WILKERSON TEAMING WITH TASCA
Sat, 2008-11-01 23:35
Alliance Will Put Current GM Driver In Ford Funny Car in 2009 …
The Ford Funny Car fraternity just increased by one.
Current Funny Car point leader Tim Wilkerson and Ford icon Bob Tasca III announced an alliance for the 2009 season and beyond. The two teams will merge their resources while maintaining their unique identities.
As part of the deal, Wilkerson will leave the GM operation and campaign a Ford-bodied entry in 2009.
Wilkerson will continue to campaign the Levi, Ray and Shoup backing on his new Ford Mustang.
“This is an exciting time for us,” Wilkerson said. “With the state of this economy, I am encouraged that anyone would want to be involved in drag racing. That makes me feel good.” Alliance Will Put Current GM Driver In Ford Funny Car in 2009 …
The Ford Funny Car fraternity just increased by one.
Current Funny Car point leader Tim Wilkerson and Ford icon Bob Tasca III announced an alliance for the 2009 season and beyond. The two teams will merge their resources while maintaining their unique identities.
As part of the deal, Wilkerson will leave the GM operation and campaign a Ford-bodied entry in 2009.
Wilkerson will continue to campaign the Levi, Ray and Shoup backing on his new Ford Mustang.
“This is an exciting time for us,” Wilkerson said. “With the state of this economy, I am encouraged that anyone would want to be involved in drag racing. That makes me feel good.”
The idea of an alliance began to materialize as early as Gainesville this year.
“This is a deal that has been going on for a while,” Tasca said. “This wasn’t a deal where you write something down on a napkin, shake hands and then you have a two car team. It comes down to finding the right people and money. We had the same attitude and going in the right direction. That’s what we feel will lead to a championship caliber program. Tim and I at the owner level really hit it off.”
Wilkerson is enthused about the potential of this program.
“I think that you will see some great things because Bob has some great things to bring to the table,” Wilkerson added. “He’s a great businessman with a lot of contacts. We needed that. Hopefully that will elevate the Levi, Ray & Shoup program to a new level. We have enough money to do what we need to do and Bob has an extensive testing program that we may get involved in. I see lots of good things from this point forward.”
Tasca warns the fact they have a two-car team doesn’t guarantee automatic success. That’s the reason they’ve taken the time to develop this alliance slowly.
“Sometimes two cars can mean twice the headaches,” Tasca admitted. “We really sat down in the beginning with two sheets of paper and listed the pros and the cons. The pros well outweighed any of the cons that we could think of. It was a really good fit for our programs.
“I describe what we do as trying to find a needle in a haystack. It’s that small of a margin and when you are doing it as a small team, it’s like trying to find that needle in the dark. Two cars going in the same direction isn’t instant pudding but at least you can find that needle with a flashlight.
“If Tim is lost, I’m the flash light. If I’m lost, he’s the flashlight.”
The two will maintain their respective home bases but will share data from Tasca’s new Concord, N.C.-based shop which will be equipped with a blower dyno, with clutch and fuel flow.
“Being able to leverage the synergies between two programs is huge,” Tasca added. “For me, I am so impressed with what Tim has done as a single-car team. His season could go down in history as one of the greatest championship runs in the modern day multi-car team era. We are going to hit it hard. We plan to start testing three days after Pomona.
“I believe the two of us together will be a major force in this class.
The Ford Funny Car fraternity just increased by one.
Current Funny Car point leader Tim Wilkerson and Ford icon Bob Tasca III announced an alliance for the 2009 season and beyond. The two teams will merge their resources while maintaining their unique identities.
As part of the deal, Wilkerson will leave the GM operation and campaign a Ford-bodied entry in 2009.
Wilkerson will continue to campaign the Levi, Ray and Shoup backing on his new Ford Mustang.
“This is an exciting time for us,” Wilkerson said. “With the state of this economy, I am encouraged that anyone would want to be involved in drag racing. That makes me feel good.” Alliance Will Put Current GM Driver In Ford Funny Car in 2009 …
The Ford Funny Car fraternity just increased by one.
Current Funny Car point leader Tim Wilkerson and Ford icon Bob Tasca III announced an alliance for the 2009 season and beyond. The two teams will merge their resources while maintaining their unique identities.
As part of the deal, Wilkerson will leave the GM operation and campaign a Ford-bodied entry in 2009.
Wilkerson will continue to campaign the Levi, Ray and Shoup backing on his new Ford Mustang.
“This is an exciting time for us,” Wilkerson said. “With the state of this economy, I am encouraged that anyone would want to be involved in drag racing. That makes me feel good.”
The idea of an alliance began to materialize as early as Gainesville this year.
“This is a deal that has been going on for a while,” Tasca said. “This wasn’t a deal where you write something down on a napkin, shake hands and then you have a two car team. It comes down to finding the right people and money. We had the same attitude and going in the right direction. That’s what we feel will lead to a championship caliber program. Tim and I at the owner level really hit it off.”
Wilkerson is enthused about the potential of this program.
“I think that you will see some great things because Bob has some great things to bring to the table,” Wilkerson added. “He’s a great businessman with a lot of contacts. We needed that. Hopefully that will elevate the Levi, Ray & Shoup program to a new level. We have enough money to do what we need to do and Bob has an extensive testing program that we may get involved in. I see lots of good things from this point forward.”
Tasca warns the fact they have a two-car team doesn’t guarantee automatic success. That’s the reason they’ve taken the time to develop this alliance slowly.
“Sometimes two cars can mean twice the headaches,” Tasca admitted. “We really sat down in the beginning with two sheets of paper and listed the pros and the cons. The pros well outweighed any of the cons that we could think of. It was a really good fit for our programs.
“I describe what we do as trying to find a needle in a haystack. It’s that small of a margin and when you are doing it as a small team, it’s like trying to find that needle in the dark. Two cars going in the same direction isn’t instant pudding but at least you can find that needle with a flashlight.
“If Tim is lost, I’m the flash light. If I’m lost, he’s the flashlight.”
The two will maintain their respective home bases but will share data from Tasca’s new Concord, N.C.-based shop which will be equipped with a blower dyno, with clutch and fuel flow.
“Being able to leverage the synergies between two programs is huge,” Tasca added. “For me, I am so impressed with what Tim has done as a single-car team. His season could go down in history as one of the greatest championship runs in the modern day multi-car team era. We are going to hit it hard. We plan to start testing three days after Pomona.
“I believe the two of us together will be a major force in this class.
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