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BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- If there are traits Del Worsham has exhibited throughout the 2006 NHRA campaign, relentless determination and a never-say-die attitude would rank near the top of the list. If, on the other hand, there is one thing that has been missing from the Worsham camp since the opening week in Pomona, it's been a little bit of luck. A season full of mind-numbingly close losses might have left lesser men ready to quit, but Worsham has maintained his belief that things were going to turn around for his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen program. Perhaps, in a few ways, the tide did shift a bit here in Brainerd.
When Worsham's weekend ended in Central Minnesota, it was not early in the day like it has been too many times this year. It didn't end with a loss so close that the hair on one's head was in grave danger of being plucked out, en masse, due to sheer frustration. It actually ended in the semi-final, late on a cloudy Sunday in Brainerd.
To get to Sunday, Worsham and his team had to exhibit much more of that grit and perseverance they are known for. Entering this race with some major changes in the clutch bellhousing, Team CSK had to learn on the fly, right out in public, and Friday's efforts were clearly effected by this new direction. This new tuning approach seemed to bless them with newly found "oomph" and both CSK cars smoked the tires during each Friday session, simply overpowering the track.
Taking that information and mentally processing it, Worsham did his homework on Friday night and came back with confidence on Saturday.
"We were both outside of the field after Friday night, which is a little embarrassing and probably pretty stressful for a lot of the people who support us, but I knew better," Worsham said. "I knew what we were doing, and I really felt pretty good that the plan would come together. You never know, and weird gremlins can stop you from qualifying any day of the year, but I felt like we'd make some good laps on Saturday, and we did just that."
Worsham guided his red CSK Monte Carlo to a fine 4.897 during Saturday's first session, then came back in the afternoon sunshine to position himself as the only driver in the top 16 to improve on his final run. The 4.835 jumped him up to the 9th spot, just a hair out of the top half but far sight better than the 18th position he held coming into Saturday.
"We made two very good laps there, and the results went right with what we were expecting," Worsham said. "The late run was the better one, because everyone who started that session in the field slowed down. The only other car to improve its position there was Cruz Pedregon's, going from outside the field into the 11th spot. I felt pretty good going to bed on Saturday night."
The forecast for Sunday had repeated mentions of "rain" in it, and the day did dawn with low-hanging clouds and drizzly precipitation. Never a real rain shower, the messy stuff was just wet enough to hold up the start of the race for about two hours. When the call came to head to the staging lanes, Worsham was hurried but ready.
"When it's raining all morning, you kind of turn your brain off and zone out, because you can't stay amped up and tense," he said. "My wife, Connie, and I were just relaxing in the motorhome when we heard some cars warming up. I got going and pretty soon we were buttoning the car up and pushing back. You go from being a couch potato to ratcheting up the emotions in a split second."
Facing former teammate Mike Ashley in round one, Worsham was primed for a big-time tussle. In the end, it was Ashley who cemented this critical round win for Worsham, as his foul start created the win for Team CSK before Worsham ever stepped on the throttle. A little good fortune goes a long way.
"We haven't had much luck, to say the least," Worsham said. "We've made a bunch of far better laps than that one this season, and had to pack up and leave after them. It wasn't a win in the traditional sense, but a 'W' is a 'W' and it felt good to get back to the pit area and get back to work. I was about over the whole deal where you slink back to your pit and start packing up."
For his trouble, Worsham drew John Force in round two. Force had just barely edged Worsham's teammate, Phil Burkart in round one, by overcoming a massive starting line disadvantage before he just inched ahead at the finish line. Payback was, however, not on the agenda for Worsham.
"You can't think that way, because it doesn't matter," Worsham said. "We were in round two, we had John Force to contend with, and all we could do was get ready to go. Our goal was to keep building on everything we're learning here, and to make him beat us."
To do that, Worsham had to not only outrun Force, but he had to do so with an amazingly incomplete engine. On the burnout, prior to his round two race, Worsham's red CSK machine apparently broke a piston. As he launched to run the lap, what was left of that piston began to disintegrate. By half-track, it was fairly vaporized. For at least half of his lap against Force, Worsham was running on seven pistons.
