Tim Wilkerson raced to victory at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash., the sight of JCM Racing’s first win as an organization.

By clinching his second win of the season and 24th overall, Wilkerson successfully delivered the second Seattle trophy for the Maynard and Lehman families, who made their debut as NHRA team owners during the 2022 event. It was Wilkerson’s fourth Wally trophy from Pacific Raceways, a track where he scored the hardware for three consecutive seasons spanning from 2009 through 2011, before experiencing a 12-year Seattle dry spell.
 
Aboard the SCAG Power Equipment/Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang, Wilkerson found his way back to the Seattle winner’s circle by posting a 4.007 E.T. at 321.96 MPH to defeat J.R. Todd’s 4.014-second final round effort.
 
“What an exciting day,” said Wilkerson following the win. “When the track is 130 degrees, it is carte blanche what you are going to get. Pretty lucky when we were racing Matt (Hagan), they had some problems. (Ron) Capps too. Blake (Alexander) gave me a really great run and so did J.R. I had her tucked in there pretty damn deep in the finals. That was a dang good run in that right lane. Really excited about this for my guys and SCAG. They had all kinds of dealers and distributors here this weekend and they were standing there on the starting line in the final, so we’re glad we could put on a good show for them.”

Wilkerson’s drive to the winner’s circle began with a solid qualifying performance which saw his SCAG/LRS machine post the third-quickest runs during two of the three qualifying sessions. He started race day from the No. 6 seed and battled through a gauntlet of heavy-hitters to claim JCM Racing’s second Funny Car triumph, and first since the passing of Cathi Maynard last month.
 
To capture the win, Wilkerson first took down the Funny Car point leader and last week’s event champion, Matt Hagan. The driver/crew chief tuned his 11,000-horsepower SCAG machine to a stout 3.928 E.T. to outpace the three-time world champ’s tire-smoking attempt. In the quarterfinals, Wilkerson faced Ron Capps, another three-time series champion. Against Capps, ‘Wilk’ drove his machine straight down the groove and into the semifinals, securing a spot in next week’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. His 4.006-second pass gave him the advantage of lane choice over his semifinal opponent, Blake Alexander. Alexander snagged the early lead but Wilkerson held on to chase down his competitor, pulling into the lead as they approached the finish line beams. In the final round, Wilkerson ripped off a .050 reaction time and recorded a 4.007 but the Funny Car veteran was quick to point out that he had likely deep-staged and his E.T. was probably closer to a 3.95.
  
Over the course of the weekend, the Maynard Wilkerson Racing team scored 116 points overall. They entered the NHRA Northwest Nationals ranked eighth in the NHRA Camping World Series Funny Car standings, but with the win, the SCAG/LRS team advanced to sixth (tied) on the leaderboard. The team will attempt to secure back-to-back victories when the NHRA tour heads south to Sonoma Raceway for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 28 – 30.

Saturday’s event schedule at Seattle did include the latest edtion Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge bonus race and that four car shootout saw Ron Capps defeating J.R. Todd in the final round.

Capps went 3.951-seconds at 322.65 mph in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra to slip past Todd’s run of 3.967 at 323.81, giving the back-to-back world champ his third specialty event win in the past four races.

“This deal has really changed the way you wake up Saturday morning,” Capps said. “There’s a lot going on inside your head up there. You’re trying to win this and you’re still trying to improve your qualifying spot, too, but this deal is really cool.”

Funny Car legend John Force put on an impressive show to close out qualifying, jumping to the No. 1 spot for the first time this season with a run of 3.915 at 327.35 in his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS. It was also the 166th career No. 1 qualifier for the 16X NHRA world champ.

Funny Car Racing Event Summary – Flav-R-Pac Northwest Nationals

WIN: Tim Wilkerson – 4.007 secs 321.96 (Career win #24)
R/UP: JR Todd – 4.014 secs 323.27 mph
Top MPH: JR Todd – 329.34 mph
Bump: N/A
Entries – 13 cars

Posted with files by Allison McCormick – NHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler
All photos by Les Puchala