Wilk Plans To Bring "A-Game" To H-Town
Posted by: Team Manager Bob Wilber
HOUSTON (April 21, 2015) -- There are ups and downs during any NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season, just as there are on any given race weekend, not to mention any given day. It's an unforgiving sport that seems to be more demanding than ever, as multi-car teams seek to dominate with reams of data while they aim to leave the little guys far behind.
Tim Wilkerson realizes he's one of those little guys, but he's a long way from capitulating when it comes to taking on the big boys and over the course of the last few years he's made quite a few of them pay, despite the fact he's working to end a winless streak that stretches back three and a half years. He may not have earned a trophy since late summer in 2011 but he's racked up 65 round-wins since his Seattle victory in 2011, and many of those have come against drivers with names such as Hagan, Capps, Hight, Beckman, and Force (with both J. and C. initials preceding the last name). Now, heading to Houston for this weekend's O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals, the sixth race of the 2015 season, Wilk aims to continue the good fight in his quest for career professional Funny Car victory number 18.
"People underestimate how hard this is, but they also overestimate it sometimes too," Wilk said. "You hear everything from 'Why don't you just go out and beat those guys?' to 'You don't stand a chance against them' but it's not that cut-and-dried in either direction. Yeah, I think the multi-car teams that win most of these races are better than ever, and it sure feels like it's harder for a guy like me to win these days, but we can still do it. You're just lining up against teams that have so many more resources and so much more manpower, but our group is very good in their own right and I'm proud of them.
"So far this year, we've been able to string some pretty good runs together, and we have everyone's attention, I'm sure. Let's just say I don't think anyone is overjoyed when they have to run against us. Just give me another inch in the semifinals in Gainesville and we probably wouldn't be talking about a winless streak right now, because we had the best car there and that's about how much we lost by in the semis. So we can do it, and we will. We'll never give up the fight, I can promise you that."
One factor that often tightens the playing field is weather, and with the forecasts calling for the warmest temperatures of the season so far, Houston might be a launching point from which Wilk can emerge victorious. Long known as a "warm-weather tuner" he's also shown an ability, as of late, to run up front when it's cool and dry, but old stereotypes die hard in any sport.
"I think I'm still pretty good at negotiating a hot track, but a lot of people seem to think that's all we can do, and I don't agree with that," Wilk said. "We've been able to run up front when the conditions are good, but maybe because we haven't run a three-second run yet they think we're not contenders. I'm not worried about running threes, I'm more worried about getting my Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang to the stripe first, against all these all-star quality teams we've been having to face.
"But, whatever the weather holds for us this weekend, and let me say that I don't think the weather guys have a harder time getting it right anywhere more than they do in Houston, we're all going to have to deal with the same thing and the people who make the most of it will win. There's absolutely no reason that can't be us. I tell my guys all the time that if we just do our jobs right, and we all pull together, there's nothing we can't do. They believe it, I believe it, Dick Levi believes it, all my other sponsors believe it, my wife believes it, my kids believe it, and we'll prove it someday soon."
It seems to take a flawless effort to take home the Wally these days, and Tim Wilkerson has his A-game ready to go this weekend in Houston. On any given Sunday, the Wally could be his. In the LRS camp, they collectively believe it could be this particular Sunday.
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