[coverattach=1]It was never meant to end like this, but drag racing is a fickle and unfeeling beast. Del Worsham failed to negotiate the full 1,000-foot Pomona track on both of his Saturday laps, and unceremoniously saw his 12-year run with CSK Auto come to an end, one day early.
Worsham's mount smoked the tires about 200 feet off the starting line during Q3, but it compounded its own problems by then backfiring the supercharger, which is now connected to the fuel shut-off and parachute systems. That automatic reaction to the opening of the burst panel prevented Worsham from even making it to the finish line, so after the session he was not only unqualified, but completely off the score sheet with no official time on the board.
Coming back up for Q4, Worsham and his team were faced with needing to not just bust their way into the 16-car field, but the finality of the situation made the last lap truly epic within the historical perspective of Team CSK. Make it, and the 12-year run would live to see one more day. Miss it, and it was all over. The red CSK Impala smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle.
"It would be pretty dumb to say that we didn't expect it to do that, because obviously we weren't trying to smoke the tires," Worsham said. "We had some good data to work from, and we had various options with the tune-up and obviously we thought we had a clean shot at running a decent number and getting in the show. I was just stunned that it blew them off at the hit. I couldn't believe that happened.
"Any drag race you don't win is always over and done before you want it to be, but this was no ordinary drag race for us. This was it, and we wanted to go out in style more than anything in the world. We had guys like Joe Spica, Jim Schoenberger, Martin Fraser, and Bryan Keever here this weekend, guys who have all been with us for a long time but have had to face the same reality we've had to deal with, of moving on and finding the next challenge. They were so great to us, for so long, and this really was like a big family. It was pretty emotional around here, and it still is right now. It probably will be tomorrow, too."
Worsham and his teammates will reconvene on Sunday, to finalize their service work and get things buttoned-up for the future. This premature ending to the season, and the era, simply came far too quickly and far too unexpectedly.
"You can write all the scripts you want, and I guess when things do go well you can say that everything went according to what you had planned, but the truth is it just is what it is," Worsham said. "Of course, we were supposed to qualify well and then win our last race together, but we didn't earn that and there are no free passes here. It was just the abrupt way it all ended that really stunk. But, we're all going to move on and face the new challenges, and I just want to thank every person who has ever helped us or supported us in any way. All of our friends, all of the CSK people, and every crew member who ever came through here. I thank them all, and will never forget any of what we have done together.
"This has been a monumental experience for all of us, especially me and my dad. I've been working on his Funny Cars since I was a little kid, and grew up in this sport. This was my playground and my school, in a lot of ways. When I started driving, at the end of 1990, this whole part of the family story began, and then we finally got the CSK deal before the 1997 season. You just get to where you think it will all cruise along forever, but then companies get bought and sponsorships go away, and before you know it we're all scattering to different places. My dad deserves the break, not having to crunch through all the travel. I'm off to just be a driver, which may or may not be hard to adjust to, and the crew guys will all be wearing different uniforms, too. It's going to be weird, but it's the future and we all have to move on. It's been a great ride."
Worsham's mount smoked the tires about 200 feet off the starting line during Q3, but it compounded its own problems by then backfiring the supercharger, which is now connected to the fuel shut-off and parachute systems. That automatic reaction to the opening of the burst panel prevented Worsham from even making it to the finish line, so after the session he was not only unqualified, but completely off the score sheet with no official time on the board.
Coming back up for Q4, Worsham and his team were faced with needing to not just bust their way into the 16-car field, but the finality of the situation made the last lap truly epic within the historical perspective of Team CSK. Make it, and the 12-year run would live to see one more day. Miss it, and it was all over. The red CSK Impala smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle.
"It would be pretty dumb to say that we didn't expect it to do that, because obviously we weren't trying to smoke the tires," Worsham said. "We had some good data to work from, and we had various options with the tune-up and obviously we thought we had a clean shot at running a decent number and getting in the show. I was just stunned that it blew them off at the hit. I couldn't believe that happened.
"Any drag race you don't win is always over and done before you want it to be, but this was no ordinary drag race for us. This was it, and we wanted to go out in style more than anything in the world. We had guys like Joe Spica, Jim Schoenberger, Martin Fraser, and Bryan Keever here this weekend, guys who have all been with us for a long time but have had to face the same reality we've had to deal with, of moving on and finding the next challenge. They were so great to us, for so long, and this really was like a big family. It was pretty emotional around here, and it still is right now. It probably will be tomorrow, too."
Worsham and his teammates will reconvene on Sunday, to finalize their service work and get things buttoned-up for the future. This premature ending to the season, and the era, simply came far too quickly and far too unexpectedly.
"You can write all the scripts you want, and I guess when things do go well you can say that everything went according to what you had planned, but the truth is it just is what it is," Worsham said. "Of course, we were supposed to qualify well and then win our last race together, but we didn't earn that and there are no free passes here. It was just the abrupt way it all ended that really stunk. But, we're all going to move on and face the new challenges, and I just want to thank every person who has ever helped us or supported us in any way. All of our friends, all of the CSK people, and every crew member who ever came through here. I thank them all, and will never forget any of what we have done together.
"This has been a monumental experience for all of us, especially me and my dad. I've been working on his Funny Cars since I was a little kid, and grew up in this sport. This was my playground and my school, in a lot of ways. When I started driving, at the end of 1990, this whole part of the family story began, and then we finally got the CSK deal before the 1997 season. You just get to where you think it will all cruise along forever, but then companies get bought and sponsorships go away, and before you know it we're all scattering to different places. My dad deserves the break, not having to crunch through all the travel. I'm off to just be a driver, which may or may not be hard to adjust to, and the crew guys will all be wearing different uniforms, too. It's going to be weird, but it's the future and we all have to move on. It's been a great ride."
