Wilkerson honored to represent Summit Racing at their title event
Posted by: Kelly Topolinski
SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (June 21, 2017) – Each season, the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour travels to Norwalk, Ohio, for what many deem as the greatest show in the Cleveland area. Summit Motorsports Park, owned by dedicated promoter Bill Bader and his racing enthusiast family, host the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals there, and the event that they organize is arguably one of the best on the tour. Funny Car veteran Tim Wilkerson, driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang, would love to revisit the winner's circle and celebrate again with his friends from Summit Racing at this weekend's 11th annual rendition of the event.
"We sure have a great time there," said Wilkerson, a 20-time national event winner on the tour. "Summit Motorsports Park has a great, old-school atmosphere. It's just a fun race, and to me, the place is Barnum & Bailey from top to bottom. Bill Bader and the Bader family do a terrific job of making sure that everyone in the Cleveland area knows that this is where they need to be. They put on such a great show with every event. Everyone wants to be there, and it's a blast to race at that track."
Wilkerson has one win in two final rounds in Norwalk. In 2010, he bested veteran driver John Force for the Funny Car title.
"I'll never forgetting that," said Wilkerson. "It seems like a decade ago. It was hot and humid, and there was a big storm in the forecast. [Because of the weather], nobody was making it down the track. But sometimes you get it figured out. We made a real good run in the final against him, and it ended up being a good day. It's fun to look back on it, but we're pretty focused on what we have to do this time around."
Currently No. 8 in the Funny Car standings, Wilkerson has visited one final round so far this year (Atlanta), and grabbed his first No. 1 qualifier award last weekend in Bristol. He and Team LRS are on an upswing after a bit of a struggle in the middle of the first part of the season. Now in the midst of a turnaround, the timing couldn't be better as they fall into line at the Summit Racing-sponsored event. Wilkerson proudly flies the Team Summit banner on the tail of his super-fast Funny Car.
"The greatest thing about being involved with Summit Racing is that they always support us. They realize nobody works harder than us and their KB Racing Pro Stock team," said Wilkerson. "It's very special to be part of Team Summit, and to come to the races and represent them. We want to make them look good. That's always the goal, and hopefully we can go some more rounds this weekend. We've won with them before, and it's just a ton of fun to see how excited they get. It would be a great ending to the weekend, without a doubt."
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**Full results posted throughout the weekend at DragRaceCentral.com**
Race Info
11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
Summit Motorsports Park
Norwalk, Ohio
June 22-25, 2017
Run Schedule (all times ET)
Thursday, June 22
- 8:30 am - Sportsman qualifying
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Friday, June 23
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8:00 am - Sportsman eliminations
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5:15 pm - Pro qualifying session 1
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7:45 pm - Pro qualifying session 2
Saturday, June 24
-
8:00 am - Sportsman eliminations
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12:45 pm - Pro qualifying session 3
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3:15 pm - Pro qualifying session 4
Sunday, June 25
Television Schedule
(According to NHRA.com, June 21, 2017)
Friday,
June 23, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m. (ET)
Saturday,
June 24, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 12 a.m. (ET)
Sunday, June 25, FS1 will televise three hours of finals coverage at 6 p.m. (ET)
Wilkerson in Norwalk
- 1 win in 2 final rounds
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Runner-up 2012 (Mike Neff)
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Won 2010 (John Force)
- Last year: Qualified No. 9, lost in the first round to Tommy Johnson Jr.
Photo credit: Auto imagery