Tim Wilkerson Notes and Quotes - AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals - Texas Motorplex - October 18-20, 2019
Tim Wilkerson
Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang
Car No.: FC5
Current points position: No. 10
Event-Specific Notes:
- Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car crew have one previous Dallas nitro Funny Car win (2008 over Tony Pedregon)
- Wilkerson enters the event, the fourth in NHRA's 2019 Countdown to the Championship playoffs, in the No. 10 position
Driver Notes:
- Team Summit driver Wilkerson, the driver, tuner, and team owner of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang Funny Car, is an independent driver and the only single-car team in the category to finish in the top 10 in 2018
- Wilk has finished in the top 10 in 14 of his 22 years as a nitro Funny Car driver, including in each of the most recent 11 years
- Wilkerson was in the final at Gainesville, Las Vegas, and Atlanta this year. He was the No. 1 qualifier in Las Vegas.
- The early portion of Wilkerson's career included a successful run as a Top Alcohol Funny Car driver. He earned eight division trophies, one national event win, and was the Division 3 Top Alcohol Funny Car champ in both 1994 and 1995 in the Lucas Oil Series before stepping up to the Pro ranks in Gainesville in 1996.
Wilkerson at the NHRA FallNationals in Dallas
1 win in 1 final round
Won 2008 (defeated Tony Pedregon)
No. 1 in 1998, 2008
Last year: Qualified No. 3; second round
Wilkerson's career stats through 2019 NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte
(most recent event)
514 races
20 wins
24 runner-up finishes
44 final rounds
20 No. 1 qualifier awards
Career best e.t.: 3.844 (2017 Phoenix)
Career best speed: 333.74 (2016 Topeka)
Quote:
"I was pretty happy leaving Charlotte because our car is performing well. Knock on wood, it seems to be running okay now, and that helps my confidence level. It's good that we're going to Dallas this week without too much time in between, because I feel like we're back on track with our racecar. Blake Alexander and Dan [Wilkerson, crew chief] will be running there, and they're doing their own thing and doing well. They're going to be an asset, not a distraction, and with any luck hopefully we can share some data. We're pretty excited about that, too."
"I just want to give a heads-up to all of our LRS fans out there: after we blew up one of our LRS 40 Years Funny Car bodies in St. Louis and then had some trouble and ran into a timing block in Charlotte, we're down to just one with the cool LRS 40 Years graphics on the black paint. We're going to work real hard not to let anything happen to it, and we should have another backup coming soon, but we're down to just one spare right now, and it's the old body with blue paint."
2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car Standings
(after NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals, NHRA Countdown to the Championship race 3 of 6)
1. Robert Hight, 2,358
2. Jack Beckman, 2,314
3. John Force, 2,279
4. Ron Capps, 2,268
5. Bob Tasca III, 2,215
6. J.R. Todd, 2,214
7. Matt Hagan, 2,211
8. Tommy Johnson Jr., 2,191
9. Shawn Langdon, 2,187
10. Tim Wilkerson, 2,152
Race Info
34th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals
Texas Motorplex
Ennis, Texas
October 17-20, 2019
Run Schedule (all times local)
Thursday, October 17
8:00am – Lucas Oil Series Sportsman qualifying, time trials begin
Friday, October 18
8:15am – Lucas Oil Series Sportsman eliminations begin
2:45pm – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro qualifying session 1
6:15pm – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro qualifying session 2
Saturday, October 19
8:00am – Lucas Oil Series Sportsman eliminations begin
12:15pm – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro qualifying session 3
3:45pm – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro qualifying session 4
Sunday, October 20
11am – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations begin,
eliminations for all other categories continue
#NHRAonFOX Schedule (all times ET)
Qualifying / Friday – 6-7:30 PM ET / FS1
Qualifying / Saturday – 7:30-8:30 PM ET / FS1
Finals / Sunday – 2-5 PM ET / FS2
Event hashtags: #FallNats #NHRACountdown
**Full results posted at DragRaceCentral.com**
Photo credit: Auto Imagery
