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NHRA
NHRA: Tasca Funny Car Year In Review
Tim Wilkerson recorded a runner-up finish in Richmond and closed out the season fourth in the Full Throttle Series standings, the second-best finish of his career.
Kelly Wade  |  Posted December 28, 2009   Porter, TX
After making an incredible play for the championship in 2008 and finishing second in the world, most expected Wilkerson, who pulls double duty as driver and crew chief, to blaze into the new season (Go2Geiger.com)
Nitro Funny Car racers and respective team owners Tim Wilkerson and Bob Tasca III prudently formed a technical alliance prior to the 2009 season that allowed them to share tuning information, collaborate in terms of problem solving and improving individual performance, and expand their marketing presence at national events.

The alliance provided pleasing results - they both claimed multiple race wins and secured positions in the NHRA Full Throttle Series Countdown to the Championship - and prompted an announcement of an extension of the union through 2010, a decision that both racers are wagering will produce even more success.

After making an incredible play for the championship in 2008 and finishing second in the world, most expected Wilkerson, who pulls double duty as driver and crew chief, to blaze into the new season, but the outcome at the season-opening Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals was less than the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang Funny Car team had hoped for. Dreadfully persistent wet weather limited the Pro classes to just one qualifying session, and Wilkerson's one shot at the field was plagued with a series of unfortunate events, including a broken air line and a fogged visor, that prevented a full pass.

"The whole thing was just a darn mess," Wilkerson said. "It set us back a little bit getting started, but the way I look at it, we're simply qualifying until we get to the last six races anyway [when the Countdown to the Championship begins]. As long as I'm in the top 10 and not in the very back, I feel like I'll have a pretty good chance."

Breaking into that critical top 10 was a bit of a challenge until St. Louis, when an unrelenting Wilkerson had collected enough round-wins to move into the No. 9 spot. He continued to rack up round wins and ascend in the standings, and the former Division 3 Top Alcohol Funny Car champ pushed hard and was finally rewarded for his perseverance on the Western Swing, when he scored back-to-back victories in Seattle and Sonoma.

"We shot ourselves in the foot two or three times last year and didn't have real good racing luck," Wilkerson said. "But you keep knocking on the door and before long, somebody will open it for you. That's what we did all year; we kept beating on them until, finally, somebody submitted.

"It was such a good year in 2008, and then we went half the season without a win, and the guys were getting a little bit glum. Going into the season, we thought we had a legitimate chance of achieving the same success we had the year before. We ended up having a decent year, and you have to be happy with being in the top 10."

Wilkerson recorded a runner-up finish in Richmond and closed out the season fourth in the Full Throttle Series standings, the second-best finish of his career.

Also in 2009, Wilkerson's son, former Jr. Dragster and Top Alcohol competitor Daniel, got his feet wet in the NHRA professional ranks, driving a second nitro Funny Car for the team in Topeka and Memphis. Though the season was short for the young driver, it was most eventful; he qualified No. 8 in his first appearance in Topeka, and in Memphis, he earned a raceday start from the same position and had the ill-fated opportunity to experience a spectacular crash first-hand when the rear wheels came off of his Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang. The car and chassis were destroyed after slamming nearly head-on into the guard wall, but Daniel was uninjured in the accident and will most likely be racing again in 2010.







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