Tim Wilkerson understands while numbers usually don’t lie, they can be deceiving. This season, he believes, is one of those instances.

Wilkerson is ninth in the NHRA Full Throttle points standings and just 18 points ahead of 10th.

“It's one thing to know in your heart that you're a little bit lost, or that the car is a long way from running right,” Wilkerson said.  “I've been there and I know what it feels like, and it really wasn't that long ago.  In 2006 and 2007 we DNQ'd seven times each year, and we only won two rounds of racing in '06; so it's still pretty fresh in my mind and I know how unpleasant it can be.  I also know what it's like when the car is running fine, or at least coming around, and you just can't seem to capitalize on it.  You feel like you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat.
Tim Wilkerson understands while numbers usually don’t lie, they can be deceiving. This season, he believes, is one of those instances.

Wilkerson is ninth in the NHRA Full Throttle points standings and just 18 points ahead of 10th.

“It's one thing to know in your heart that you're a little bit lost, or that the car is a long way from running right,” Wilkerson said.  “I've been there and I know what it feels like, and it really wasn't that long ago.  In 2006 and 2007 we DNQ'd seven times each year, and we only won two rounds of racing in '06; so it's still pretty fresh in my mind and I know how unpleasant it can be.  I also know what it's like when the car is running fine, or at least coming around, and you just can't seem to capitalize on it.  You feel like you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat.

“In the last four races, we've been running way better and we've been qualifying well, actually in the top half at the last four in a row, so that's an indication that we're getting it together. The problem is, we've gone out there on Sunday and gone 2-4 in the same four races, so the work in progress is how to take the good performance and win rounds with it.  We will get that figured out, I can promise you that, and we're running well enough right now to go out there and win in Thunder Valley.  It's just a matter of execution.”

Wilkerson hopes this weekend will afford his Levi, Ray & Shoup team the opportunity to move up in the standings similar to what Del Worsham did with a strong showing last weekend in Englishtown, NJ. Worsham moved from tenth to eighth, following his loss to Bob Tasca in the final round.

“That's what going to a final round and winning a race will do right now,” Wilkerson said.  “We're all pretty tightly bunched, so when you go out in the opening round like we did and then two guys who were just ahead and just behind us make it to the final, big changes are going to happen. The good news is, we can go out there and do the same thing this weekend, or the week after that, and make just as big of a move.

“Right now, we're just going to keep focusing on each qualifying run, to see if we can get some more of those bonus points, and then we'll try to get our mojo back on Sunday.  All you can do is take it one lap at a time. So the next one you make is the most important one you're faced with. One step at a time.  I've never won a race any other way.”

Wilkerson grabbed five bonus points last weekend in Englishtown.  As the fight for Countdown spots intensifies, those bonus points will begin to take on more and more importance.

“The difference between being 19 points ahead of somebody and 21 points ahead is a whole round of racing, so those little single digits are always important,” Wilkerson explained. “We've usually not been one of the most spectacular teams in qualifying, so we don't tend to get to many of those, but the five we got in Englishtown are important now, and it would really help to sneak out of Bristol with a few more.  

“We're not going to change the way we tune the car just to grab a couple of bonus points, because that's a recipe for failure, but if the car keeps running well we should be in the mix.  You just have to be quick, and we're getting quicker by the weekend right now.”