WILKERSON WITHDRAWS FROM THE LUCK BANK
Mon, 2009-02-23 08:00
Tim Wilkerson learned a valuable lesson Sunday in Phoenix; the more things go wrong, the more they can work in his favor.
The Springfield, Ill.-based driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Cobra Mustang realizes this turn of events is certainly not the norm, but when you DNQ the first race of the season as he did two weeks ago in Pomona, you learn to not look a gift horse in the mouth. He made withdrawals from the luck bank all day at the NHRA Lucas Slick Mist Nationals until he reached the semis. Tim Wilkerson learned a valuable lesson Sunday in Phoenix; the more things go wrong, the more they can work in his favor.
The Springfield, Ill.-based driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Cobra Mustang realizes this turn of events is certainly not the norm, but when you DNQ the first race of the season as he did two weeks ago in Pomona, you learn to not look a gift horse in the mouth. He made withdrawals from the luck bank all day at the NHRA Lucas Slick Mist Nationals until he reached the semis.
"Well, I think there's probably a fixed amount of things that can go wrong on one of these cars, and we're checking them off the list at a pretty good clip, so that's good," Wilkerson said. "We sorted through some issues that about killed us on Friday, got better on Saturday, and got by a few big guys today without running all that well, but even those first two rounds were something we learned from. You just don't get to the semi-finals this way very often, but there's no such thing as an ugly win. Every team out here has run great and lost, plenty of times, so you take the wins any way you can get them."
Wilkerson only made one full under-power lap during eliminations and even that run was fraught with anxiety after an air regulator appeared to malfunction before magically fixing itself, reaching the later rounds of competition by out-pedaling his first two opponents to take his first two round wins on the season.
The veteran driver will admit Phoenix provided far more of a "learning experience" than anything else, as he continues to learn the intricacies of his new chassis.
"There's a learning curve here, for sure, and we're (crew chief and driver) learning a lot," Wilkerson said. "This new chassis reacts a lot differently than my old car, so we have to find what works for it and not try to force it to do things it doesn't want to do. And, like any new car, house, or boat, there are things that just aren't right and you don't know what those problems are until they show up."
The Springfield, Ill.-based driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Cobra Mustang realizes this turn of events is certainly not the norm, but when you DNQ the first race of the season as he did two weeks ago in Pomona, you learn to not look a gift horse in the mouth. He made withdrawals from the luck bank all day at the NHRA Lucas Slick Mist Nationals until he reached the semis. Tim Wilkerson learned a valuable lesson Sunday in Phoenix; the more things go wrong, the more they can work in his favor.
The Springfield, Ill.-based driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Cobra Mustang realizes this turn of events is certainly not the norm, but when you DNQ the first race of the season as he did two weeks ago in Pomona, you learn to not look a gift horse in the mouth. He made withdrawals from the luck bank all day at the NHRA Lucas Slick Mist Nationals until he reached the semis.
"Well, I think there's probably a fixed amount of things that can go wrong on one of these cars, and we're checking them off the list at a pretty good clip, so that's good," Wilkerson said. "We sorted through some issues that about killed us on Friday, got better on Saturday, and got by a few big guys today without running all that well, but even those first two rounds were something we learned from. You just don't get to the semi-finals this way very often, but there's no such thing as an ugly win. Every team out here has run great and lost, plenty of times, so you take the wins any way you can get them."
Wilkerson only made one full under-power lap during eliminations and even that run was fraught with anxiety after an air regulator appeared to malfunction before magically fixing itself, reaching the later rounds of competition by out-pedaling his first two opponents to take his first two round wins on the season.
The veteran driver will admit Phoenix provided far more of a "learning experience" than anything else, as he continues to learn the intricacies of his new chassis.
"There's a learning curve here, for sure, and we're (crew chief and driver) learning a lot," Wilkerson said. "This new chassis reacts a lot differently than my old car, so we have to find what works for it and not try to force it to do things it doesn't want to do. And, like any new car, house, or boat, there are things that just aren't right and you don't know what those problems are until they show up."
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