Wilkerson approaches the final three races with tenacious determination

RICHMOND, Prerace: Tim Wilkerson is a man on a mission. The look of determination in his face shows that the Funny Car points leader has one thing in mind and like a dog with a favorite toy in its jaws; he is not going to relinquish it without a fight. For Wilkerson his so called “toy” is the NHRA POWERade Funny Car Championship and he is looking to get a tighter grip on it this weekend at the upcoming Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Wilkerson took the points lead in early May and held onto it for 12 races. A few weeks ago, at the Charlotte race, the first in the Countdown to 1, he let go of it, but only for a short time. He regained the lead the following week with a win in Dallas and extended it with another the next week in Memphis, making the total number of times Wilk and his team have taken his beautiful Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS to the winner’s circle this year, a whopping six.

But the hard-working, talented Wilkerson and team are not done yet. They have developed a resolve that is helping them be the leader of the pack and show the naysayers and the multi-car, mega-budget teams that this single car, independent team working with a smaller budget, a smaller crew and a driver that tunes his own car isn’t the runt of the litter.

“Knowing that a lot of people didn’t think we could do this really motivates me and the guys,” said Wilkerson. “When we race these champions we have to have the right attitude. We stop treating them like there’s no way we can beat them. These are the guys you want to beat, so that’s how we live it.

“We’re focused on winning more this year and plan on it in Richmond, which would give us three in a row. We did pretty good there last year. We didn’t qualify that high but we went to the semifinals. That’s when our car was starting to come around for us. We’ve made such tremendous strides since then and we’re not about to back down now. The guys are doing a tremendous job and as long as I keep in step with them, you’re going to see a lot more of us.”