Wilk Ready To Finish Strong
Posted by: Team Manager Bob Wilber
LAS VEGAS (October 27, 2014) -- A quirk in the NHRA Mello Yello racing schedule came at the best of times, and at the worst of times, for many racers and fans. After a grueling summer stretch of 16 races in 21 weeks, spanning the continent from coast to coast and back again, professional racers were closing in on the season's final stretch when an odd three-week hiatus confronted them. For those in contention for championships it may have felt like the ultimate momentum kill, but for Levi, Ray & Shoup driver/tuner Tim Wilkerson, it was a much-needed chance to regroup and recharge before the final two races of the 2014 campaign.
This weekend, after having most of October off, the NHRA Mello Yello tour descends upon The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to contest the 23rd of 24 races, with championships and final points standings resting in the balance. As is usually the case, this second trip to Vegas coincides with Halloween, but it's not as if Sin City needs any additional motivation to play dress-up.
"We laugh about that all the time, because it's Halloween in Las Vegas 365 days a year," Wilk said. "Your chances of seeing people dressed up funny are pretty good all the time, although I guess it does go to a new level this week, but we're not there to trick-or-treat. We're there to race and to win rounds. What happens in Vegas doesn't have to stay in Vegas for our team. We're just there to work.
"The three-week break was kind of weird, like someone hit the 'Pause' button, but for a team like ours it was a great chance to finally catch our breath and work on our stuff. We have a hard time keeping up with the multi-car teams that have way more resources than we do, so to get the chance to clean things up and get all of our parts refreshed gives us a way to come out firing at these last two races. We were getting stretched pretty thin there at the end of September."
Wilk earned his way into the Countdown playoffs in typical style, landing his spot on the last day of the regular season, and since then he's picked up four rounds in four races, which moved him up into the ninth spot in the standings. With the big trophy out of reach, Wilk and his team are focused on putting the lowest possible number on the car for 2015.
"When we got in, all the pressure was off," Wilk said. "When you get in tenth, you have nowhere to go but up, and we felt like we could make a run at a higher spot. We're in ninth now, but we're only one round behind Del Worsham in eighth, and a couple of more rounds behind Ron Capps and Alexis DeJoria. Even if we slip back, I'm proud of the work my guys have done, but if we do our jobs like we've been doing them, I still think we have a good chance to move up some more.
"I know a lot of the teams we compete against are horribly disappointed if they don't win the championship and that's our goal, too, when we start the season. But when I look around at the level of competition we face every week, and at how much we're outspent at the same time, it really does matter to see if you can put a single digit on the car for the next season. It's a badge of honor, and we're going after it."
There will be costumes and there will even be some trick-or-treating in the pro pits this weekend, as Halloween lands on the first day of qualifying at The Strip. There will also be racing, and Tim Wilkerson aims to finish strong and ruin the party for some of his competition.
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