Drag Illustrated Issue 129, January / February 2018 | Page 28

Dirt SANDY WILKINS Randy Weatherford, and I always liked the way the car looked,” recalls Sandy. At the end of that same season, the car was scheduled to come back to Bickel’s shop, where Wilkins struck a deal to pre-purchase the car. “I bought the car as an ‘extreme roller’, with no wiring or plumbing whatsoever. It was stripped down like something you’d find on the backroads of New Jersey,” laughs Wilkins. “It took me ap- proximately one year before we ever made a pass down the track with the car. It may look like we have an unlimited budget when we go racing, but I’m pinching every penny to be there! My dad steered me in the right direction financially, and always instilled in me the importance of be- ing frugal.” The Camaro is motivated by a 665 ci big block Chevy, which Wilkins constructed in his garage at home. Wilkins is employed by Roush Yates Engines in Mooresville, North Carolina. The fa- cility builds engines exclu- sively for Ford Performance, which is an arrangement that’s been in place since 2014. “The engine I built in my garage was a duplicate part-numbered engine that I used to build at Roush Yates when we were still build- ing engines for the public,” Wilkins explains. These days, a normal work day for Wilkins includes working on special projects like the Ken Block “Hoonicorn” Mus- tang, several Carroll Shelby builds, as well as the incredible Ford GT supercar. His daily grind is something of a dream job to go along with his dream season in Top Sportsman drag racing. For 2018, Wilkins is intent on refining the winning formula that has yielded so much suc- cess in recent years. His crew chief, Don Shuford, has been helping him for 11 years, and it’s an arrangement that Wilkins says only gets better. “It’s reached a point where I just don’t think I could go racing without him. He still puts up with me even in his old age and gray hair,” Wilkins laughs. The area that Wilkins insists needs the most improvement within his racing operation is squarely on his shoulders as he evaluates his own driving skills. “The car and engine program work so well, and any time we had an issue last season it was on me,” he confesses. At some point in the near future, Wilkins even plans to debut a dragster that he and his fiancée, Michelle Leo, will take turns driving. “The goal has always been to win the highest level of races each season, so we just want to continue improv- ing on that formula in 2018.” DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI 28 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Issue 129 NICK & CHRIS MONTANA