2016 Press Release - Post Las Vegas
Wilkerson Working To Solve Clutch Problem Before Final Race
Las Vegas, NV (October 31, 2016) – While Tim Wilkerson was all smiles when he met with fans Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas, the veteran driver and tuner struggled with a problem that seems to be plaguing the team on race day.
Wilkerson made four strong qualifying passes in the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang. When the elimination ladder was set he grabbed the No. 6 qualifying spot in the quickest Nitro Funny Car field ever with a 3.888/324.36 pass.
On race day Wilkerson faced Chad Head in Round One of eliminations. But in what has become a nagging occurrence Wilkerson, he smoked the tires from the starting line. Head took the win, 4.757/264.55 to 7.027/125.26
"We're still chasing what's wrong with the car. We thought it may have been a left lane problem. When Robert did it in front of us, we were like 'oh no.' Richard (Hartman) and I even considered making a lane swap, but we didn't," Wilkerson said. "I wish I could tell you that taking the right lane would have fixed it, but I don't know if it would have."
"We have to figure out a way to win on Sunday. We had a great car on Friday and Saturday and a crummy car on Sunday. So I gotta figure out a way to fix all this," Wilkerson added.
On Monday the Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang made three more runs during testing – but not with Wilkerson driving. Top Alcohol Funny Car Champion Jonnie Lindberg was behind the wheel to get his Nitro Funny Car license with Wilkerson mentoring him.
"We're stayed an extra day in Vegas to test some things out that will help us going into next season," said Wilkerson. "We got all of our clutch packs for next year so were able to try them out and get some data."
Wilkerson leaves Las Vegas ninth in the Funny Car points standings. The season-ending NHRA Finals comes up in two weeks, November 10-13 in Pomona, California.