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MEMPHIS (September 11, 2007) -- The script has been written. The story will be shot, on location, in Memphis. The crew is assembling, to make ready the vast assortment of equipment and parts necessary to produce this epic tale of victory and conquest, featuring box-office star Del Worsham in the leading role. They will call it "Worsham's Way" and they hope the final version of their production will earn them a hefty golden trophy.
This is, of course, no Hollywood film created over "Let's do lunch!" meetings in Beverly Hills. It is, instead, the mission of the red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Impala Funny Car team, as they prepare for this weekend's O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis. Their star, Del Worsham, has won 21 of those golden Wally trophies in his illustrious career, but he has never won in Memphis. He also enters the race with zero wins on the board for 2007 but has, of late, been exhibiting the kind of performance that took him to the Winner's Circle regularly over the last half-decade. If there ever was a moment for a "feel good" blockbuster to sweep the crowd off its feet, this might be it.
"We're under the radar, for sure, but that might be a good thing," Worsham said. "Everyone is focused on the Countdown teams, but we've been qualifying well and winning rounds. We're not dwelling on the Countdown scenario, because we all knew the rules and knew the cut-off date back in January, but as it turned out, we didn't just miss by 38 points, we also missed by one race."
Worsham is referring to the fact he and his squad lost in the semi-final at Reading, which left them 38 points out of the playoff field when the final cut was made. At the next race, in Indianapolis, he picked up those two rounds (40 points) on Jim Head, the man who had finished 8th in the race for the last Countdown spot, but Head's point total had already been adjusted upward, and Worsham can now do no better than 9th in the season standings.
"A little too little, and a little too late," Worsham lamented. "We created the problem for ourselves, spending a couple of months, early in the season, blowing our stuff up and chasing real gremlins in the car. We finally started to get a handle on it during the Western Swing, and since Seattle we've actually gone 8-5 and we've been to two semi-finals and a final round. That's more like what we expect out of ourselves, more like our way of doing things, and we plan to keep running this way for the rest of the year.
"I'm back to feeling like I did in years past, when I'd come to each race track excited about our prospects and feeling like we could win the race. I think we've had one of the better cars out here for a couple of months, and I'm pumped up about getting to Memphis and doing some good there. Plus, the move to mid-September for the Memphis race was a great change for everyone. The last few years at this race have been absolutely miserable, trying to run in all the heat and humidity in August. This time of year, we should be able to run hard and work hard without having to change shirts every 45 minutes."
Worsham's 21 career victories cover most venues on the NHRA POWERade tour, but with the addition of two new race locations this year (Richmond and Norwalk), he is now searching for his first win at seven different tracks, and Memphis is on that list. As much as each win counts the same, both in terms of points and emotional uplift, Worsham will admit to a bit of additional motivation when it comes to checking the Memphis entry off the list.
"Every win is great, and winning at a new place like Norwalk would be awesome, but we've been coming to Memphis forever, and I'd like to finally add it to the list," he said. "It's an old-school kind of place, not that glamorous but very familiar. The fans are more experienced and down-home too, and it's pretty normal to have a few different people either bring us home-cooked food or invite us over to the campground to eat crawfish or barbeque with them. It's Beale Street, Graceland, BB King, and everything Memphis. I'm not sure where the Winner's Circle is, because I've never been there, but I bet we could find it if we win four rounds on Sunday."
And that story, with the "feel good" ending after a big dramatic build-up, might lead right into a sequel.
TEAM CSK READY TO PRODUCE "WORSHAM'S WAY"
MEMPHIS (September 11, 2007) -- The script has been written. The story will be shot, on location, in Memphis. The crew is assembling, to make ready the vast assortment of equipment and parts necessary to produce this epic tale of victory and conquest, featuring box-office star Del Worsham in the leading role. They will call it "Worsham's Way" and they hope the final version of their production will earn them a hefty golden trophy.
This is, of course, no Hollywood film created over "Let's do lunch!" meetings in Beverly Hills. It is, instead, the mission of the red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Impala Funny Car team, as they prepare for this weekend's O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis. Their star, Del Worsham, has won 21 of those golden Wally trophies in his illustrious career, but he has never won in Memphis. He also enters the race with zero wins on the board for 2007 but has, of late, been exhibiting the kind of performance that took him to the Winner's Circle regularly over the last half-decade. If there ever was a moment for a "feel good" blockbuster to sweep the crowd off its feet, this might be it.
"We're under the radar, for sure, but that might be a good thing," Worsham said. "Everyone is focused on the Countdown teams, but we've been qualifying well and winning rounds. We're not dwelling on the Countdown scenario, because we all knew the rules and knew the cut-off date back in January, but as it turned out, we didn't just miss by 38 points, we also missed by one race."
Worsham is referring to the fact he and his squad lost in the semi-final at Reading, which left them 38 points out of the playoff field when the final cut was made. At the next race, in Indianapolis, he picked up those two rounds (40 points) on Jim Head, the man who had finished 8th in the race for the last Countdown spot, but Head's point total had already been adjusted upward, and Worsham can now do no better than 9th in the season standings.
"A little too little, and a little too late," Worsham lamented. "We created the problem for ourselves, spending a couple of months, early in the season, blowing our stuff up and chasing real gremlins in the car. We finally started to get a handle on it during the Western Swing, and since Seattle we've actually gone 8-5 and we've been to two semi-finals and a final round. That's more like what we expect out of ourselves, more like our way of doing things, and we plan to keep running this way for the rest of the year.
"I'm back to feeling like I did in years past, when I'd come to each race track excited about our prospects and feeling like we could win the race. I think we've had one of the better cars out here for a couple of months, and I'm pumped up about getting to Memphis and doing some good there. Plus, the move to mid-September for the Memphis race was a great change for everyone. The last few years at this race have been absolutely miserable, trying to run in all the heat and humidity in August. This time of year, we should be able to run hard and work hard without having to change shirts every 45 minutes."
Worsham's 21 career victories cover most venues on the NHRA POWERade tour, but with the addition of two new race locations this year (Richmond and Norwalk), he is now searching for his first win at seven different tracks, and Memphis is on that list. As much as each win counts the same, both in terms of points and emotional uplift, Worsham will admit to a bit of additional motivation when it comes to checking the Memphis entry off the list.
"Every win is great, and winning at a new place like Norwalk would be awesome, but we've been coming to Memphis forever, and I'd like to finally add it to the list," he said. "It's an old-school kind of place, not that glamorous but very familiar. The fans are more experienced and down-home too, and it's pretty normal to have a few different people either bring us home-cooked food or invite us over to the campground to eat crawfish or barbeque with them. It's Beale Street, Graceland, BB King, and everything Memphis. I'm not sure where the Winner's Circle is, because I've never been there, but I bet we could find it if we win four rounds on Sunday."
And that story, with the "feel good" ending after a big dramatic build-up, might lead right into a sequel.
