If Tim Wilkerson has proved anything in his standout NHRA nitro Funny Car career, it's that you can never count him out.

Wilkerson showed his prowess Sunday at the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceway in Seattle.  Wilkerson beat J.R. Todd to claim the national event crown.

It was the 24th win of Wilkerson’s career and second of the season as he also took home the title in Chicago.

“I'm very, very proud of my guys today. It's a hot day and, man, we worked hard,” said Wilkerson, who has been competing on the national circuit for nearly 30 years. “(We) had the same motor in the car all the way until the finals and pretty proud of that, too. When you get here on sea level, you got plenty of power. You ain't going to beat your junk up too hard. So, really, really had a great day and my motor looked like it didn't even run at every run. So, pretty neat.”

The victory was Wilkerson's fourth in Seattle, as he also collected Wallys at the facility in 2009-2011.

“I really look forward to coming here because it's something my wife loves to do is go down or up this coast, and it's kind of a little mini vacation for us,” Wilkerson said. “She told me just a while ago after she came down at the end and gave me a big hug, she said, ‘Boy, you're making us go on vacation in style.’ So, yeah, she's a blessing. If I could clone her, I wouldn't have to work. But very lucky to do what we do every day. Like I said, my guys did such a great job. We were flawless. I mean you very rarely see my car do anything wrong on the starting line, doesn't leak, doesn't do anything wrong. My kid had a problem there in the second round and, man, he was Cool Hand Luke -- that's what I call him at home. He handled that really well and he's going to be good.”

This past offseason Wilkerson received a boost when JCM Racing teamed up with him. Wilkerson and JCM Racing team owner Joe Maynard serve as co-owners of the Funny Car operation, which is competing as Maynard Wilkerson Racing, and will see the addition of JCM Racing partner SCAG Power Equipment as its primary sponsor.

“Well, Joe and I are hopefully going to have a long relationship. He's been a great partner and he lets me do whatever I want to do, and we've made that clear to begin with and he said, ‘Wilk, this is your car. Pretend like I'm not even here. You send me the bills and I'll pay them, and pretend like I don't exist, and don't even worry about it," he said. "So that's what we've been doing, and he's really been great.”

On Sunday, nothing came easy for Wilkerson. He defeated multi-time world champion Matt Hagan, back-to-back reigning world champ Ron Capps, Blake Alexander, and Todd. The performance moved Wilkerson into a tie for sixth place in the points standings with Bob Tasca III.

“In the semis, the thing had 60 pounds of oil pressure at idle and only 120 when I stepped on the gas and I'm like, ugh,” Wilkerson said. “So, 'cause it's so dang hot, them aluminum motors, the clearances are huge in them and so we put a motor in at the finals and it worked great.”

Wilkerson's victory could not have come at a better time as he lost in the second round in Bristol, Tenn., and first round in Norwalk, Ohio, and Denver.

“I've had a couple of rough races here, but we just hang in there,” Wilkerson said. “I told you before we got a 24-hour rule. Twenty-four hours after we win, lose, or draw, start over, because you can't dwell on that stuff. It'll drive you crazy.”

Wilkerson acknowledged he did deep stage in the finals against Todd, but unintentionally.

“I'm telling you, I was just staring at the light, staring at the light, staring at the light and my kid said, ‘You turned the top bulb off old man.’ And I said, ‘Hell, I didn't even see it come off. I was staring at that yellow light so hard. I had no clue that it did that.’ But, no, I really didn't mean to do that, and I hope it didn't mess up J.R., 'cause I don't race that way. You know that.

“I just do the best I can do and hope for the best. But I knew I was focusing, and I was paying attention. I argue with people about that -- 'Oh, you should roll it in every round.' ... There's very few drag races in Top Fuel and Funny Car that get won by seven 10 thousandths of a second -- that's what three inches is at 320 mph. So, I don't believe in it because I like to pat myself on the back for being a good crew chief. But to take my 9.35 and subtract it from my 8.85 that I went the last run, my car went 95 in the finals. So, pretty damn good run.

“We actually changed wheelie bars this weekend, too. I had a really reinforced wheelie bar on it the last couple races, and I went back to a lighter weight, more flexible wheelie bar 'cause I didn't like the way the driveshaft looked.”

Wilkerson lost lane choice in the finals against Todd, but that didn’t faze him.

“The right lane's got some bumps. It's got some at about a hundred and I don't know, 175 or 200, and then it's got another one at 600,” Wilkerson said. “So, I ran the thing like hell out there and parked at about 450 or 500 feet and then took off again at 600 and the dumb thing went right down through there. So, I was pretty tickled with that. ... It went 279 mph at half-track on a 130-degree racetrack. So that's a pretty good call on our part. But my guys did a great job.”

As for the rest of the season, Wilkerson is confident in what his team can do from week to week.

“I mean we've got a chance to win every weekend, in my opinion,” he said. “It's just whether I mess it up or not. I tell my kids who work on the car. I said, ‘Make me a problem every time. If you make me a problem, then we're never going to have an issue.’ And I'm usually the problem. People always ask me, 'Who do you race?' And I said, ‘Me, I'm the enemy, not the other guy.’"