NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Starting from the ninth position in the star-studded Funny Car class, Tim Wilkerson knows he needs impressive showings right off the bat in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.

That includes what he hopes is a victory at the fifth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, which takes place at Gateway Motorsports Park Sept. 23-25. It is the second of six races in the NHRA’s playoffs and also takes place close to home for the Springfield, Ill. native.

To get to the winner’s circle in the Countdown to the Championship for the first time since 2008, Wilkerson hopes to recreate some of the early-season magic he had this season when he raced to two victories in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang.

“The team knows what the goals are and we just have to get some rounds under our belt,” said Wilkerson, who also posted a regular-season win in St. Louis in 2008. “Hopefully all that other stuff we’ve dealt with this season will be behind us. We’re trying our best. We’re going to try and wear the rest of them out the rest of the year. I’m going to try and not make mistakes.”

Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Del Worsham (Funny Car), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event that will be televised on FOX Sports 1 for the first time. The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals serves as the middle race of a three-weekend stretch to begin the Countdown and Wilkerson knows he needs to be at his best early on to stay in the championship mix.

It’s been a difficult place for the veteran to find after such a brilliant start to the season that included wins at Phoenix and Charlotte, and a runner-up spot at Houston that left him tied for the points lead. But it’s been a struggle for most of the second half, as Wilkerson has lost in the first round at seven of the past races.

A quarterfinal berth in Brainerd left him hopeful heading to the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and he ran a solid 3.914 at 323.97 mph in qualifying, but he struggled to get down the track consistently when it mattered and fell in the first round. He bounced back by reaching round two last weekend in Charlotte.

“I hope we can get it turned around and I thought we were doing a good job of it until I got to Indy,” Wilkerson said. “That place treated me terrible. I have to get back to going down the race track. That worked out for most of the runs except for the ones I needed it. There’s no doubt we can get back to the way we were running.”

Those type of performances can put Wilkerson right in the mix of the loaded Funny Car field, which is led by points leader Ron Capps, who has five wins in 2016. Wilkerson has put together a series of runs in the 3.80s this year, something he knows will be needed to knock off Countdown competitors like defending event winner and world champion Del Worsham, Courtney Force, John Force, Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson Jr., Robert Hight and Alexis DeJoria.

But Wilkerson believes there’s no point in worrying about how his opponents are running. His goal is to start off eliminations better and put together a series of consistent runs, something that has been missing for far too long in his eyes.

“We need to eliminate our first-round losses, there’s no doubt about that,” said Wilkerson, who has 20 career Funny Car wins. “Those things have to be gone. I don’t think there’s really any special key to it. We have got to make the thing go, first off. But we’re going to treat (the Countdown) like we normally do. I try to pride myself on not worrying about what the other teams do.”

Racing close to home might be convenient, but Wilkerson knows it doesn’t provide any extra benefits or give him any extra advantages. There may be a bevy of family and friends on hand, but Wilkerson’s main priority will be running fast on a track that should yield impressive numbers no matter the weather.

“I have lots of good people around me, that’s really the important thing,” Wilkerson said. “The chances of it being warm that weekend are not very good, but with the way the track is prepared now you can see terrific runs that are on 120-degree tracks, so we’ll have to be ready to go.”

Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 2:45 and 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15.??

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call 855-RACE-TIK (722-3845). Tickets also are available online at www.gatewaymsp.com.  Kids 12 and under are free in general admission areas with a paid adult. For more information about the NHRA visit www.NHRA.com.??