Tim Wilkerson	Robert Hight
Eddie Krawiec	Chris Rivas

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series championship contenders Tim Wilkerson and Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Eddie Krawiec and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle) took part in a national NHRA teleconference Nov. 11 to discuss the upcoming season finale, the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, and their chances of winning the title as well as their observations about racing and goals for next season.

Wilkerson is in second place in the Funny Car battle, 12 points behind Cruz Pedregon, and Hight is in third place, 27 points behind Wilkerson and 39 behind Pedregon. Krawiec, rider of the Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley‑Davidson, is just 19 points behind Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Matt Smith, and Rivas is in third place, 39 points behind Smith.

Q: Chris, a point or two in qualifying could mean the difference in needing to go one more or one less round than the riders ahead of you when we get to Sunday’s race. How much are you focused on qualifying going into this weekend?
Rivas: We always try to qualify the best that we can, always putting our first good step forward. You know, the G Squared Drag Specialties team is doing everything that they can to go ahead and qualify well right off the trailer.

The guys back at the shop in Americus, Ga., and G2 Motorsports are there working on a new engine for us, something that they’ve been working on for a while. They’re trying to get it; it should be actually probably already in the air on the way to Pomona. If not, it will be there soon.

So we’re doing everything that we can possibly do to get our first qualifying sessions as good as they can possibly be. Obviously, we want to achieve the pole position, and that will kind of hopefully lighten the load as to what we need to do and the rest of eliminations on Sunday.

Q: Tim, it’s been an amazing season with six wins and 16 weeks in first place. What are your thoughts heading into this week’s finale having to make up that deficit behind Cruz and keeping the guys behind you at bay like Robert, Tony Pedregon, and Jack Beckman?
Wilkerson: I think our thoughts are just to go down the racetrack and not make a mistake like we did in Las Vegas. Had a good car in Las Vegas and just smoked the tires first round out there about 150 feet out. Then the worst-case scenario that happened to us did, and that is Cruz going to the final and winning the race.

Really, after he got to the final, it was irrelevant whether he won the race or not because in order for me to beat him, I would have to beat him in any round at Pomona anyway. So I was rooting for Robert the whole time, to tell you the truth, because I would much rather fight it out with Robert.

So hopefully we can go to Pomona and things will be good for us there.

Q: Robert, you’ve won three straight races and four of five at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, where we’ll be racing this weekend. If you extend that streak, you could well be hoisting a lot more than simply a Wally Sunday night. Have you let that thought creep into your head at all?
Hight: Yeah, I have. We love racing out here at Pomona. It’s our home track. But this Funny Car class, it is so tough just to get qualified, you know. We can’t go out there and be shooting for the moon and trying to get the No. 1 spot and stay ahead of all these guys. It’s tough enough just to qualify at any field in the Funny Car class.

So we can’t control what the other guys do. All we can do is what my Auto Club Ford and Jimmy Prock know how to do. And it’s not always that easy.

I think we qualified in the bottom half at the (season-opening) Winternationals (in February), ended up winning. But every point is going to count, you know. That 39 points that I’m behind Cruz, that could easily right now, you know, that’s just two rounds. But that could easily, if it was 41 points, it could be three rounds.

So every point is critical, but we can’t let that consume us. We’ve just got to go out there and do what we know how to do.

Q: Eddie, you have had an amazing season. A couple of times this year, in Memphis and most recently in Vegas, you wanted your shot at Matt Smith, and you got it. I’m guessing you’d like nothing more than to hold your destiny again this weekend and have another shot at Matt Smith?
Krawiec: The field in Pro Stock Motorcycle is actually pretty tough. You know, it’s grown leaps and bounds in the past two or three years. Now just to be able to qualify for the class is a big deal. Not, you know, not just to say, basically, what it comes down to is qualifying, which it’s not going to.

But it’s tough to just get in there. And that is where the weekend starts. Hopefully we can put our Screamin-Eagle Vance & Hines Harley up on the pole there and get another No. 1 spot. That will definitely help out.

But to race against the guys out there, Chris and Matt and everybody else, you can’t count any rounds as a gimme. So our main goal is to just go out there, focus, be consistent, go rounds.

Bottom line is I’m going there to win the race. If I can win the race, I’ll walk away with the championship. So that’s my plan, and I’m not going to change it.

