JOLIET, Ill. (May 15, 2024) – Daniel Wilkerson and the SCAG Power Equipment Ford Mustang Funny Car team enter this weekend’s Gerber Glass & Collision Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway coming off a career best performance.
Wilkerson handled his SCAG Ford Funny Car to a career best speed and elapsed time while competing at the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway and ultimately finished runner-up for the first time in his career. Right off the trailer, in the first qualifying session, Wilkerson would go 333.16 mph for his career best speed. Wilkerson’s career best elapsed time would come in the first round of eliminations when he crossed the finish line in 3.885-seconds. With the overall performance of the weekend, Wilkerson jumped two spots in points.
Now sitting eighth in the Funny Car standings, Wilkerson is entering a hometown race for himself, a resident of Springfield, Illinois, and SCAG Racing, whose Metalcraft of Mayville parent company is headquartered just a few hours drive away in Mayville, Wisconsin.
“Chicago is like a hometown race. I love going to Route 66 Raceway because my whole family comes out, it’s great. There’s a lot of history at the facility so I’m excited to be driving there. I’m glad it came back on the NHRA schedule as year and I hope that it’s here to stay,” Wilkerson said. “This is a big race for SCAG, I think it’s as close as we get to the Metalcraft of Mayville facilities all year long, so over 700 of my favorite employees and their families will be coming out on top of the dealers and distributors that we love hanging out with every weekend.”
With the proximity to their headquarters, Saturday will be special Metalcraft of Mayville / SCAG Employee Appreciation Day with over 700 employees and their families in addition to over 100 dealers and their guests. In addition to the day of appreciation and racing for his first national event win, Wilkerson will also compete in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge during qualifying on Saturday. It is only the second time Wilkerson has earned a spot in the event.
“We have a chance to double up this weekend, we’re in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday. That’s going to be fun. A chance to earn some important championship points and a little extra cash,” Wilkerson said. “Hopefully it helps set us up for Sunday race day, too. It’s going to be a busy weekend but I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for the fans and all the SCAG dealer and employees.
Competition at the Gerber Glass & Collision Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway begins with qualifying Friday at 3:30 and 6 p.m. and Saturday, at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. which will also serve as the first round and finals of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Eliminations for the event are slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET on Sunday.
