Tim Wilkerson made two fine and solid passes on a beautiful Friday in Memphis, posting a 4.169 on
the first run, before following that up with a better 4.130 on the late pass (despite the fact his
car broke a blower belt well before the finish line). The second number kept in the top 12
overnight, in the No. 11 spot, and the big news on the day was the performance of the "other" Levi,
Ray & Shoup Shelby, as Dan Wilkerson outran his dad in both sessions, ending up 8th overnight. The
two Wilkersons were even paired in the second session, running side-by-side.
"I'm very proud of Daniel and his group over there, because they did a really fine job all day, but
that last one got away from us for no reason," Wilkerson said. "That's a perfectly fine belt, and
nothing went wrong in the motor for it to break. It just chose that spot, on that run, to come
apart and that happens every now and then. At least it didn't happen a half-second sooner, or we'd
be going into Saturday in the group outside the top 12.
"It wasn't going to be low for the day, but it was on its way to a top three or four slot, I'd
think. There's no telling why these things do some of the things they do, but you deal with it and
move on to the next day. If the weather is what they're calling for, there will still be some good
times left to grab. We'd just like to move up and maybe get in the top half if we can.
"As for racing next to Daniel on that run, I know it was a kick for a lot of people to see the two
LRS Shelby Mustangs out there side-by-side, and the best compliment I can give him, or any driver,
is that I had no worries at all lining up next to him. He's done very well in that car. The kid's
a driver, for sure."
Team Wilkerson Racing
NHRA Nitro Funny Car
http://http://www.timwilkerson.com
