Tim Wilkerson said before heading to Bristol Dragway that his primary Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Ford Mustang Funny Car was “doing things I don't think it should do.”

As he awaits a new car from builder Murf McKinney, Wilkerson is racing his back-up car. And it’s doing exactly what he wants it to do.

His 3.895-second pass was quickest Friday on the East Tennessee 1,000-foot course to make him the provisional No. 1 qualifier for the NHRA’s Thunder Valley Nationals. But it was .011 of a second slower than Ron Capps’ year-old track record of 3.884. Wilkerson’s 328.22-mph speed easily was fastest in the class so far, but it didn’t challenge Del Worsham’s Bristol-best 329.42 from last season.

Still, Wilkerson will take it. He said he’s “trying to get the monkey off my back a little bit,” after seven first-round losses in eliminations, including the past three. He said he tracked his recent woes to what he thinks is a defective chassis and said the back-up car “really acts like it’s OK.”

No one could argue with that Friday evening. Wilkerson wasn’t 100-percent satisfied, though.

The only one to record a 3.8-second pass Friday, Wilkerson said, “One run does not make a hero, so we’re going to try to do something good tomorrow.”

This is the third of four events in consecutive weekends, and Wilkerson thought back to the first two, at Epping, N.H., and Englishtown, N.J., and the annoying statistic that he smoked the tires in the Friday night session at both of those races.

He said, “I told [crew chief Richard] Hartman, “We ain’t doin’ that at Bristol. We’re going to be on the track. I don’t care if we’re No. 10. I’m not going to smoke the tires.”

And he didn’t.

But he shook his head at the elapsed time that led the field Friday: “Eighty-nine, No. 1. That’s just ridiculous, right? That just shows how tricky a hot track is. Everybody backs it up way back, especially after Englishtown. That taught us all a lot, when you have a 4.10 and a 4.14 in the finals. These cars are more capable than that. So everybody’s tiptoeing.

Wilkerson is going for his first top qualifying position of the season and 19th of his career. Moreover, he’s seeking his first victory of the year. Still perturbed that “I got my ass waxed on a holeshot in my first final this year” [against Ron Capps at Atlanta], he’s eager to score at Bristol Dragway, one of four active tracks where he hasn’t won.

“Bristol owes me. I got beat in the finals twice here,” Wilkerson said.  

Race day is Fathers Day, and the Springfield, Ill., owner-driver – a father of three who recently became a grandfather – said, "Maybe we can win one for my dad, and I can call him and tell him Happy Fathers Day from the winners circle. Roy is 91 now, and I think it would be really neat to do that for him. It's going to be a special day, no matter what. I'm a grandfather now, and more importantly it's my son Daniel's first Father's Day. It's a great time for our family, and it would be nice to get that trophy."

He’s ranked ninth in the standings after digging out of a 12th-place hole.

As for his old ride, he said, "I think our car was bent or maimed, somehow, so I've already talked to Murf McKinney. He has a brand-new car for me. It's just not quite done.”

Qualifying will continue with two sessions Saturday. Eliminations will take place Sunday.