"That's pretty amazing, isn't it," Wilkerson said.  "Two races ago we were hoping to somehow get by Johnny Gray and get a toe-hold on 10th place, but when that was over we still had such a tiny little lead you could sneeze hard and lose it. We go on to Sonoma and Seattle, and the whole world has changed. It's hard to believe. We can't let up now, though. We have to keep charging and keep going after every point out there, to clinch our spot and give ourselves the best possible chance in the playoffs."

Wilkerson's day began with a nerve-wracking race against Thiel, who qualified 16th but has been turning heads as a newcomer to the tour. Knowing there are no walk-overs in the Funny Car class, Wilk tried to coax a solid but unspectacular tune-up out of his LRS Ford, figuring Thiel was sure to go A-to-B and likely to run a mid 4.20. Thiel did just that, running a solid 4.25, and Wilk edged him out by running a 4.213.  It was the last truly close race of the day for the popular driver from Illinois.

In round two, without lane choice, Wilk lagged a bit behind Tony Pedregon at the hit, but made it up almost immediately before tearing away to a big 4.166, which tied Matt Hagan for low of the round.

In the semifinal, Wilk and Hight were neck and neck off the line, but Wilk powered to a stunning 4.145 in the heat of the afternoon, powering away to take the win with air to spare and again posting low e.t. for the round.

In the final, the LRS Ford stunned them again, putting a flawless 4.146 on the board as Beckman smoked the tires. From the No. 1 position, Wilkerson had simply dispatched some of the best Funny Cars in the world by making flawless runs in very tough conditions, and for the third consecutive year he made his way to the Winner's Circle in Seattle.

"Three years in a row here just tells you we have a pretty good idea how to run on this track, and in this air," Wilkerson said. "We got on a little bit of a roll, and it just seemed to come to us, really. I just got to the point where I felt we could keep putting that sort of tune-up in it, and it would make it, even on a track that was giving a lot of people fits. If they could outrun us, they could have it, but we kept outrunning them instead."