Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang Funny Car team enter this weekend’s In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip sitting seventh in the points standings, just 90 out of the top five.
With points and a half up for grabs at the NHRA Finals, Wilkerson and the SCAG Mustang team have a top five points finish well within their grasp. In the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s playoffs, Wilkerson has worked his way up from the No. 10 spot after a first-round loss at the first of the six races in Reading, Pennsylvania. Wilkerson has since had three quarterfinal finishes and a semifinal appearance at the Texas NHRA FallNationals that included a career best elapsed time of 3.871-seconds.
“I can’t believe we are at the last race of the year, what a roller coaster it has been. We started off so strong lost our way in the middle a little and now we have a badass car again so I can’t wait for some dynamite conditions to see what we can do,” Wilkerson said. “I’ve said all year we had a car that could win three or more races and finish fifth. Well, we shot craps on that first one, but we are still in the fight for finishing No. 5. All we can do is win this race and see how we end up. Pomona always has its own vibe; everyone is excited to see how it finishes up and a lot of the team members are ready for some well-deserved family holiday time. I can’t wait for my family to experience it and the banquet for the first time as a driver with me.”
At the Winternationals also contested at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Wilkerson qualified eighth and earned three bonus qualifying points for being quickest of the Friday afternoon session but had a first-round loss to Jeff Diehl. Wilkerson will be looking to capitalize this weekend and become the first Wilkerson to pick up a win from behind the wheel at the facility. His father and crew chief, Tim, finished runner-up at the Finals in 2023. The race winner was Chad Green, his crew chief was Daniel.
The In-N-Out NHRA Finals will begin with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 2:00 and 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) on Sunday with a qualifying show at 10 a.m. ET and eliminations at 4:00 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published on November 15, 2024. 
