CHARLOTTE, NC – Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Shelby Mustang felt like they had a race car and tune up to go rounds on Sunday at the 11th NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. The winner of the 2016 Four-Wide Nationals was confident his qualifying performance positioned him for a long day at the track today.

During the three qualifying sessions leading up to race day Wilkerson was right in the mix with a tough Funny Car field. On Friday night his Ford Mustang Funny Car struggled like the rest of the field on a cool and green race track but he bounced back with a strong run to open up qualifying on Saturday. The Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Mustang made the third quickest run of the session landing in the No. 4 qualifying spot and solidly positioning itself in the show.

“That first run on Saturday showed what we are used to seeing from this race car,” said Wilkerson. “We have a strong tune-up that will run quick with the rest of the guys. I was feeling good after that run and I knew we could be competitive with elapsed times like that.”

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ATLANTA, GA – The final NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway featured Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Shelby Mustang  team showing why they will be a tough competitor on race day throughout the 2021 season. With only one day of qualifying and tough track conditions race day became a situation where crew chief decisions and experience could not be discounted. On the strength of consistent runs on Saturday the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Mustang started the race from the No. 6 position.

In the opening round Wilkerson took on Terry Haddock as the track conditions had improved over Saturday but remained very much in flux as the cloud cover began to burn off over Atlanta Dragway. Wikerson’s Mustang was the first car to hit the track in the Funny Car session and his tune-up set the tone for the rest of the class behind him when he thundered to victory with a stout 3.963 second run at over 320 mph. It was the quickest Funny Car run of the event and gave the veteran lane choice heading into the quarterfinal round.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – Tim Wilkerson once again showed that his independent Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Shelby Mustang  team has the power and performance to make an impact during the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. As the 21st NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals unfolded today Wilkerson knew he had a race car that could contend for the title. On Friday Wilkerson rolled off the trailer and posted a 3.998 second pass at 314.24 mph to solidly place his Mustang Funny Car in the show. On Saturday he and co-crew chief Richard Hartman continued to focus on a race day tune-up that could lead the team back to the winner’s circle. They entered race day as the No. 11 qualifier but he knew there were improved performance numbers on the horizon.

In the first quad Wilkerson took the win light getting the stripe first in front of No. 3 qualifier Alexis DeJoria and No. 11 qualifier Terry Haddock. Chad Green, the No. 6 qualifier, had an issue on the starting line and did not make a run. His winning time of 3.919 second was a huge improvement from his best qualifying effort and was the second quickest run of the session.

“I was really excited after that first round win,” said Wilkerson. “We looked at the data from Friday and Saturday and just tuned it up. That was the second quickest run of the session and it went right down the middle of the groove. We knew we could do that again which gave the whole team a lot of confidence.”

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GAINESVILLE, FL – After two days of battling his Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Shelby Mustang during qualifying for the 52nd annual NHRA Gatornationals Tim Wilkerson turned the corner on race day. On Friday Wilkerson blasted to the top of the ladder with a stout 3.917 second run at 326.32 mph which positioned him third going into the second day of qualifying. For a team that did not do excessive testing it was a strong statement to the rest of the Funny Car field.

With two sessions and conditions expected to be more similar to race day Wilkerson took the chance to make adjustments to his tune-up yesterday. His second qualifying run did not show the performance improvement he was looking for and in fact his LRS Mustang took a turn for the worse. In the third and final session Wilkerson worked to correct the issue but was unsuccessful and he wrapped up qualifying solidly in the show on the strength of his first run but no additional data for race day.

After conferring with co-crew chief Richard Hartman overnight and again this morning Wilkerson made adjustments he hoped would rectify the issue. Cooler temperatures with the 10 a.m. first round in Top Fuel played into Wilkerson’s hands and his tuning skills manifested themselves with a masterful first round pass.

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