Madison, Prerace: This weekend’s O’Reilly Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway is the seventh stop on the 24 race NHRA POWERade Drag Racing tour. Having a race just 90 miles from home makes Springfield, Ill. native, Tim Wilkerson in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS Funny Car the local favorite. And giving powerhouse Wilkerson home track advantage and support gives him the added incentive to continue the staggering performance he has been enjoying this season.

Wilkerson is experiencing one of the best years of his career. He has chalked up three No. 1 qualifiers, one win, and sits No. 2 in POWERade Championship points and No. 3 in U.S. Smokeless Showdown points. But the talented driver and tuner knows that he and his team need to keep a level head in order to stay abreast of the tough competition.

“I think we can do some good here this weekend, because I think we’ve proven what we can do this year,” explained Wilkerson. “But we don’t want to get too cocky or silly and think we’re invincible. I took the guys aside the other day and told them that. I told them that we need to keep the preparation of our car perfect, so I can be the guy making the mistake, not them. So, we decided we’ll go out there and do our regular program, which going at this one step at a time. First, we need to qualify then win rounds and perhaps the race.”

With living so close to the racetrack and having a long and successful history at the facility, plus having his long-time sponsor, Levi, Ray & Shoup headquartered in Springfield, Wilkerson and his team will be surrounded with family, friends and fans all rooting for the likeable talent and his dedicated team.

“It’s going to be great having all the extra yah-whoos from all our family, friends and LRS guests and employees,” said Wilkerson. “We always like to have the extra support, but we need not to let the hype get in the way and get the best of us. We have a job to do and we want to do it well for all our friends.”

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