Las Vegas, pre-race: The 2004 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing season is winding down. With only two races remaining, Tim Wilkerson is keenly aware that the performance of his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Monte Carlo Funny Car is crucial to the outcome of this season's success. So, as he prepares for the upcoming 4th annual ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Wilkerson has his strategy in place.

"We're in test mode," said Wilkerson, "because we want to see what we need to do for next year. We have to figure out how to go faster and we do believe we can do it with the backset blower."

After Wilkerson put aside the backset supercharger after the Carquest Auto Parts Nationals in Chicago and went back to the conventional design, it appeared that he and his "Bessie" began communicating again. The car's performance at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Reading, PA. displayed their round winning style from early in the year. But Wilkerson believes that the new backset designed blower is wave of the future.

"The backset has caused us some frustration," explained Wilkerson," and we dumped it on the workbench after Chicago; but we feel that we really need to get a handle on it. It's heralded to be so almighty, so we decided we had better learn how to make work for us. We don't think that running on 85 percent nitro will give us enough power in Vegas. So it seems like a great place to try it again."

Wilkerson currently sits in the No. 7 position in the NHRA POWERade point's standings, with several drivers nipping at his heels. So while he is looking ahead to next year, he knows he must remain grounded in the present.

"We need to focus on Vegas," he said. "We have to learn to go faster with the backset blower and make laps down the race track. We just hope that it doesn't throw us off so much that we'll slip in points and land in tenth."

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