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INDIANAPOLIS (August 28, 2006) - When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the words "Into each life, some rain must fall," he wasn't writing about widely scattered showers. As Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car driver Del Worsham knows all too well, those words refer to the difficulties and frustrations we all must face, and in 2006 Worsham has faced a monsoon of tribulations. Even so, the popular CSK driver knows his entire season can be turned around with anything close to a repeat of his magnificent 2005 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
One year ago, Worsham entered "The Big Go" hoping to shine a little light on his season. When he was done with his four-day Indy weekend, he had accomplished much more than that by forever etching the tag "Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Champion" onto his resume'. Along the way, he also picked up a cool $100,000 by winning the Skoal Showdown, as well as a $50,000 bonus check for winning both the Showdown and the race, making it one historic trip to the midwest for the Californian driver. The challenge of the Skoal event will be absent this time around (Worsham finished 9th in Skoal points this season, just missing the 8-car field,) but the daunting task of winning four rounds of competition at the world's most prestigious drag race will once again be in front of him.
"We battled hard to make it into the Skoal program again, but you have to be nearly perfect to make that small field and we weren't perfect," Worsham said. "It's too bad we don't have the chance to defend our title there, but it also allows us to point 100 percent of our attention at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The race in Indy is what truly matters, though the money was really nice.
"Last year, we weren't quite as frustrated coming in here as we are now, but the seasons have been pretty parallel. Before Indy last year, we tested well and felt pretty confident. This year, we not only tested well, we pushed the car in some new tuning directions and it gave us great feedback. Can we win Indy again? We won't have a clue until we get this CSK Monte Carlo in the show, and then all we can do is go after round one. You really have to take this event one step at a time, because it's a monster."
Worsham's 2006 has featured a nearly endless list of "photo finish" losses to the best in the sport; so many that he and his team made the decision to revamp their clutch, supercharger, and fuel systems in mid-season. As Worsham saw it, his car may have been consistent, but it was consistently a few inches short at the finish line. Making wholesale changes to your tune-up in mid-stream is difficult, and often causes you to take a step or two backward before allowing you to move in a positive direction, but nothing is as difficult as losing.
"I'm tired of it, I know the team is tired of it, and I'm sure our sponsors and fans are tired of it," Worsham said, referring to the series of razor-thin defeats he has suffered. "Making big changes to the way you run the car, right in the middle of the season, is one of the toughest assignments you can bite off, but I couldn't see much reason for sticking with what we had. Could we have gotten a bit of luck and won some of those laps? Absolutely. Were we right on the verge of dominating? Absolutely not. The goal is to get back to where we know we can win the race, on the day we pull into the track, and there's no place better than Indy to see what we have working here."
Nearly all of Worsham's memories of Indy in 2005 are sublimely wonderful, but underlying all of those recollections is one unforgettable, and awful, historic event. It was one year ago when Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc throughout New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, just as the U.S. Nationals were getting ready to kick off.
"I'll never forget that, and I hope no one ever does," Worsham said. "It was stunning, and shocking, and it almost seemed unreal. There were times I didn't feel like racing, and didn't think it seemed right that we were there. It was hard to focus on something as trivial as making a car go fast when people were dying, but the event went on and we had to do that.
"All of us in this sport know people who were directly effected. It's a year later, and all you have to do is talk to (Pro Stock driver and New Orleans native) Richie Stevens, or read his blog on NHRA.com, and you know things will never be the same for so many people down there. The fact it's the anniversary of Katrina now, and we're thinking about it again, probably tells you that we haven't thought about it enough for the last year."
As difficult as it was to compete while Katrina was devastating an entire region, Worsham and his group were able to do just that, winning the race in the process. The victory changed his season, and changed his life. Now, one year later, Worsham is faced with once again finding the way to gather his focus, outsmart his opponents, and get to that finish line first.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also wrote, "Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny." Del Worsham fully understands, and hopes his new destiny is the product of his current dedications and sacrifice.
