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Del Worsham has not paid a great deal of attention to the POWERade points standings this season. As early-season frustration over microscopic losses turned into a mid-season slump, Worsham spent more time simply trying to find the elusive perfect combination for his race car, and he put the points out of his mind. Now, as the season comes to a close, Worsham has allowed himself to briefly analyze the points sheet, just to determine what it would take for him to make the top ten, and therefore earn a spot on the podium at the NHRA Awards Ceremony in Palm Springs.
Entering Las Vegas, Worsham knew he needed three round wins in the final two races in order to catch the idle Whit Bazemore, who had been many hundreds of points ahead when he was replaced as the driver of the Matco Dodge after Indy. With Bazemore on the sidelines, Worsham knew he was at least chasing a static number on the sheet, rather than trying to pursue other drivers who are also earning points as they go. It came down to three rounds, in two races, and it certainly would have been nice to win all three of them in Las Vegas, but the NHRA season has never followed a script. Just ask John Force, Ron Capps, and Robert Hight, who have all been juggling the best shot at the top spot as if it were a hot potato.
Throughout qualifying here, Worsham and his team did themselves no favors, though they did manage to land a precious spot in this field. Getting in the show was no easy task, as an enormous field of 24 Funny Cars descended on "The Strip" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, creating a logjam at the bump spot. In the end, Worsham's best number, a 4.794, came on Friday night when his car tossed the blower belt before the finish line. Fortunately, that number was good enough to earn the No. 12 spot in the show, while familiar names such as Cruz Pedregon, Tim Wilkerson, Bob Bode, and Frank Pedregon, among others, missed the cut.
"As soon as I saw there were 24 cars here, I knew we'd have a battle qualifying," Worsham said. "It doesn't matter if the extra cars are low-budget guys who only pick a few races to come to, when you have that many more than 16, it forces everyone to push it harder, and the chance you'll miss the cut goes up in a big way. On Friday, we had two imperfect laps (Worsham broke a cam shaft on the first run) but we got a good enough number on the board that I thought we were pretty safe. It turned out we were, but we still wanted a good lap in the final session, just to get ourselves prepared better for Sunday.
"That didn't happen, as we smoked the tires in session four, but we still went into Sunday morning with a positive attitude and a sense of urgency. We knew we had to win three rounds in the next two races, and getting at least two of them here seemed like a really good idea."
To get the first one, Worsham squared off with former teammate Mike Ashley, bringing a 2006 record of 5-0 against Ashley to the line with him. When Worsham screamed down the less-favored right lane, posting the quickest time of the round on that side with a strong 4.828, the record improved to 6-0, and Worsham was one lap closer to the POWERade top ten.
"We got to a point with Tony Bartone last year, where we had won a bunch of laps in a row against him, and as soon as someone brought that up we lost the next one," Worsham said. "I knew we had an undefeated record against Mike this year, but I would have been happier not to think about it. I just wanted to think about winning the lap, and getting to the next round."
After having accomplished his first objective, Worsham knew he was facing what might be a pivotal race in round two, as Jack Beckman (the man who replaced Bazemore, and therefore handed Worsham the chance to catch the now idle driver) was the opponent. Worsham and Beckman had squared off one race earlier, in the first round at Richmond, where Worsham smoked the tires and let the lap get away.
Here in Vegas, the match-up was made more difficult by the lane situation, which had clearly developed into a "left lane favored" situation. Though Worsham had won from the right lane in the opening round, the track conditions seemed to be changing for the worse, and in the second round he was again saddled with being relegated to the right side.
In that second round, every right lane competitor smoked the tires at some point, including John Force who had a chance to all but sew up the championship, and Worsham's day ended without the desired result.
"Well, we dug this hole over the course of nine months, and now we know we have to make the semi-final in Pomona or we won't be going to the banquet for the first time since 1997. It's not the end of the world, and getting ready for 2007 is way higher on my list than putting on a tuxedo, but there's a lot of pride on this team, and every guy wants to get back into the top ten. It's not going to be easy, but we aren't quitters. I promise you, we'll be in Pomona, and we'll be doing everything humanly possible to win round one. If we can do that, we'll be one round away from getting back in the top ten.
"I'm disappointed we didn't do better in the second round, but it was getting pretty tough out there and although we ran great in the first round, we didn't have lane choice in the second, and that might have been what did us in. We need two more, man. That's what we need."
Needed three. Got one. Needs two more. It can be done, and any fan of Team CSK has seen similar things accomplished, but it's going to be tough.
