ATLANTA (May 10, 2010) -- In the music business, the concept of commercial success can be seen at least two different ways. After years of struggling to make a name for itself, any band would love to finally earn some money in the business via commercial success. On the flip side, many fans of lesser known bands consider the term an insult, whenever their favorite artists are perceived to have "sold out" with a more commercial sound in order to gain a wider following. Either way, it's commerce and success that are at stake.

This week, for Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson, the concept has nothing to do with music, sounds, or albums, but instead with the three most important words in real estate: Location, location, location. This weekend, at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, Wilk will be aiming for his own brand of commerce and success, in Commerce, Ga., roughly 80 miles to the northeast of Atlanta. And the single most prime bit of real estate within the Atlanta Dragway development? The Winner's Circle, of course.

Wilkerson heads to Atlanta on a "good news/bad news" streak, having been eliminated in the second round at four consecutive races. The good news is, the LRS car is winning rounds. The bad news is, the LRS car isn't winning more. It could be worse, and it can still be a lot better.

"Those losses in the second round are tough to take, because once you get out of the first round you start to taste it and you want more," Wilkerson said. "Honestly, once you get to the semifinal and you know you're one of the four teams that have advanced that far, you've had a good day and it's not hard to take it all with a smile no matter what happens from that point on. When you go out in the first round, it's hard to do anything with a smile because you've let eight other teams get a jump on you in the points. That's all bad. The second round is kind of in-between. It's better than losing, but it's not quite enough to cheer about.

"The truth is, we've had a pretty frustrating go of it in the second round over the last four races. We lost on hole-shots at the first two, in Charlotte and Houston, and then just got edged out in Las Vegas on a good run before some gremlins shot us down in St. Louis, and all those deals came against some of the best teams out here. To come out of that series of races with a 4-4 record isn't really all that bad, but by not advancing any further there were a lot of other rounds we might've won there that we never got a shot at because they got away. The mission is to not let them get away this weekend. If we get them on the hook, we need to reel them in."

Looking at the marathon that is the NHRA Full Throttle schedule, Wilkerson can appreciate the value of going 1-1 at every race. Any driver who did that would most certainly end the season in no lower than 6th place, and couldn't possibly finish any lower than 8th. But, a full season of those "not quite good enough" results would have to wear on a driver, a tuner, an owner, and a team. With Wilkerson filling three of those four roles, he'd be hard pressed to find the fun in that, despite the fact a .500 record is hard to come by in this sport.

"I doubt anyone has ever come close to doing that for a whole season, but if you did it would sure be an odd deal," Wilkerson said. "You'd go 23 races feeling pretty good, if you know what I mean, or 23 races feeling okay, but you'd also be going 23 races wanting more, because you wouldn't have any where you felt really great about how it wound up. In the end, if you finish with your round record in positive territory you've had a good year, and with the Countdown in place you'd have a legitimate shot at the championship. But, you'd have to break out of it a little during the Countdown, because going 6-6 then isn't going to cut it.

"Don't get me wrong, we're happy we've been getting past the first round but now we're trying to get back to the way it was in Gainesville, before this second-round streak began. We like coming back to the pit knowing we have to be clicking as a group to get the work done right, and that kind of high-energy teamwork carries you all day. It's amazing how fast the day goes by when you're winning, and that adrenalin just keeps on building to the final. There's a lot to be said for winning rounds, and we need every one we can get, but winning races is the best thing there is. That's why we're out here."

In order to win races, money is spent, checks are received, and commerce is completed. To do that this weekend, in Commerce, Ga. would be the ultimate example of commercial success.

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