Doug Wilson is flying under the radar heading into the 360 Nationals, through no fault of his own. A year ago, he was a local everyone was looking towards as the Nationals approached. If anyone has the shadow of bad luck this season, it’s Wilson. After a strong fifth place run in the 360 points standings a year ago, he came into the season with high hopes and a fresh power plant. The gremlins hit opening night as he had nowhere to go in a first lap melee in the feature. It resulted in a banged up frame and a pretty wild ride that ended his evening. Since then, problems on the #33w have ranged from the power steering line, to a spark plug, to the brakes, to bad draws, to a muffler falling off. “Hopefully, we’re about out of bad luck,” says the 26 year old. The results have mired him in 19th place in the standings. “We’d love to make the Tournament of Champions again, but we’re running out of time,” he adds. Doug has unfinished business in the ToC, as a strong run was thwarted by a driveshaft coming apart.
The opening night frame, an Eagle chassis, is back this weekend and Wilson likes his chances. “We’d like to make the A main again,” says Doug. The team did just that a season ago, when they finished a strong fifth on their qualifying night, and then ran 17th in the one lane, no passing finale on Saturday in a race with both 410 and 360 heavy hitters from across the country. “We had to try the top. We didn’t just want to follow everybody around the bottom,” he states. Following is not something this team is used to doing. Doug has been known to charge through the pack on several occasions, this year’s bad luck has been an exception to the norm.
The Blackwater, MO native and his family have been towing four hours one way to race at Knoxville every Saturday night for three years now. They aren’t flying out of the pits afterward either. They visit with fans and competitors before loading up and heading back home. Most would pack it up as quickly as possible to start the long drive, but the likeable Wilsons’ stick around. “Knoxville’s the best and that’s why we come up, the safety crew’s the best, the promoters don’t favor anyone, and they have a great awards banquet.” Doug made the same amount of money finishing fifth in the standings at Knoxville, as he would have made winning a local series championship back in Missouri.
The crew on the 33w consists solely of Doug’s dedicated parents, Betty and Richard, who make it all possible. He is also supported by his wife, Crystal, and their three month old son, Grant. Sponsors include McDonald’s of Richmond, Moore’s Auto Care of Pilot Grove, Maryann Schuster Insurance of Blackwater, and Cardinal Cleaning of Columbia. The family has been involved in their son’s racing career since he was driving go-karts at the age of nine. Wilson raced in the karts for twelve years, garnering a national championship along the way. Racing the sprints in 1998, Doug competed at Sedalia and made spot starts at Knoxville in both 1999 and 2000. In 2001, the family made a commitment to Knoxville and was rewarded with a 13th place finish in the standings and a Rookie of Year honor. He followed that up with his fifth place run last season. He has yet to taste victory. His closest call was a race he led until the finish line, where he was passed by last year’s champ, Brian Brown. The difference between first and second was a mere .024 of a second. “Everyone talks about how disappointing that was. It didn’t really affect me too much though. He beat me fair and square. He was running well,” says the modest Wilson.
Running a 410 is in Doug’s future. The only question is when. He ran well in last year’s Knoxville Nationals, utilizing a Jerry and Jeff Smith power plant. He also timed in the top ten with the 410s on a regular night, before bowing out to race his 360. “We (the family) can’t do it alone. I talked to one of the local owners recently, but it looks like they went a different direction,” he says. Wilson would be a wise and logical choice for a 410 owner, as he is clearly ready for the jump.
Wilson has definitely not given up on his season. He is in the same situation that one of his competitors was a year ago. “We’ve got quite a few races left. Josh Higday did it a year ago, and ended up winning the Tournament of Champions.” This kind of attitude is what gets it done in this sport. Look for Wilson to bounce back, starting this weekend.