Wilkerson has a plan for the mountain

DENVER, Prerace: Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car tuner and pilot, Tim Wilkerson would like to continue his new found surge at the upcoming Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. Wilkerson is coming off his best performance of the year last weekend at the Thunder Valley Nationals and needs to have another strong showing this weekend.

But Bandimere Speedway, carved into the side of a mountain, is a strange place for both man and machine. Set in the shadow of Dinosaur Ridge in the Rocky Mountains, it creates a unique set of challenges. The mile-high altitude makes for a greater tuning challenge in these 7,000+ horsepower beasts.

"Denver is a weird place because of the air," explained Wilkerson. "I don't think we learned anything last weekend that could help us here. It's such a queer place. If it's in the 70's and the air is decent, you've got a little chance to go down the track. But if it's in the 90's, it's hard. I think you're going to see a lot of six or seven cylinder runs, unfortunately. If you keep all eight holes, then you end up smoking the tires. It's just all bad. You have no idea; you don't know what to do. You just have to roll the dice and make a decision. But we've got a plan and we'll see how it goes."

Wilkerson sits in the No. 12 spot in the POWERade Champion point standings and is in a very tight race, fighting for a top eight spot in the Countdown to the Championship. With five races left, Wilk's just four round wins away from No. 8, but has World Champ, John Force nipping at his parachutes, just two points behind him. The challenge that lies ahead of Wilkerson on the mountain may make his upward climb a struggle. But it's a struggle that the determined man and his talented crew are ready to take on full force.