Q: Well, to do that, you’d obviously have to stay within the one round to hold your own destiny. You’re 19 points back. We talked to Robert and Chris, who are 39 points back. How important is qualifying to make sure you stay under that 20-point threshold?
Krawiec: It obviously is. That is the main thing, to go out there and qualify well. You know, Matt is right on the top of the board there, so you’ve got to outqualify him.

Thank God, you know, I have enough points that it sort of covers the qualifying against Chris, but anything can happen in that situation. So qualifying is the main goal. I know Chris just said he has a new motor and everything. And trust me Vance & Hines certainly isn’t sleeping on the week and a half off. So we’re going there looking for the No. 1 spot as are Chris and Matt.

Q: Robert, you’ve been in the battle two years in a row now, 2005 battle for rookie of the year, in second place in 2006 and 2007. How do you tap into that experience? You’ve been in these battles two years in a row, and here you are again.
Hight: Well, if you look at the three of us, actually, we can’t forget about Tony and Beckman either, they’re right behind us. But I’m probably the rookie of the bunch. Even though I finished second the last two years, I don’t know that that gives me any kind of edge or anything. It’s just tough.

I do have John Force behind me. He’s won 14 championships, and I have three other Ford Mustangs that are going to be out there trying to help me and knock off some of these guys.

But I don’t think there is any edge as far as the last two years go. You start the season out, and you think, "Well, man, I want to get to number 1 this year. I’m tired of finishing second." But second isn’t always that bad either. If you look at it, I could be fifth or sixth if this doesn’t go the way we planned. So second would be good, but we really are shooting for that title.

Q: Tim, they mentioned the amount of weeks that you had held the lead, barring that you’re trailing now albeit such a minor amount of points. Will you approach Pomona differently now that you are the chaser rather than the chasee?
Wilkerson: Well, I probably would say that we have to be a little more aggressive than we normally would because we have no ‑‑ there is no room left to make up, right. So in order for us to come away with the trophy, we need to make sure that we go as many rounds as anybody and one more round than our friend Cruz, so there we have it.

I think you did hit the nail on the head, though. It’s not going to be an easy transition going there thinking that now we have to win every round. Robert reiterated that we all have the same goal. And whoever gets to the final is going to be the champion it looks like to me.

So with any luck, it can be the Levi, Ray & Shoup car. But like Robert said, you can’t forget about Tony and Beckman and his other Mustangs. They’re going to be out there trying to knock the rest of us off, too.

Quite frankly, Ashley [Force]’s had probably the best car in the class the last half a dozen races, so she’s not going to be taken lightly either. It’s going to be an interesting weekend. I hope all of you understand how really cool this is coming down to the last race.

Q: Eddie, you have not been in the winner’s circle this season. You talked about this weekend if you were able to get in the winner's circle, it would be quite a way to celebrate your first victory, would it not?
Krawiec: Yeah, it’s sort of a little bit of an understatement. I sort of have mixed emotions on it. I really want to win this championship, and I really want to win a race. But it sounds kind of weird, but I would be happy to hold off until next year if I could win the championship.

Bottom line is that that big POWERade trophy would be a pretty exciting thing to have. And to have that before winning the race would, I think, etch my name in the books there. I believe there is only one other racer to do that. I think it was in Top Fuel in the late ‘70s, I believe I heard. But I think that would be a pretty cool task.

Yeah, I definitely want to get a Wally. I want to put it on top of my desk. I walk around the shop here and walk into Matt Hines’ area, and he’s got POWERade trophies and Wallys, and so does Andrew. I would love to have one for myself. So sort of leaves me a little left out.

But I would be willing to wait if I could put that POWERade trophy in its place for this season.

Q: I know you guys try to focus on what you’re doing trying to get your car down the track, but I imagine the run order Sunday will be an important thing to keep an eye on, where the guys in the top five in the standings are racing in that first round Sunday morning. Robert, you want to take that first?
Hight: Yeah, you know, there are lots of scenarios and things to look at. You know, I talked to Tim last Monday after Vegas, and he likes to run first, you know. I kind of agree with him. Because you end up changing your car or changing the way you’re thinking or you’re, you know, just the whole outlook on racing if you’re looking at other racers. It’s easier if you can just go up there and be the first pair and do what you do. Get the win and just let each pair come and each round come as they come. Sometimes that’s harder to do.

