Tim Wilkerson Racing Notes and Quotes - Dodge Nationals - Reading, PA
Posted by: Kelly Topolinski
Notes:
- Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car crew have one previous Maple Grove nitro Funny Car win (2003 over Cruz Pedregon)
- Wilkerson enters the event, the first in NHRA's 2018 Countdown to the Championship playoffs, in the No. 10 position
- As the driver, tuner, and team owner of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car, Wilkerson is an independent campaigner and one of just two single-car teams in the category to finish in the top 10 in 2017.
- He has finished in the top 10 in 13 of his 22 years as a nitro Funny Car driver, including in each of the most recent 10 years.
- The U.S. Nationals will be the 488th race of Wilkerson's career as a nitro Funny Car driver
- The early portion of Wilkerson's career included a successful run as a Top Alcohol Funny Car driver. He earned eight divisional trophies and one national event win in the sportsman ranks before going Pro.
Wilkerson at the NHRA Nationals in Reading
1 win in 1 final round
Won 2003 (Cruz Pedregon)
Wilkerson's Career Stats through 2018 NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd
(most recent event)
487 races
20 wins
20 runner-up finishes
40 final rounds
19 No. 1 qualifier awards
Career best e.t.: 3.844 (2017 Phoenix)
Career best speed: 333.74 (2016 Topeka)
Wilkerson on the NHRA Nationals in Reading
"I'm excited to race in the Countdown again this year, and we know we have a car, good enough we could have won Indy, and we've got something to work with these next six races. We'll have to see how Reading treats us, but there have been a few years where I've done really well there. Last year we had a good car there and just barely got beat, so maybe we can go and not be quite as conservative as we have been.
"I was running hard in both Seattle and Brainerd, but in Indy we sucked back a little bit, and I think it was a little too much. We've been studying real hard since we left Indy, and I think we're going to try to be a little meaner than we have been. I'm excited about going to Reading. I think everybody out there knows we have something for them."
Race Info
34th annual NHRA Nationals
Maple Grove Raceway
Reading, Pennsylvania
September 14-16, 2018
Run Schedule (all times local)
Friday, September 14
1:15pm – Pro qualifying session 1
4:15pm – Pro qualifying session 2
Saturday, September 15
1:15pm – Pro qualifying session 3
4:15pm – Pro qualifying session 4
Sunday, September 16
11am – Eliminations
Television Schedule (all times ET)
Qualifying / Friday – 7 PM-8:30 PM ET | FS1
Qualifying / Saturday – 4 PM-6:30 PM ET | FS2 | LIVE
Qualifying / Sunday – 1 PM-2 PM ET | FS1
Finals / Sunday – 7:30 PM-10:30 PM ET | FS1
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**Full results posted throughout the weekend at DragRaceCentral.com**
Photo credit: Auto Imagery