DEFENDING CHAMP WORSHAM COULD USE ANOTHER INDY BOOST
INDIANAPOLIS (August 28, 2006) - When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the words "Into each life, some rain must fall," he wasn't writing about widely scattered showers. As Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car driver Del Worsham knows all too well, those words refer to the difficulties and frustrations we all must face, and in 2006 Worsham has faced a monsoon of tribulations. Even so, the popular CSK driver knows his entire season can be turned around with anything close to a repeat of his magnificent 2005 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
One year ago, Worsham entered "The Big Go" hoping to shine a little light on his season. When he was done with his four-day Indy weekend, he had accomplished much more than that by forever etching the tag "Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Champion" onto his resume'. Along the way, he also picked up a cool $100,000 by winning the Skoal Showdown, as well as a $50,000 bonus check for winning both the Showdown and the race, making it one historic trip to the midwest for the Californian driver. The challenge of the Skoal event will be absent this time around (Worsham finished 9th in Skoal points this season, just missing the 8-car field,) but the daunting task of winning four rounds of competition at the world's most prestigious drag race will once again be in front of him.
"We battled hard to make it into the Skoal program again, but you have to be nearly perfect to make that small field and we weren't perfect," Worsham said. "It's too bad we don't have the chance to defend our title there, but it also allows us to point 100 percent of our attention at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The race in Indy is what truly matters, though the money was really nice.
"Last year, we weren't quite as frustrated coming in here as we are now, but the seasons have been pretty parallel. Before Indy last year, we tested well and felt pretty confident. This year, we not only tested well, we pushed the car in some new tuning directions and it gave us great feedback. Can we win Indy again? We won't have a clue until we get this CSK Monte Carlo in the show, and then all we can do is go after round one. You really have to take this event one step at a time, because it's a monster."
Worsham's 2006 has featured a nearly endless list of "photo finish" losses to the best in the sport; so many that he and his team made the decision to revamp their clutch, supercharger, and fuel systems in mid-season. As Worsham saw it, his car may have been consistent, but it was consistently a few inches short at the finish line. Making wholesale changes to your tune-up in mid-stream is difficult, and often causes you to take a step or two backward before allowing you to move in a positive direction, but nothing is as difficult as losing.
"I'm tired of it, I know the team is tired of it, and I'm sure our sponsors and fans are tired of it," Worsham said, referring to the series of razor-thin defeats he has suffered. "Making big changes to the way you run the car, right in the middle of the season, is one of the toughest assignments you can bite off, but I couldn't see much reason for sticking with what we had. Could we have gotten a bit of luck and won some of those laps? Absolutely. Were we right on the verge of dominating? Absolutely not. The goal is to get back to where we know we can win the race, on the day we pull into the track, and there's no place better than Indy to see what we have working here."
Nearly all of Worsham's memories of Indy in 2005 are sublimely wonderful, but underlying all of those recollections is one unforgettable, and awful, historic event. It was one year ago when Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc throughout New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, just as the U.S. Nationals were getting ready to kick off.
"I'll never forget that, and I hope no one ever does," Worsham said. "It was stunning, and shocking, and it almost seemed unreal. There were times I didn't feel like racing, and didn't think it seemed right that we were there. It was hard to focus on something as trivial as making a car go fast when people were dying, but the event went on and we had to do that.
"All of us in this sport know people who were directly effected. It's a year later, and all you have to do is talk to (Pro Stock driver and New Orleans native) Richie Stevens, or read his blog on NHRA.com, and you know things will never be the same for so many people down there. The fact it's the anniversary of Katrina now, and we're thinking about it again, probably tells you that we haven't thought about it enough for the last year."
As difficult as it was to compete while Katrina was devastating an entire region, Worsham and his group were able to do just that, winning the race in the process. The victory changed his season, and changed his life. Now, one year later, Worsham is faced with once again finding the way to gather his focus, outsmart his opponents, and get to that finish line first.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also wrote, "Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny." Del Worsham fully understands, and hopes his new destiny is the product of his current dedications and sacrifice.
