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In what seems to be part of a never-ending story, Del Worsham was able to drive his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Impala to a pair of round wins today, at the rain-delayed Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, Pa. Worsham defeated his teammate, Jeff Arend, in round one and Tony Bartone in round two. He and his team had the car serviced and warmed up for the semi-final, against Tony Pedregon, when rain showers again visited Maple Grove Raceway.
The day's activities were halted just prior to 5:00 pm and, weather permitting, the remaining teams in the pro classes will attempt to resume racing again, on Tuesday, at 9:30 am.
In Worsham's first-round win over Arend, his teammate in the blue CSK Chevy simply waited at the starting line for Worsham to take off down the track. Two seconds after the flash of amber, Arend finally hit the throttle, but shook the tires hard and immediately lifted. Worsham powered to a 4.828, the quickest run of today's first Funny Car session.
In the second round, Worsham posted another strong lap, running a 4.851, although he lifted slightly early when his helmet visor accidentally opened.
"I know some people are going to make a lot out of what happened in the first round, and I respect people's opinions, but I hope they respect our opinions and our business decisions, as well" Worsham said. "The bottom line is that we're all one big team here, with one sponsor, and the decision for them to hold tight at the starting line was made by Jeff and his crew chiefs, Marc (Denner) and Chris (Cunningham.) They had their plans in place, and as Jeff told me later, he thought it was the right time to 'take one for the team'. They didn't try to pull one over on people, or make it look like the car smoked the tires or broke, they just stayed put.
"We were both up there with the best possible tune-ups we could put in our cars, because if Jim Head had won his first-round race, we were going to race all-out. I honestly didn't know what they had planned, or if they had anything planned at all, but this was what was best for our team and our sponsors. We made a great lap, so I felt good about that."
Regarding his second-round race, Worsham said, "I have no idea what happened to Bartone, because I never saw him at all. My car was just running strong right down the track, and then my visor popped open just short of the finish line. I really couldn't see where I was going, and I was afraid I was going to cross the center line or something, so I lifted just a hair early. It was really no big deal.
"We'll have a tough race on our hands with Tony Pedregon and his team.
All we can do is hope for good weather and try to beat them, if we ever actually get to run this race."
THE STORY CONTINUES FOR WORSHAM...
In what seems to be part of a never-ending story, Del Worsham was able to drive his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Impala to a pair of round wins today, at the rain-delayed Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, Pa. Worsham defeated his teammate, Jeff Arend, in round one and Tony Bartone in round two. He and his team had the car serviced and warmed up for the semi-final, against Tony Pedregon, when rain showers again visited Maple Grove Raceway.
The day's activities were halted just prior to 5:00 pm and, weather permitting, the remaining teams in the pro classes will attempt to resume racing again, on Tuesday, at 9:30 am.
In Worsham's first-round win over Arend, his teammate in the blue CSK Chevy simply waited at the starting line for Worsham to take off down the track. Two seconds after the flash of amber, Arend finally hit the throttle, but shook the tires hard and immediately lifted. Worsham powered to a 4.828, the quickest run of today's first Funny Car session.
In the second round, Worsham posted another strong lap, running a 4.851, although he lifted slightly early when his helmet visor accidentally opened.
"I know some people are going to make a lot out of what happened in the first round, and I respect people's opinions, but I hope they respect our opinions and our business decisions, as well" Worsham said. "The bottom line is that we're all one big team here, with one sponsor, and the decision for them to hold tight at the starting line was made by Jeff and his crew chiefs, Marc (Denner) and Chris (Cunningham.) They had their plans in place, and as Jeff told me later, he thought it was the right time to 'take one for the team'. They didn't try to pull one over on people, or make it look like the car smoked the tires or broke, they just stayed put.
"We were both up there with the best possible tune-ups we could put in our cars, because if Jim Head had won his first-round race, we were going to race all-out. I honestly didn't know what they had planned, or if they had anything planned at all, but this was what was best for our team and our sponsors. We made a great lap, so I felt good about that."
Regarding his second-round race, Worsham said, "I have no idea what happened to Bartone, because I never saw him at all. My car was just running strong right down the track, and then my visor popped open just short of the finish line. I really couldn't see where I was going, and I was afraid I was going to cross the center line or something, so I lifted just a hair early. It was really no big deal.
"We'll have a tough race on our hands with Tony Pedregon and his team.
All we can do is hope for good weather and try to beat them, if we ever actually get to run this race."
