Gainesville, Prerace: It’s been an astonishing beginning of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing season for veteran Funny Car pro, Tim Wilkerson. And as he heads to Gainesville, Fla. For the 39th running of the ACDELCO Gatornationals he’s thinking about making this great year even better.

Wilkerson has qualified No. 1 at both races this year, a feat of great magnitude seeing the strength of the competition that surrounds him. And the excitement and enthusiasm shared by his entire talented team makes thoughts of a three-peat utmost on everyone’s mind. But Wilk and his team know that in their fast-paced world a hero can fall off the top in a matter of seconds. So, they are afraid to utter their thoughts, so as not to jinx their good performance and good fortune. Instead they go about their usual work and do their best to make the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS a force to reckon with the entire weekend.

“We’re not concentrating on top qualifying again,” explains Wilkerson. “Don’t get me wrong, we would love a three-peat of that No. 1 but we’re afraid to think about it so we don’t jinx ourselves. We certainly would welcome it if it came along, but it’s not our main focus right now. We have had some glitches in the first-round this year so we really want to concentrate on going rounds. It doesn’t matter how great you were on Saturday when you’re packing up early on Sunday. And trust me, we want to put a stop it that.

“I feel good about the weekend. The car is running strong. The guys are doing a great job preparing it and it’s responding to my tuning decisions, so I’m optimistic that we may just have our alligators all in a row and will enjoy a long and successful Gator Nationals.”

Back to 2008 Press Releases