Tim Wilkerson Racing Notes & Quotes - DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals
Tim Wilkerson
Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang
Car No.: FC10
Current points position: 7
Event-Specific Notes:
- Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang Funny Car crew have one previous U.S. Nationals nitro Funny Car win (2003 over Johnny Gray)
- His first nitro Funny Car final took place there in 1997. Whit Bazemore took the win.
- Wilkerson enters the event in the No. 7 position in the Funny Car standings. There is no Countdown to the Championship for the 2020 season, so the battle for points continues through the end of the season.
- Look for Wilkerson to shine on Sunday: he has won at least one round at all but a single event this season.
Driver Notes:
- The 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series marks the 25th season as a nitro Funny Car driver for Tim Wilkerson, driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang
- Wilkerson made the move to Ford Performance in 2009 and since that time has acquired 10 of 20 NHRA Wally trophies as a Ford driver. The only drivers to have more wins in a Ford Funny Car are John Force and Robert Hight.
- Team Summit driver Wilkerson is also the tuner and team owner of the LRS Ford Mustang Funny Car. His was the only single-car team in the category to finish in the top 10 in each of the last two seasons.
- 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 U.S. Nationals
1 win in 3 final rounds
Runner-up 1997* (Whit Bazemore)
Won 2003 (defeated Johnny Gray)
Runner-up 2012 (Mike Neff)
No. 1 qualifier 1998
Last year: Qualified No. 11; first round
*Wilkerson's first nitro Funny Car final
Wilkerson's career stats following the 2020 Indy Nationals
(most recent event)
522 races
20 wins
24 runner-up finishes
44 final rounds
20 No. 1 qualifier awards
Career round wins (nitro Funny Car): 416
Career best e.t.: 3.844 (2017 Phoenix)
Career best speed: 333.74 (2016 Topeka)
Quote:
"We have a lot of history at this racetrack, and I'll tell you what, it would sure be fun to make some more this weekend with our Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford. We're going out there status quo, not making any wholesale changes to what we had before, because we think we've got something for them. We got beat first-round at the last race, but it was the first time that's happened all year long. We have something we can build on. The cool thing about it is that we've raced at Indy three times so far this year – it's almost like they gave us time trials like they do at the Indy 500. We've had three weeks of time trials, and now we're going to stop goofing around. We're going to this race to win it."
Tim Wilkerson on social media:
Facebook.com/timwilkersonracing; Instagram @timwilkersonracing; Twitter @TimWilkerson_FC
2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car Standings
(after race 5, the NHRA Indy Nationals)
1. Tommy Johnson Jr., 416
2. Jack Beckman, 403
3. Matt Hagan, 388
4. Ron Capps, 314
5. Bob Tasca III, 298
6. J.R. Todd, 292
7. Tim Wilkerson, 270
8. Alexis DeJoria, 217
9. Cruz Pedregon, 202
10. Paul Lee, 193
Race Info
66th DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals
Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
Brownsburg, Indiana
September 3 - 6, 2020
Run Schedule (all times local)
Thursday, September 3
7:15 a.m. – Lucas Oil Series Sportsman qualifying and time trials begin
Friday, September 4
7:00 a.m. – Lucas Oil Sportsman eliminations begin/Hemi Challenge
1:50 p.m. – Sportsman Allstars competition begins
4:00 p.m. – Factory Stock Showdown qualifying begins
5:15 p.m. – Pro Mod qualifying session 1
6:30 p.m. – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro qualifying session 1
Saturday, September 5
7:00 a.m. – Lucas Oil Series Sportsman, Factory Stock Showdown eliminations
12:45 p.m. – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro qualifying session 2
5:15 p.m. – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro qualifying session 3
Sunday, September 6
8:00 a.m. – Lucas Oil Series Sportsman eliminations continue
10:00 a.m. – Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro eliminations begin,
eliminations for all categories continue
#NHRAonFOX Schedule (all times ET)
Qualifying / Saturday – 2-4 PM / FS1
Qualifying / Saturday – 10 PM-12 AM / FS1
Finals / Sunday – 11 AM-1 PM ET / FS1
Finals / Sunday – 1-4 PM ET / FOX
#USNats #BigGo
**Full results at DragRaceCentral.com**
Photo credit: Auto Imagery