NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Daniel Wilkerson will make his first Funny Car start since 2013 at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods.

Funny Car veteran Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang will be joined in competition at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods by his son Daniel, who will be driving Brian Stewart’s Funny Car, a car formerly owned by the senior Wilkerson.

“I was just excited to finally be able to watch the Four-Wide Nationals from the stands,” said Daniel, who last competed at an NHRA Mello Yello Series event in St, Louis in 2013. “I don’t get to travel to this race since I work in public accounting and it’s usually held during tax season. Now to be driving in the event is amazing.”
 
“I’m excited to have Daniel driving in the NHRA again,” said Tim. “I think this will be a really good experience for him. I really want to thank Brian Stewart for giving Daniel the opportunity to drive his car in Charlotte.”
 
The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals is a once-a-year spectacle for fans that can be tricky for drivers to conquer with double the competition and two Christmas Trees to watch. Daniel believes his long break in driving will actually be an advantage for him.
 
“I don’t have a regular starting-line routine, so when it comes to zoning in on the right Tree and lights, I think I will be fine,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong though; I’ll be down at the starting line doing my homework on Thursday night. I picked a heck of a race to make my return to driving.”
 
His father is one of those drivers who fell victim to the four-wide Tree confusion at the 2015 event. He lost during the first round after leaving the starting line late.
 
“I really was never a fan of four-wide racing, but I’m warming up to it,” said Tim. “We have to look at it as another race in the series on the way to the championship. I’ve put the unfortunate event of last year’s race behind me and I’m ready to go for the win this year.”