"COMEBACK KID" WORSHAM EARNS SPOT IN SHOWDOWN
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/d_worsham.jpg" alt="d_worsham" align="left"borders="0"/>
As recently as one month ago, Del Worsham had no interest in even looking at the points list for the 2008 U.S. Smokeless Showdown. After all, he had been buried in the points all year, having opened the season with two DNQs and then adding two more in early June, and any hopes for a miracle comeback seemed, at the least, outrageous. But then, just when he needed to get on a roll, the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen driver began to hit his qualifying stride, and the Sunday ladder spots began to improve. With those better seedings came more and more Showdown points, and the gap began to close. The margin shrank slowly at first, with the 8th and final spot still far over the horizon as recently as mid-July, but eventually the numbers began to look manageable, and after qualifying 6th in Sonoma, Worsham was urged to take a peek at the Showdown points sheet. Basically, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"In Sonoma, when they brought the sheet up to the lounge in the transporter, with all the new numbers on it, I thought they were kidding me," Worsham said. "Seriously, up to that point I had not spent a second even thinking about it, and figured we were dead and gone on the Showdown scene no matter what. But there it was, and we were suddenly about 55 or so points out of the 8th spot. That kind of opened my eyes."
Worsham then moved on to Brainerd, where he qualified 4th, and he was again shocked to see the Showdown points tally.
"We thought we were chasing Jerry Toliver, who was in 8th going into Brainerd," Worsham said. "We hadn't even bothered to look to see who was ahead of him or by how much. Turns out, it was Gary Scelzi in front of Toliver, and only by five points. We picked up a boatload of points on him, and came out of Brainerd only five points out of the Showdown. I really can't believe we got that close, but we came here with a pretty simple assignment. We just needed out out-qualify a few guys and we would make it."
In simple terms, Worsham needed to out-qualify Jack Beckman and Scelzi, while he also had to hope that John Force would not out-qualify him by 35 Showdown points. There was a bonus issue involved, as well, and it surrounded the fact Toliver was not that far ahead. By the time the fourth session took place today, Toliver only had to qualify for the race field to hold onto his Showdown spot. If he failed to do so, however, another spot in the Showdown field would open up.
In the end, the dominoes fell in perfect order. Worsham out-qualified Beckman while Scelzi and Toliver both failed to make the race field here. As for Force, he outpaced Worsham, but not by enough to get around him. The final math equation resulted in Worsham not only making the Showdown, but doing so in the 7th spot, while Force completed his own unlikely comeback by moving into the 8th position. From out of nowhere, the CSK star finished a most improbable resurgence to earn a shot at the $100,000 winner's prize.
As for POWERade points and the Countdown, Worsham finished qualifying in the 9th spot here, and will once again face Bob Tasca in round one. Tasca currently sits in 11th position in the POWERade points standings, 19 points ahead of Worsham. Next on the list is Mike Neff, who holds the 10th and final spot for the Countdown, with a 97 point advantage over Worsham.
"Other than winning in Houston, we really haven't had any big exciting drama this year, so the whole Showdown thing was pretty cool, and the guys are excited about what they accomplished," Worsham said. "We're in it now, so all we're worried about is racing Bob Tasca tomorrow. We're in a huge hole on the POWERade side of things, but it all has to start with the first round, and if we can pick up a win there we can still make a move. That would be a double comeback story for the ages, and we're not only going to have to be pretty flawless ourselves, we're also going to need some help to stop the guys we're chasing, but it's still possible and we're focused on it."
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/d_worsham.jpg" alt="d_worsham" align="left"borders="0"/>
As recently as one month ago, Del Worsham had no interest in even looking at the points list for the 2008 U.S. Smokeless Showdown. After all, he had been buried in the points all year, having opened the season with two DNQs and then adding two more in early June, and any hopes for a miracle comeback seemed, at the least, outrageous. But then, just when he needed to get on a roll, the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen driver began to hit his qualifying stride, and the Sunday ladder spots began to improve. With those better seedings came more and more Showdown points, and the gap began to close. The margin shrank slowly at first, with the 8th and final spot still far over the horizon as recently as mid-July, but eventually the numbers began to look manageable, and after qualifying 6th in Sonoma, Worsham was urged to take a peek at the Showdown points sheet. Basically, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"In Sonoma, when they brought the sheet up to the lounge in the transporter, with all the new numbers on it, I thought they were kidding me," Worsham said. "Seriously, up to that point I had not spent a second even thinking about it, and figured we were dead and gone on the Showdown scene no matter what. But there it was, and we were suddenly about 55 or so points out of the 8th spot. That kind of opened my eyes."
Worsham then moved on to Brainerd, where he qualified 4th, and he was again shocked to see the Showdown points tally.
"We thought we were chasing Jerry Toliver, who was in 8th going into Brainerd," Worsham said. "We hadn't even bothered to look to see who was ahead of him or by how much. Turns out, it was Gary Scelzi in front of Toliver, and only by five points. We picked up a boatload of points on him, and came out of Brainerd only five points out of the Showdown. I really can't believe we got that close, but we came here with a pretty simple assignment. We just needed out out-qualify a few guys and we would make it."
In simple terms, Worsham needed to out-qualify Jack Beckman and Scelzi, while he also had to hope that John Force would not out-qualify him by 35 Showdown points. There was a bonus issue involved, as well, and it surrounded the fact Toliver was not that far ahead. By the time the fourth session took place today, Toliver only had to qualify for the race field to hold onto his Showdown spot. If he failed to do so, however, another spot in the Showdown field would open up.
In the end, the dominoes fell in perfect order. Worsham out-qualified Beckman while Scelzi and Toliver both failed to make the race field here. As for Force, he outpaced Worsham, but not by enough to get around him. The final math equation resulted in Worsham not only making the Showdown, but doing so in the 7th spot, while Force completed his own unlikely comeback by moving into the 8th position. From out of nowhere, the CSK star finished a most improbable resurgence to earn a shot at the $100,000 winner's prize.
As for POWERade points and the Countdown, Worsham finished qualifying in the 9th spot here, and will once again face Bob Tasca in round one. Tasca currently sits in 11th position in the POWERade points standings, 19 points ahead of Worsham. Next on the list is Mike Neff, who holds the 10th and final spot for the Countdown, with a 97 point advantage over Worsham.
"Other than winning in Houston, we really haven't had any big exciting drama this year, so the whole Showdown thing was pretty cool, and the guys are excited about what they accomplished," Worsham said. "We're in it now, so all we're worried about is racing Bob Tasca tomorrow. We're in a huge hole on the POWERade side of things, but it all has to start with the first round, and if we can pick up a win there we can still make a move. That would be a double comeback story for the ages, and we're not only going to have to be pretty flawless ourselves, we're also going to need some help to stop the guys we're chasing, but it's still possible and we're focused on it."
