Dan Wilkerson has had 242 days to prepare for his next ride on the horse.

Wilkerson, the son of iconic Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson, will climb behind the wheel of a Funny Car for the first time since a devastating crash last fall in Memphis, Tenn., when the wheels came off of his car in a second round race against Ron Capps.

Thanks to major associate sponsorship from Dump-Lok, a dump truck safety brace device manufactured by Worksafe USA, based in Springfield, Ill., Wilkerson will get another shot at driving a Funny Car during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Levi, Ray and Shoup will provide major sponsorship as well.

Dan Wilkerson Returns To Nitro Racing at Route 66

Dan Wilkerson has had 242 days to prepare for his next ride on the horse.

Wilkerson, the son of iconic Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson, will climb behind the wheel of a Funny Car for the first time since a devastating crash last fall in Memphis, Tenn., when the wheels came off of his car in a second round race against Ron Capps.

Thanks to major associate sponsorship from Dump-Lok, a dump truck safety brace device manufactured by Worksafe USA, based in Springfield, Ill., Wilkerson will get another shot at driving a Funny Car during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. Levi, Ray and Shoup will provide major sponsorship as well.

The accident might have rattled the average rookie driver, but Wilkerson, he is not your average rookie driver. A year before the accident Wilkerson drove his way to a final round in an IHRA event.

“I was ready to race again before I came to a stop out there, I think,” Wilkerson said.  “I was absolutely ready to race within minutes, and it's been killing me to wait this long, but we couldn't force the issue.  We didn't want to come out here and do it on a complete shoestring, and we knew we needed to step up the whole program, so that's all taken some time.  Now we have a new full-size transporter and some help from Dump-Lok to get us on the track, and the goal is to not just to race, but win; if not the race, then at least some rounds.

“Last year, I was lucky enough to get to race at two events, and we out-qualified my dad (Tim Wilkerson) at both of them, so that was great.  In Memphis, we were on our way to beating Ron, I think, and that would've been another big step in the journey, but then the wreck happened and I didn't have a race car after that.  Now, we'll be pulling into the track in style, with this transporter we bought from Don Prudhomme, and we'll be focused on racing.  I can't wait.”
Wilkerson returns to a familiar facility in Route 66 Raceway. This drag strip, located on the outskirts of Chicago in Joliet, Ill., was where the second-generation driver earned his Funny Car license. He’ll be driving the same car his dad won two races with last year.

“We have a whole computer's worth of data on it, so we feel like we can hit the ground running,” Wilkerson said.  “As long as the wait has been since Memphis last year, it's also still pretty cool to come back out at Joliet.  We'll be in my home state, at a great facility, and now I can add to the memories a bit more.  I not only got my license here, I also did my first “Race Day” show on live TV, last year, so that was pretty memorable.  Now, the goal is to get qualified, maybe pick up some win lights, and not scratch Dad's other car.”