"Can you believe that?," Worsham asked. "It sounded funny, but you have to go. I was ready, and it was still running, so let's get it on. We got out there, and I knew it was hurt, but it was still running. I just kept my foot down and when we crossed the finish line I saw the light on the retaining wall blinking. I was like 'Wow, we won. I wonder what's wrong with the car?' and by that time it was popping and banging pretty badly. What's stunning to me, is that we ran 4.89 like that. We ran 4.89 on seven pistons. Not seven cylinders, like when you drop one, but with basically nothing in one of the holes."
When another rain shower halted the proceedings after Worsham's big win over Force, Team CSK figured they had plenty of time to put a new motor in the car and get ready. Instead, with threatening weather all around, the "powers that be" began to push the clock, wanting to get this race completed on the correct day.
"We're cleaning everything, and swapping motors, and all of a sudden they're over here telling us we have to be in the lanes," Worsham said. "We hadn't even warmed the car up yet, and they're yelling at us to get going. We had quite a thrash to get it all back together and get up there."
Once they got up there, Worsham had to face Tommy Johnson, who had just posted a huge 4.76 in round two. Racing the weather, as well as Johnson, Worsham and his team put the best tune-up they could contemplate in the CSK Monte Carlo, and took their chances.
"We're still learning with this new approach, which is really all of three days old right now," Worsham said. "It gets better every time we run the car, but we're learning where the danger spots are and where we can be aggressive. On Friday, we blew the tires off right about half-track twice. You can't just type 4.77 into the dashboard and make the car run that."
In the semi, Worsham and Johnson left the line hard, but the red Chevy spun the hoops just short of the 660 mark once again, while Johnson's Monte Carlo screamed to another huge lap. Worsham's day was over, but two new round wins were in the books.
"I'm glad to see that all the guys remembered how to do that, thrashing between rounds," he said. "We haven't had much practice lately, but it's like riding a bike. We got right back into the swing of it, and we worked hard today. We also had some good fortune, which is not a bad thing. We know what it's like to work our tails off and still come up an inch or two short, so I'm not at all opposed to winning a few rounds in strange ways. Hey, we beat John Force again today, and anytime you do that you've had a good day."
A good day indeed, rain or no rain.
Del Worsham Defeated Mike Ashley in Round One
Hard Work, Good Fortune, Push Worsham to Semi-Final
BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- If there are traits Del Worsham has exhibited throughout the 2006 NHRA campaign, relentless determination and a never-say-die attitude would rank near the top of the list. If, on the other hand, there is one thing that has been missing from the Worsham camp since the opening week in Pomona, it's been a little bit of luck. A season full of mind-numbingly close losses might have left lesser men ready to quit, but Worsham has maintained his belief that things were going to turn around for his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen program. Perhaps, in a few ways, the tide did shift a bit here in Brainerd.
When Worsham's weekend ended in Central Minnesota, it was not early in the day like it has been too many times this year. It didn't end with a loss so close that the hair on one's head was in grave danger of being plucked out, en masse, due to sheer frustration. It actually ended in the semi-final, late on a cloudy Sunday in Brainerd.
To get to Sunday, Worsham and his team had to exhibit much more of that grit and perseverance they are known for. Entering this race with some major changes in the clutch bellhousing, Team CSK had to learn on the fly, right out in public, and Friday's efforts were clearly effected by this new direction. This new tuning approach seemed to bless them with newly found "oomph" and both CSK cars smoked the tires during each Friday session, simply overpowering the track.
Taking that information and mentally processing it, Worsham did his homework on Friday night and came back with confidence on Saturday.
"We were both outside of the field after Friday night, which is a little embarrassing and probably pretty stressful for a lot of the people who support us, but I knew better," Worsham said. "I knew what we were doing, and I really felt pretty good that the plan would come together. You never know, and weird gremlins can stop you from qualifying any day of the year, but I felt like we'd make some good laps on Saturday, and we did just that."
Worsham guided his red CSK Monte Carlo to a fine 4.897 during Saturday's first session, then came back in the afternoon sunshine to position himself as the only driver in the top 16 to improve on his final run. The 4.835 jumped him up to the 9th spot, just a hair out of the top half but far sight better than the 18th position he held coming into Saturday.
"We made two very good laps there, and the results went right with what we were expecting," Worsham said. "The late run was the better one, because everyone who started that session in the field slowed down. The only other car to improve its position there was Cruz Pedregon's, going from outside the field into the 11th spot. I felt pretty good going to bed on Saturday night."
