Wilk Has One Simple Gainesville Goal
Posted by: Team Manager Bob Wilber
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 10, 2015) -- Tim Wilkerson would love to win the Gatornationals in Gainesville this weekend, and considering his perfect 1-0 record in Gainesville final rounds (a 2010 win over Bob Tasca) that's not wholly unreasonable. The owner/tuner/driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang Funny Car isn't quite thinking that far ahead, however. Wilk has one simple goal for this weekend's 46th annual running of "The Gators." He wants to win round one.
Wilk and his young team have performed well during qualifying at the season's first two races, battling hard to be in the mix at two events where the overall performance in the Funny Car class was stunning. In both cases though, at Pomona and Phoenix, they were eliminated in the opening round. Wilk is well aware that adding to his career total of 17 professional wins will entail that pesky detail about winning the first round on Sunday.
"It all kind of boils down to that, and we have to get over that hump here at some point," Wilk said. "I'm really not even worried about winning races right now. I'm thinking about us getting better, being consistent, maybe getting qualified a little better, and then winning that first round of the year. A quarterback's season doesn't seem like it's started until he gets that first touchdown pass completed, if you know what I mean.
"We've had the six-disc clutch in the car, and we're getting a handle on it for sure, but it's thrown us for a loop in both of the rounds we've lost so far. We would've had to run well to win either of those, because everyone is running great so far this year, and we thought we had it dialed in right but it surprised us both times by smoking the tires pretty far down track. Every run we make we should be getting better at this, and I think we are."
The competition on the track will be intense, but for Wilk and his team the ancillary activities off the track will be just as important. The team is debuting a new pitside hospitality center this weekend, and the Gainesville race is always one of the team's biggest and most important corporate outings of the year. Florida-based associate sponsor Diversified Yacht Services always has a big presence in the Team Wilk pit, and it's common for that group to fill every seat in the house while lining the "standing room" spots next to the team pit area.
Dick Levi also plans on attending the race, as he often does, and whenever the longtime sponsor, who is President and CEO of LRS Inc., is in attendance he tends to bring out the best in Team Wilkerson.
In addition, the team plans to debut a new paint scheme in Gainesville, taking the same basic "swoop" design but altering the colors and arrangement a bit. It will be a fresh look for Team Wilk, in the pit area and on the track.
"My guys are like kids with a new erector set, putting the new hospitality thing up, because it's a totally different set-up based around our support trailer," Wilk said. "The first time doing anything is always the hardest, but we'll be fine in that regard. My guys will be all set-up and ready to race just like at every event. The new body isn't just fresh paint, it's also a fresh Mustang body, so we'll be ready to do some good with that, too. I'm looking forward to having Dick Levi with us, and it's always a special day when Dick comes to the races.
"All of that stuff is really important, but on the track is where we'll be focused come Friday for qualifying. I'd like to get solidly in early, and have the chance to tweak on things as we go instead of having to sweat out our spot in the field. Hopefully we'll get it in the show in a good spot, and then we'll work on that first round. I've looked at this deal for years, and I know for a fact you can't win anything if you don't win the first one. We'll be ready."
Qualifying runs for the Nitro classes are set for 1:30 and 4:30 on Friday, then 12:45 and 3:45 on Saturday. Sunday's opening round is set for 11:00 a.m.
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