And I know Tim had it hard last week. He had to be No. 8. He was eighth pair. So he had a lot of time to think about what everybody else was doing and what he was doing with his car. Honestly, on Sunday, if I have first pick, I want to be first pair.

Q: How about you, Tim? Talk about last weekend in Las Vegas and how that might affect your decision where you prefer to run in the order?
Wilkerson: Yeah, Robert and I did discuss that. That’s exactly what happened. The reason we got into this discussion was I was yelling at him because he runs so well first round that I figured I could do that, too, and I went out there and smoked the tires. I told him, "Way to go. I had my car set up so I would have won the round, and there you go and screw me up."

But it is a scenario that happens to us a lot, especially when I’m trying to tune and drive at the same time. I pay attention to a few select cars. And (Auto Club Ford Mustang crew chief) Jimmy Prock is one of them because they have such good cars. If they can go a certain e.t., I always feel like I can at least run close to that. So I felt pretty confident in the call I was making there, and it just ended up not working out.

But like you say, the first-round draws are very exciting. I tried to lock Cruz in the Porta-John there on Sunday in Vegas, and it didn’t work out. But if Beckman doesn’t do a better job for us next week, then we’re going to lock him in the Porta-John; that’s what’s going to happen.

Q: Tim, you’re having one of the best seasons of your career; you can’t walk away a loser, really, can you at this point? It’s been such a good season for you.
Wilkerson: No, I think you’re right. We’ve won more rounds than I think anybody possibly can at this point. I had a fan tell me the other day I’ve won more rounds than anybody possibly can. So already it’s a championship in our own minds.

Unfortunately, the points system, the last six races really makes it more important than we’ve been able to accomplish, unfortunately for us. But it’s been a really good year. And you’re absolutely right, there is no way we’re going to leave this year with our head held down.

We’ve proven that we can run with the best of them. And with the best of them, I mean Robert and Cruz and Tony and the Schumacher group. When you can run with those guys, you’re really just doing a terrific job.

So for my guys, I’m very proud of them. I mean, the financial end of it would really make our year to win the championship, no doubt about that. Robert and I have talked about that, too, how any of us could end up third, fourth or fifth, and the payroll goes down substantially from first to fourth or fifth. So I’d about give Robert the trophy if he would trade me the check, I can tell you that right now.

Q: Robert, how important is this off-season going to be? We’ve seen rules changes, the tragic death of Scott Kalitta, and now we see the economy really struggling, and there’s a lot of concern about sponsorship, not only in NHRA but all forms of motorsports. Can talk about some of the things to watch in the months to come before you guys open the season in February; how important is this going to be for you guys?
Hight: Well, the off-season gives you a chance to kind of recharge your batteries. I’m very fortunate being here with the Auto Club of Southern California; we have a long-term sponsorship with them. But the economy is definitely felt all throughout motorsports.

That is one thing we need to work on this winter is trying to refine things and maybe try to do things to save a little money for the months coming ahead because it’s not going to get any easier.

When you’re at the races, it doesn’t look like NHRA has been hit that hard. Looks like they’re doing a great job of getting the fans in the stands. You know, it’s a good time for all of us to just recharge our batteries and try to get ready for next year.

I think this off-season is going to be a little better than last because we had to completely redesign cars and build new things to get out there this year after the accidents that we had last year with John [Force] and Eric [Medlen].

So this is going to be a better winter for us. You know, I’m excited about it. I just hope that we can do a little more testing and we don’t lose a lot of cars. There are 20 good Funny Cars at every race, and I want to see that continue next year because it just makes the challenge that much greater. And when you can win, it makes it that much sweeter.

Q: Good point; you watch it on TV and see packed grandstands. Is that just a great testament to how loyal the fans are? In tough times, they still manage to find that income to come out and support the guys.
Hight: That’s for sure. And it shows that NHRA is doing their job at advertising and promoting, and it just shows what a great product we have to offer to the fans. You know, I hope the sponsors see that as well so they’ll continue (indiscernible: investing in NHRA) so that all these teams can continue to do what we love.

