ST. LOUIS — Tim Wilkerson remains right in the thick of things in the Countdown to the Championship, already advancing to one final round in the NHRA Camping World Series’ six-race playoffs.
Now the veteran has a chance to put on a show at his home track in front of his family and friends at this weekend’s NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.
A proverbial thorn in the side of the bigger teams in the loaded Funny Car ranks, Wilkerson continues to perform at a high level in his 11,000-horsepower Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang. He’s currently eighth in points and is just 58 points out of fifth as he heads towards what will be a busy weekend for the fan-favorite driver.
The guest list among family, friends and sponsors is well past several hundred and is growing by the day, as Wilkerson will aim for a big weekend at the halfway point in the Countdown to the Championship.
“It’s always gratifying and makes you feel good that so many people want to come to watch you race,” said Wilkerson, who has 22 career victories. “I get to feel like John Force for one weekend. But I know we can run with these guys, and we’ll have our car ready for everyone. We’ve proven we can run with them, so we’re not worried about that. I’m still optimistic and we still have opportunities to move up. We feel good and we’ll have something for them this weekend.”
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) won last year’s race. It is the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship and Wilkerson has already turned in solid performances in the playoffs.
He suffered a first-round loss last weekend in Charlotte, but Wilkerson opened the postseason with a final round. His car caught fire in the semifinals, but he praised the work of his team to get the car ready for the finals. If it’s somehow possible, Wilkerson may also be even busier in St. Louis.
With Chad Green out with an injury, Wilkerson’s son, Daniel, who is also the crew chief on Green’s car, will step in to drive. It will make for a hectic weekend, but that’s nothing new for the longtime standout.
A frenetic schedule also seems to bring out the best in Wilkerson, who has lofty goals in store for the final four races of the year, even while competing against a loaded Funny Car field that includes points leader Robert Hight, John Force, Charlotte winner Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Alexis DeJoria, Bob Tasca III and J.R. Todd.
“Semifinals or better, that would be a good weekend for us from here on out,” Wilkerson said. “Reading was really good outside of the finals. Of course, you don’t like the carnage, but that’s part of it. It’s all good and truthfully, we have a really good car. It’s serious right now, so we’ll see what we can do.”
Top Fuel’s Doug Kalitta put together one of his best events of the season last weekend in Charlotte, advancing to the semifinals on the strength of several good runs. That gives the veteran a pair of semifinal appearances in the past three races, giving him confidence a milestone victory could come this weekend in St. Louis in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster.
Kalitta’s last Top Fuel victory came at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2020, while his next win would give him No. 50 in his impressive career. That would be a major milestone for Kalitta, but any victory in the Countdown to the Championship would be big. He’s currently sixth in points in the loaded class — and just 27 out of fifth.
With 20 entries slated to compete in St. Louis, a victory won’t come easy, especially going against the likes of points leader Justin Ashley, Charlotte winner Antron Brown, Brittany Force, Mike Salinas and four-time defending world champ Steve Torrence.
Kalitta, though, is eager for the weekend as his team gets closer and closer to a victory this season.
“I am ready to get to St. Louis for sure,” Kalitta said. “We had a solid race in Charlotte, and we made some big steps forward. We were provisional No. 1 qualifiers and raced to the semifinals. This is the time of year you need to start getting round wins and our Mac Tools team is starting to get that done. We have been running well in qualifying all season and that definitely gives the Mac Tools team a boost. Last weekend we made a lot of quick runs, and we will be looking to duplicate that this weekend in St. Louis.”
In Pro Stock, Enders picked up her fifth win in St. Louis last season, which ties her for the most in NHRA history. She’s after her fifth world championship and has seven wins this season, but teammate Aaron Stanfield closed in with a win in Charlotte. Others to watch include Greg Anderson, Dallas Glenn, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Kyle Koretsky.
After a year away, the standouts in Pro Stock Motorcycle return to St. Louis.
Defending world champ Matt Smith has won four times at the facility, but he’ll have to take out Joey Gladstone, who won in Reading, to get back in the points lead. Other top riders include Angelle Sampey, Angie Smith, Steve Johnson and Eddie Krawiec.