It is safe to say Tim Wilkerson has been on quite a roll as of late.

The veteran racer out of Springfield, Illinois has two wins already this season - the only Funny Car driver with multiple wins this season - and has qualified in the top half of the field in every race this season. Those efforts place him fourth in the championship standings after five events.

On Friday, Wilkerson continued that trend with the provisional top spot at the NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston, surprising even himself with a new track-record run of 3.899 seconds at 327.59 mph.

“Well, we sure didn’t expect that kind of performance,” Wilkerson said. “I looked at the weather coming in here knowing it was going to be hot, sticky, nasty, and we figured that the track would be slick. But NHRA preps the track and this is what you get. What a nice surface they have given us here at Royal Purple Raceway to put up a number like that in these conditions.”

Wilkerson placed the Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang squarely at the top of the charts ahead of Alexis DeJoria, who blasted from sixth after the first session up to second with a 3.910 at 324.90 mph. Courtney Force is qualified third with a 3.915 at 320.66, followed by Del Worsham (3.923) and Robert Hight (3.953) following two of the scheduled four qualifying sessions this weekend.

Not only was Wilkerson’s pass a new track record, but it was also a career best for the 20-time national event winner.

“I knew it was on a fast run because it went out there in the middle of the racetrack and really took off. It had the front end up in the air and usually when it does that it is marching pretty hard,” Wilkerson said. “It has done that to me a couple of other times with the other car, but this is our newest car with only 12 runs on it. It had the front end up in the air about 500 feet and, to be honest with you, I’ve never gone that fast half track.

“So we are pretty happy with that performance. If I can make it run a little faster earlier, I think it will go 86 or 87.”

Wilkerson was fast in both of his runs on Friday, adding a 3.961 pass in the early session to place him third after round one. But as the conditions improved, the team, headed by assistant crew chief Richard Hartman, found just enough to place Wilkerson at the top of the heap. That and a little something extra flowing through the engine.

“This place is probably the most humid conditions you will see all year. So this is very exciting for my guys especially,” Wilkerson said. “I’ve got a group of young kids and Richard Hartman helping me and this is the land of Royal Purple down here. We are the only guy in the pits running that stuff, so maybe the other guys in the pits need to pay attention.”

With rain in the forecast for Saturday, Wilkerson is optimistic that his number will hold, but also knows that if weather does enter into the mix, it could throw a curveball come Sunday.

“We went 3.96 in our first run, putting us solidly in, so I told my boys this is our chance to throw it against the wall and see if it sticks,” Wilkerson said. “I knew it would run fast, I just didn’t know it would run that fast here. The weather conditions here, there are so many grains. I had 129 grains and it was really humid, but that maybe helped keep it alive.

“With weather in the forecast, now it looks like it might be hit or miss. You never know what you are going to get on Sunday. If it rains a lot like it did a few years ago, there was nothing on the starting line. It pulled all of the rubber off. That is an upset in the making.”   

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