Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang Funny Car team enter this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway feeling comfortable with their upswing in performance through six of 20 events on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule.
Wilkerson jumped two spots in the points standings from eighth to sixth with his semifinal appearance at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago. Coming off a career best weekend at the Charlotte Four-Wide event where he had his best speed (333.16 mph) and elapsed time (3.885 seconds) and reached the final quad to ultimately earn his first career runner-up finish, Wilkerson qualified ninth in Chicago and had to get past veteran Cruz Pedregon and Funny Car newcomer Austin Prock before coming up short to legend John Force for his first semifinal finish of the season.
“We are rolling into Epping feeling very good about where we are at with our SCAG Power Equipment / Summit Racing Equipment Ford Mustang,” Wilkerson said. “We had a rough start to the year trying new things to be faster, after dragging out our tried-and-true combination we were stoked to pick up right where the team left off last year. I set a goal of a top 5 finish, so to be sixth a quarter of the way through the season shows me we are on track.”
In 2023 as crew chief for Chad Green, Wilkerson led Green to his first career No. 1 qualifying position at New England Dragway under tumultuous weather conditions that led to shortened qualifying and race day being postponed. Ultimately, Green finished the event with a semifinal appearance that jumped him from sixth to fourth in points. Wilkerson will be hoping for some of the same of that same forward progress and he and his crew chief, dad Tim, hunt for their first winner’s circle.
Coming off the semifinal performance in Chicago, Wilkerson will also be competing in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. During Saturday qualifying, Wilkerson will have a rematch against his semifinal appoint Force as they chase bonus championship points and a cash prize.
Competition at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway begins with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m. Eliminations are slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET and Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday with two shows at 1:00 and 7:00 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published on May 30, 2024. 