The forecast for Sunday had repeated mentions of "rain" in it, and the day did dawn with low-hanging clouds and drizzly precipitation. Never a real rain shower, the messy stuff was just wet enough to hold up the start of the race for about two hours. When the call came to head to the staging lanes, Worsham was hurried but ready.
"When it's raining all morning, you kind of turn your brain off and zone out, because you can't stay amped up and tense," he said. "My wife, Connie, and I were just relaxing in the motorhome when we heard some cars warming up. I got going and pretty soon we were buttoning the car up and pushing back. You go from being a couch potato to ratcheting up the emotions in a split second."
Facing former teammate Mike Ashley in round one, Worsham was primed for a big-time tussle. In the end, it was Ashley who cemented this critical round win for Worsham, as his foul start created the win for Team CSK before Worsham ever stepped on the throttle. A little good fortune goes a long way.
"We haven't had much luck, to say the least," Worsham said. "We've made a bunch of far better laps than that one this season, and had to pack up and leave after them. It wasn't a win in the traditional sense, but a 'W' is a 'W' and it felt good to get back to the pit area and get back to work. I was about over the whole deal where you slink back to your pit and start packing up."
For his trouble, Worsham drew John Force in round two. Force had just barely edged Worsham's teammate, Phil Burkart in round one, by overcoming a massive starting line disadvantage before he just inched ahead at the finish line. Payback was, however, not on the agenda for Worsham.
"You can't think that way, because it doesn't matter," Worsham said. "We were in round two, we had John Force to contend with, and all we could do was get ready to go. Our goal was to keep building on everything we're learning here, and to make him beat us."
To do that, Worsham had to not only outrun Force, but he had to do so with an amazingly incomplete engine. On the burnout, prior to his round two race, Worsham's red CSK machine apparently broke a piston. As he launched to run the lap, what was left of that piston began to disintegrate. By half-track, it was fairly vaporized. For at least half of his lap against Force, Worsham was running on seven pistons.
"Can you believe that?," Worsham asked. "It sounded funny, but you have to go. I was ready, and it was still running, so let's get it on. We got out there, and I knew it was hurt, but it was still running. I just kept my foot down and when we crossed the finish line I saw the light on the retaining wall blinking. I was like 'Wow, we won. I wonder what's wrong with the car?' and by that time it was popping and banging pretty badly. What's stunning to me, is that we ran 4.89 like that. We ran 4.89 on seven pistons. Not seven cylinders, like when you drop one, but with basically nothing in one of the holes."
When another rain shower halted the proceedings after Worsham's big win over Force, Team CSK figured they had plenty of time to put a new motor in the car and get ready. Instead, with threatening weather all around, the "powers that be" began to push the clock, wanting to get this race completed on the correct day.
"We're cleaning everything, and swapping motors, and all of a sudden they're over here telling us we have to be in the lanes," Worsham said. "We hadn't even warmed the car up yet, and they're yelling at us to get going. We had quite a thrash to get it all back together and get up there."
Once they got up there, Worsham had to face Tommy Johnson, who had just posted a huge 4.76 in round two. Racing the weather, as well as Johnson, Worsham and his team put the best tune-up they could contemplate in the CSK Monte Carlo, and took their chances.
"We're still learning with this new approach, which is really all of three days old right now," Worsham said. "It gets better every time we run the car, but we're learning where the danger spots are and where we can be aggressive. On Friday, we blew the tires off right about half-track twice. You can't just type 4.77 into the dashboard and make the car run that."
In the semi, Worsham and Johnson left the line hard, but the red Chevy spun the hoops just short of the 660 mark once again, while Johnson's Monte Carlo screamed to another huge lap. Worsham's day was over, but two new round wins were in the books.
"I'm glad to see that all the guys remembered how to do that, thrashing between rounds," he said. "We haven't had much practice lately, but it's like riding a bike. We got right back into the swing of it, and we worked hard today. We also had some good fortune, which is not a bad thing. We know what it's like to work our tails off and still come up an inch or two short, so I'm not at all opposed to winning a few rounds in strange ways. Hey, we beat John Force again today, and anytime you do that you've had a good day."
A good day indeed, rain or no rain.
