When a Funny Car driver starts qualifying No. 1 on a regular basis and following that success with national event wins, things happen.

For Tim Wilkerson, he’s royalty in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.

Springfield, Ill. Mayor, Timothy J. Davlin proclaimed June 3, 2008 as Tim Wilkerson Day in the capital city.  In front of a packed house at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Davlin cited the owner, driver and tuner of the Levi, Ray & Shoup backed Chevrolet Impala SS Funny Car for bringing pride to the community.  Davlin went on to cite the milestones in Wilkerson’s drag racing career culminating in his current lead in the NHRA POWERade points standing.

“Tim Wilkerson has a long and distinguished racing career that has brought pride and excitement to our citizens and community, and I am honored to mark June 3rd as Tim Wilkerson Day in the City of Springfield, Ill.,” proclaimed Mayor Davlin.

When a Funny Car driver starts qualifying No. 1 on a regular basis and following that success with national event wins, things happen.

For Tim Wilkerson, he’s royalty in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.

Springfield, Ill. Mayor, Timothy J. Davlin proclaimed June 3, 2008 as Tim Wilkerson Day in the capital city.  In front of a packed house at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Davlin cited the owner, driver and tuner of the Levi, Ray & Shoup backed Chevrolet Impala SS Funny Car for bringing pride to the community.  Davlin went on to cite the milestones in Wilkerson’s drag racing career culminating in his current lead in the NHRA POWERade points standing.

“Tim Wilkerson has a long and distinguished racing career that has brought pride and excitement to our citizens and community, and I am honored to mark June 3rd as Tim Wilkerson Day in the City of Springfield, Ill.,” proclaimed Mayor Davlin.

The unpretentious Wilkerson accepted the proclamation with a smile and expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the honor.

“You don’t know how much this means to me,” said Wilkerson.  “To receive this recognition for just doing what I love is a special honor.  I want to thank the Mayor and the City Council and all my friends and supporters.  You make what I do even more fun and I can hear you cheering for me even when I’m thousands of miles away.”

Wilkerson, 47, was born and raised in Springfield, and is a leading resident and business owner.  He graduated from Southeast High School and Lincoln Land Community College and owns Wilkerson Service Center, one of the largest independently owned auto repair facilities in Springfield and Team Wilkerson is headquartered in the city.

Springfield, the capital city of the state of Illinois, with a population of 113,000 has been ranked in the top 20 of MSNBC's "100 Best Places to Raise a Family".  Davlin is serving his second term as mayor.  He is a Tim Wilkerson fan himself, attending the O’Reilly Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway as a guest of sponsor, Dick Levi.