Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.

Tim Wilkerson will be the first person to tell you that he didn’t have the fastest car on Sunday, but he did have consistency. And that, sprinkled with a little bit of luck, is sometimes all you need to be victorious.

Wilkerson survived and advanced four times on Sunday, placing his SCAG Power Equipment/Okuma Ford Mustang Funny Car in the winner’s circle for the first time this season. His win at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway, was his first since Charlotte in 2021.

“To be this close to home and to have so many people out with us, we are not going to have a big enough lens for our winner’s circle picture,” Wilkerson said with a laugh. “I didn’t have the best car. (Ron) Capps had a better car than I did all day long, but it worked out better for us in the finals. I did a lot better tuning than I did driving this weekend, but I was consistent, and that is what we needed to win this race because this track was a little tricky.”

Wilkerson bettered Capps in what was shaping up to be an exciting matchup between the savvy veterans. Capps got away first, but his parachutes deployed prematurely during the run, and Wilkerson was able to catch and pass him for the win. Wilkerson had a 3.966-second lap at 325.14 mph in picking up the 23rd win of his career. Capps, meanwhile, fell short of snaring his first win of the season with a 4.110 at 261.83 mph.

The win was Wilkerson’s first for Maynard Wilkerson Racing, with Joe Maynard joining the team as co-owner earlier this year.

“(This team) has added some depth that we didn’t have before,” Wilkerson said. “Instead of having two of everything, we have five of everything. We never did without these last 20 years, we just had people helping us. John Force kept me racing for a lot of years, and so did Don Schumacher. It is cool to have a guy like me, or Chad Green, or Jim Dunn, or Terry Haddock or whoever (be competitive). It is very exciting to get a win for that group. The President and CEO of SCAG is out here, and he is chomping at the bit to get in the winner’s circle.

“My new relationship with SCAG Power Equipment has brought a little stability to my team. Levi, Ray and Shoup and Summit, they have been with me for a long time, but the SCAG deal picked us up a little bit. It is a multi-year deal, so we are pretty excited about that.”

Wilkerson saw another thrilling matchup in the semifinals against 16-time champion John Force, another race that ended prematurely. Like Capps, Force got away cleanly in the matchup, but immediately lit the tires on his 11,000-horsepower Funny Car and was forced to shut it off. Wilkerson, meanwhile, cruised to a 4.012 at 319.90 to reach his second final round of the year.

After the run, Wilkerson and Force shared a memory of their match-up at this very same track 14 years prior, a race Wilkerson won over Force way back in 1999.

“It was one of those Force cars that had won every race up until that point,” Wilkerson recalled. “It was a cool moment to share with John. Now, 24 years later, here we are again.”

Wilkerson added wins against Blake Alexander and Alex Laughlin in the opening two rounds, continuing a trend that saw all four of his opponents run into trouble during their runs on Sunday. Wilkerson, meanwhile, remained consistent, with laps of 3.980 and 4.010 respectively.

Capps, in reaching his third final round of the young season, had wins over Terry Haddock, Bob Tasca and Chad Green.

After the race, Wilkerson was complimentary of the relationship that exists between his team and that of its sister team at Chad Green Motorsports, whose crew chief is his son, Daniel. Through a unique data and parts sharing venture, both teams have benefited from the relationship, as evident by Green reaching the semifinals against Capps.

While Wilkerson said that he has been proud of the work that team has done, he isn’t quite sure he would want to race them for a Wally on Sunday.

“We consult after every run,” Wilkerson said. “(Daniel) and I live in our little box together, and we talk about every run and try to figure out what we are going to do. Every part on (Chad’s) car is off of my car from last year, which is one reason it is running so good. After tuning Chad up for a whole year and getting him used to driving, he is spectacular now. I’m going to have to let some air out of the tires on that thing if I ever have to race him.

“I am really proud of my kid and that whole team. Back at the shop, we spend every day of the week staring at all of our junk trying to figure out what is going to make us more consistent, what is going to make it better. It is good when it pays off.”