Q: You’ve been so close the last few years in the points and everything, and you’ve had the low-qualifying spots as of late. Do you feel you’re doing all you can do? Or do you feel you’re scratching your head wondering what it is that you’re missing?
Hight: No, I think we’ve done a great job with my team. You know, it just proves how tough it is. There are 20 good cars at every race that can qualify. That means there are four good ones that are on the outside.

You know, that’s definitely what we don’t need to have happen this weekend. You know, that could happen if you go out there and try to shoot for No. 1. Because if you’re No. 1, that means that we’re going to be within two rounds of the lead, which is better than three, you know, with four to go.

But you can also step on your foot a little bit, and you’ve just got to get qualified. But there are so many good cars. Anybody can win at any race.

You know, Tim Wilkerson, I think he’s won double the races that he’s won in his whole career just this year. So that just shows how tough it is and how many good cars there are and how anybody can win.

So I think my team’s done a great job. And finishing second is nothing to hold your head about. After you’ve done it, you want to be number 1. And it’s just not that easy, you know.

Cruz Pedregon, he came from nowhere. They haven’t won races in a lot of years. He’s been competitive, but now he’s leading the points, and he’s got a great team he’s put together. He’s a great driver. And, you know, the budgetary issues, Tony Pedregon beat us last year. The teams with the biggest money aren’t always going to win.

I’m just excited to be going to Pomona with a shot. We actually have a better shot this year going to Pomona than we did last year. We would have needed a national record, and this year we’re two rounds back, so I’m looking forward to it.

Q: Tim, you wear two hats as a driver and a tuner. Which is more stressful going into the final race? I know you felt you were too aggressive at Vegas with your setup.
Wilkerson: I don’t know. I think it’s much more stressful being the tuner. Believe it or not, when the car starts, I’m happy (laughing). So I’m usually in pretty good shape when the car starts. A couple of people have told me I don’t know how you can drive and tune both.

But tuning just seems much more stressful. I enjoy driving, and I’m not the greatest leaver out there or the greatest driver, but I find myself in the middle with anybody that’s out there, and hopefully when it comes down to crunch time, I’m not doing the wrong thing. I just try to be a little machine up there, be consistent and hit the gas and do the best I can.

The tuning part of it, I can tell you, Robert and I did talk about that on Monday at Vegas. When you’re the last pair, you’re walking around there on pins and needles. You know all you need to do is beat the guy beside you, which doesn’t sound like much, until you think about the quality of the teams that you’re racing against and the quality of the cars.

You look at our qualifying times, sometimes, and from top to bottom, we’re not that far apart. So usually you’re racing a guy that’s only .02- or .03-hundredths slower than you. And I’ve won two or three races this year from the bottom half of the field, so anybody knows that can be done.

But it’s really exciting. And I think that everybody’s going to have a good time at Pomona. I know we’re all looking forward to it, that’s for sure.

Q: Next year are you going to have a tuner?
Wilkerson: No, I’m still going to be the tuner. Nothing has changed except we’ll be running the Ford Mustang, and Bob [Tasca III] and I will be exchanging some ideas. And Chris Cunningham and I and Marc Denner will do a lot of talking about how to make their car better and hopefully make our car better.

Q: Tim or Robert, talking about the safety deal. Going into next year, has NHRA given you a decision whether they’re going to go back to quarter-mile or stay at 1,000 feet or given a preference to stay at 1,000?
Wilkerson: I really don’t have the preference. I like the 1,000 foot because of the safety of some of the racetracks that are a little short that we run at. Pomona is really one of them that’s a little rough. It’s a little short.

We’ve never had any bad incidences there, but after Kalitta’s problem, we decided as a group that 1,000 foot would be a good deal. NHRA implemented that themselves. I don’t know that there’s a decision to go back to quarter mile because of the heritage and all.

But Robert may know more about that than I do because I’m not really in the political loop. But the 1,000-foot deal is fine with me. I don’t think it’s hurt racing, and I think the fans are getting accustomed to it. It’s almost like the 90 to 85 percent [nitromethane mixture]; the cars were a little slower at first, then everybody boo-hooed it. Then it got better and better.

And I think the 1,000-foot racing that’s made them closer based on our qualifying times. What do you think about that, Robert?

Hight: Yeah, I agree 100 percent. Just lucky to be driving, no matter what the distance is.