Wilkerson looking for consistency at Firebird

PHOENIX, Prerace: Tim Wilkerson, the talented driver and tuner of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS Funny Car will roll into Firebird International Raceway for the second stop on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Tour, the Checker Schuck’s Kragen Nationals in great shape. Wilkerson currently sits in the 9th slot in the point standings. Wilkerson would like to stay in the coveted Top 10, but he knows that it takes a competitive car and a little luck because the competition is tough.

Wilkerson enjoyed an impressive outing two weeks ago at the season opener in Pomona, Calif. He had a competitive car but the luck wasn’t really on his side. Wilkerson tuned the Levi, Ray & Shoup Impala to the quickest Funny Car in qualifying, capturing the No. 1 slot with a 4.790 at 325.22 mph. But the team experienced a problem with breaking exhaust valves both in qualifying and on race day, which ended their fun much too soon.

“It feels good having a No. 1 qualifier under our belts,” said Wilkerson, “but we really don’t want to get confident. These cars can throw you a curve in a heartbeat. We’ve got a good car, but it certainly wasn’t consistent in Pomona. We had an issue with our exhaust valves and that hurt us. We changed some of the stuff we use and I think we’ll be okay in Phoenix. Or I guess I should say I hope we’ll be okay.

“You know, it’s tough out there and you need a consistent car to stay in the game. You can’t just make one super pass all weekend and expect to make it to the winner’s circle. We feel we have a good car, so now we just have to make sure it’s good every time to goes down the track. Hopefully, starting with Phoenix we’ll get to play late in the day on Sunday. We’re anxious to see what happens.”