Tim Wilkerson admitted he entered the the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver, Co., fifty-percent worried about the debut of his new Murf McKinney chassis.

The fifty percent of confidence made all the difference in the world. The fact he stopped worrying helped too.

“We were a little bit nervous of the chassis and I decided I just wasn’t going to over think this place. Usually I do, I’m usually like, “oh we have to do this and that at Denver….we didn’t do any of that. Came up here and looked at how we ran at Vegas, tweaked the thing a little bit. Went out there and stepped on the gas and it responded so I think before we really just over thought this place and we just really tried to have this power I knew I had to have.” Tim Wilkerson admitted he entered the the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver, Co., fifty-percent worried about the debut of his new Murf McKinney chassis.

The fifty percent of confidence made all the difference in the world. The fact he stopped worrying helped too.

“We were a little bit nervous of the chassis and I decided I just wasn’t going to over think this place. Usually I do, I’m usually like, “oh we have to do this and that at Denver….we didn’t do any of that. Came up here and looked at how we ran at Vegas, tweaked the thing a little bit. Went out there and stepped on the gas and it responded so I think before we really just over thought this place and we just really tried to have this power I knew I had to have.”

Wilkerson stopped defending event champion Jack Beckman in the final round and that proved a battle to the stripe. In fact, Wilkerson had many wars en route to that final.

He knocked out three of the four John Force Racing cars in the first three rounds of competition.

“Those guys are always tough and you know when you’re racing anything that says Force on it, it’s going to be tough but luckily for us like you said the Mustangs went one, two and three gone to the Impala, and that’s what we like to hear,” Wilkerson said.

Essentially, Wilkerson found the biggest team in the proverbial bar and knocked them out.

“No sense starting with the sissies,” admitted Wilkerson. “You’re going to get wore out quick might as well go after the big guy. I don’t know, that’s just the luck of the draw and there’s no good draws out there that’s a tough group…there’s what a tenth between the 10th and the 16th? That’s good racing and I think this 1000 foot is going to show you more than that.

“I had a good car from 1000 foot on. Now them guys…I think you’re going to see them picking on me now. But we’ll see.”

Wilkerson’s chassis had only one event on it and that was a match race in Eddyville, Iowa, the week prior. This weekend’s event marked the official implementation of the new Funny Car chassis design as required by the NHRA.

Wilkerson’s chassis is identical to the one utilized by Tony Pedregon, who qualified low in Denver and has won two of the last three events this season.

“That stinking thing goes right straight down through there,” Wilkerson said. “We were a little bit nervous coming into this weekend. I went and did a little match race last Saturday just to shake the car down and it worked out well. I don’t get too wound up about stuff like that.

“I’ll say I was about 50% worried about bringing it into here. Tony Pedregon’s guys and I talked to [Pedregon crew chief] Dickie Venables and he said man you’re going to love that new car. Boy I’m sure he regrets telling me that now but hopefully it’s a good western swing for us. We’re real excited about going the rest of the way; we’re excited about running 1000 feet at the next couple of race tracks.”