.500 Mark a Lofty Goal for Wilk
Posted by: Team Manager Bob Wilber
POMONA, Calif. (November 11, 2014) -- It speaks to the stout level of competition in the 2014 NHRA Funny Car class when it's considered a real yet lofty goal for Tim Wilkerson to finish the Mello Yello season with an even won/lost record of 23-23, because to reach that .500 mark he'll need to win the final race this weekend, in Pomona.
Wilk, who currently sits ninth in the standings as he concludes his quest to have a single digit on his car next year, has shown considerable consistency in the opening round of eliminations throughout much of this season. His 14-9 mark there, though, has only translated into four wins in round two, and he hasn't visited the Winner's Circle in more than three full years, but there are few, if any, in the Pro pit area who would be surprised if Wilk rattled off four round-wins at the Auto Club Finals.
"I'd like to think that something like that wouldn't be a surprise, but you never know," Wilk said, as he prepared to wrap up another season. "We're competing on a playing field that's a little tilted against us, trying to run with these multi-car teams that don't just have more cars than us; they have more of everything, from data to parts to people. The fact is we've taken a number of those teams out this year, but we haven't been able to seal the deal on a race, and that bugs all of us.
"To win Pomona, we'll have to be at our very best. I looked ahead at the weather forecast and it said 'Fast' for all three days, and when conditions are good like that we've had a hard time lately putting four perfect laps together. Perfect laps, in this sport, are really hard to come by no matter who you are, but some of those other teams are very good at doing something that's really hard. We can do it, I think they all know we can do it, and it would be a great way to end the season."
Thanks to the oddities of math versus performance, Wilk actually finished the 2013 campaign with a 21-24 mark, winning two more rounds than he currently has on his record in 2014, but his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang has worn the number 10 throughout this season, which signifies the fact he finished 10th in the standings. Heading into Pomona with a 53-point lead on Cruz Pedregon, it's conceivable Wilk could wind up with fewer Ws on his record this season and yet still finish a spot higher in the standings. He could also win enough rounds to move up to eighth.
"I think we're still three rounds behind Alexis DeJoria, who's in eighth right now, so there's another reason to win the race," Wilk said. "You know, you can stare at the points all you want, but the truth is there's almost always going to be a very fast car in the other lane when you line up on Sunday. We've had our share of huge opening rounds, and we've stunned a few teams along the way, so it's something I know we can do.
"You talk about having to run John Force, or Courtney Force, Robert Hight, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Del Worsham, Alexis DeJoria, or any of the other tough teams in the class, but heck our year might be a whole lot better already if we hadn't faced Tommy Johnson five times. We haven't beaten him yet this year. I think we're 0-5 against him, or something like that. Tommy is doing a great job driving a very fast car, and so far we haven't had an answer for him. The only other Countdown driver we haven't beaten is Cruz, but we've only raced him once. We've beaten all those other cars at one point or another this year. But, I don't think it's ever been tougher to beat four teams that good in one day."
There are goals galore for Wilk as he prepares for yet another trip to Pomona, but they all seem to revolve around winning the race. And, if he manages to do just that, it really shouldn't surprise anyone.
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