NEEDING THREE, WORSHAM GETS ONE IN LAS VEGAS
Del Worsham has not paid a great deal of attention to the POWERade points standings this season. As early-season frustration over microscopic losses turned into a mid-season slump, Worsham spent more time simply trying to find the elusive perfect combination for his race car, and he put the points out of his mind. Now, as the season comes to a close, Worsham has allowed himself to briefly analyze the points sheet, just to determine what it would take for him to make the top ten, and therefore earn a spot on the podium at the NHRA Awards Ceremony in Palm Springs.
Entering Las Vegas, Worsham knew he needed three round wins in the final two races in order to catch the idle Whit Bazemore, who had been many hundreds of points ahead when he was replaced as the driver of the Matco Dodge after Indy. With Bazemore on the sidelines, Worsham knew he was at least chasing a static number on the sheet, rather than trying to pursue other drivers who are also earning points as they go. It came down to three rounds, in two races, and it certainly would have been nice to win all three of them in Las Vegas, but the NHRA season has never followed a script. Just ask John Force, Ron Capps, and Robert Hight, who have all been juggling the best shot at the top spot as if it were a hot potato.
Throughout qualifying here, Worsham and his team did themselves no favors, though they did manage to land a precious spot in this field. Getting in the show was no easy task, as an enormous field of 24 Funny Cars descended on "The Strip" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, creating a logjam at the bump spot. In the end, Worsham's best number, a 4.794, came on Friday night when his car tossed the blower belt before the finish line. Fortunately, that number was good enough to earn the No. 12 spot in the show, while familiar names such as Cruz Pedregon, Tim Wilkerson, Bob Bode, and Frank Pedregon, among others, missed the cut.
"As soon as I saw there were 24 cars here, I knew we'd have a battle qualifying," Worsham said. "It doesn't matter if the extra cars are low-budget guys who only pick a few races to come to, when you have that many more than 16, it forces everyone to push it harder, and the chance you'll miss the cut goes up in a big way. On Friday, we had two imperfect laps (Worsham broke a cam shaft on the first run) but we got a good enough number on the board that I thought we were pretty safe. It turned out we were, but we still wanted a good lap in the final session, just to get ourselves prepared better for Sunday.
"That didn't happen, as we smoked the tires in session four, but we still went into Sunday morning with a positive attitude and a sense of urgency. We knew we had to win three rounds in the next two races, and getting at least two of them here seemed like a really good idea."
To get the first one, Worsham squared off with former teammate Mike Ashley, bringing a 2006 record of 5-0 against Ashley to the line with him. When Worsham screamed down the less-favored right lane, posting the quickest time of the round on that side with a strong 4.828, the record improved to 6-0, and Worsham was one lap closer to the POWERade top ten.
"We got to a point with Tony Bartone last year, where we had won a bunch of laps in a row against him, and as soon as someone brought that up we lost the next one," Worsham said. "I knew we had an undefeated record against Mike this year, but I would have been happier not to think about it. I just wanted to think about winning the lap, and getting to the next round."
After having accomplished his first objective, Worsham knew he was facing what might be a pivotal race in round two, as Jack Beckman (the man who replaced Bazemore, and therefore handed Worsham the chance to catch the now idle driver) was the opponent. Worsham and Beckman had squared off one race earlier, in the first round at Richmond, where Worsham smoked the tires and let the lap get away.
Here in Vegas, the match-up was made more difficult by the lane situation, which had clearly developed into a "left lane favored" situation. Though Worsham had won from the right lane in the opening round, the track conditions seemed to be changing for the worse, and in the second round he was again saddled with being relegated to the right side.
In that second round, every right lane competitor smoked the tires at some point, including John Force who had a chance to all but sew up the championship, and Worsham's day ended without the desired result.
"Well, we dug this hole over the course of nine months, and now we know we have to make the semi-final in Pomona or we won't be going to the banquet for the first time since 1997. It's not the end of the world, and getting ready for 2007 is way higher on my list than putting on a tuxedo, but there's a lot of pride on this team, and every guy wants to get back into the top ten. It's not going to be easy, but we aren't quitters. I promise you, we'll be in Pomona, and we'll be doing everything humanly possible to win round one. If we can do that, we'll be one round away from getting back in the top ten.
"I'm disappointed we didn't do better in the second round, but it was getting pretty tough out there and although we ran great in the first round, we didn't have lane choice in the second, and that might have been what did us in. We need two more, man. That's what we need."
Needed three. Got one. Needs two more. It can be done, and any fan of Team CSK has seen similar things accomplished, but it's going to be tough.
