hit the throttle. So, when it smoked the tires, I knew it wasn't even worth trying to save it. We may have given Bazemore a run for his money, because I was looking to go an 80. It's also disappointing, because I'd rather go down the track and learn something.
"But the car ran good all weekend, so that makes us feel better. Now all that's left to do is take it home and get ready to try it again next time."
Wilkerson's chances ended before the hit
Indianapolis, Monday: Teams head into raceday with high hopes and great expectations, and the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals has added meaning. Former Funny Car champion, Tim Wilkerson and his dedicated team, looked for the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Monte Carlo to be a strong performing hot rod today, but their dreams were shattered before Wilk even got a chance to leave the starting line.
Wilkerson struck the tires at the hit and coasted down the track. His opponent, Whit Bazemore made a great run, posting a 4.790 at 324.05 mph.
"We had a problem with the bellhousing," explained Wilkerson. "We hurt the bellhousing on our last run yesterday and we put a different one in last night. This one hung up on one of the primary fingers up there, so I couldn't get the thing in and out of gear. So, it just nuked the clutch hat sitting there. I knew we were trouble before I even hit the throttle. So, when it smoked the tires, I knew it wasn't even worth trying to save it. We may have given Bazemore a run for his money, because I was looking to go an 80. It's also disappointing, because I'd rather go down the track and learn something.
"But the car ran good all weekend, so that makes us feel better. Now all that's left to do is take it home and get ready to try it again next time."
