In that semi, the opponent was only one of the most dominating cars on tour, as Capps and his Napa team lined up to aim for yet another trip to the finals and possibly their sixth win of the year.  Wilkerson was simply looking for his first trip to the final round, and he needed that step before he could even think of grabbing his first win.  4.234 seconds later, Wilk's third consecutive win light was illuminated, and the final round beckoned, and again it was a side-by-side tussle that was settled by mere inches, as Capps posted a solid 4.291 in the other lane.  The close ones continued to fall Wilkerson's way, and the thoughts of a trip to the Winner's Circle were now clearly being pondered by the gang in the teal and "berry" shirts.

In that final, all Wilkerson had to contend with was Tony Pedregon, (left) who has two wins in the bank this year and is within shouting distance of the top spot on the points sheet.

"We took out three massive teams in a row, and it only got harder in the final," Wilkerson said.  "And, it was getting late in the day and the sun was becoming a problem.  I guess that would sound pretty dumb to anyone who lives in Seattle, that the sun would ever be a problem, but when you can barely see the tree and barely see the lane you're running in, it's a bit of a worry, let me tell you.

"I just pointed it straight and went on instinct, I guess, because I couldn't see much.  I also couldn't see him, so that was a good thing, and then we got the win and all the craziness in the world let loose.  Our guys have worked so hard, and they really deserved this.  We have a lot of guys from last year, and a new group of people with us as well, and I think this win makes us a whole team for sure now.  We were a team yesterday, but we're a tighter team, a family, now.  This was huge for us.”

PRO STOCK

In Pro Stock, Mike Edwards continued his best season ever in the A.R.T. Pontiac by defeating Jason Line, 6.583 at 211.03 to 6.601 at 210.50, to pull within 20 points of points-leader Jeg Coughlin. It was the third win this year for Edwards, who also set both ends of the Pacific Raceways track record with a 6.556-second pass at 210.67 mph in his first-round win over Ben Watson.

“The car is just a joy to drive, it just does everything right,” Edwards said.