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Checker, Schuck's, Kragen driver Del Worsham doesn't do this very often, and the very thought of the rare nature of all the No. 1 qualifying spots he has earned in his career made him say "I have to enjoy every second of this" as he headed to the press room to be interviewed by the media for the second day in a row. Worsham can count all of his No. 1 spots on one hand, without using his thumb, so today's accomplishment was very noteworthy, while at the same time it was still bittersweet, as Worsham will have to face teammate Jeff Arend in the first round.
By the numbers, Worsham has already accomplished "Step One" of his potential "Miracle At Maple Grove" by out-qualifying Jim Head by six points. If he were to now win the race, while Head also loses in the first round, Worsham would take over the 8th spot in the Countdown by a total of 2 points. Head will face Tony Pedregon in round one.
"It is bittersweet, having to race our teammates in the first round, and it takes some of the edge off of what we did here," Worsham said. "On the other hand, if the blue team would have stepped up a little today, that would have left John Force in the 16th spot, and we'd be racing him in round one, so I guess there's two sides to everything. The bottom line is the goal, and that's to win the race. Anything short of that will be a disappointment, and we're most likely going to have to go through Force and a whole bunch of really tough teams if we plan to do that, so it's just a little frustrating to have Jeff in the first round.
"The other thing we can't control is the Tony Pedregon - Jim Head race.
By the time we run tomorrow, the chase for this last Countdown spot could be over. All Jim has to do is win one round here. If he's eliminated, though, I'm sure my pulse rate will pick up and we'll all be thinking of it. We just need to string four really good runs together, hope for a break here or there, and who knows. It's still seems like a million-to-one shot, but we'll come out here tomorrow to do our best.
"The No. 1 qualifier thing is pretty unique for us. You look at my record and see 21 wins but only four No. 1 qualifying spots, and that's a pretty good indication of how we race. We've always put consistency ahead of big moments, but every once in a while we stumble onto one of these things and it does feel good. The last one was 2004, and before that it was 2001, so at least I know we'll be due for another one of these in another three years."
WORSHAM HOLDS ON FOR 4th CAREER No. 1 SPOT
Checker, Schuck's, Kragen driver Del Worsham doesn't do this very often, and the very thought of the rare nature of all the No. 1 qualifying spots he has earned in his career made him say "I have to enjoy every second of this" as he headed to the press room to be interviewed by the media for the second day in a row. Worsham can count all of his No. 1 spots on one hand, without using his thumb, so today's accomplishment was very noteworthy, while at the same time it was still bittersweet, as Worsham will have to face teammate Jeff Arend in the first round.
By the numbers, Worsham has already accomplished "Step One" of his potential "Miracle At Maple Grove" by out-qualifying Jim Head by six points. If he were to now win the race, while Head also loses in the first round, Worsham would take over the 8th spot in the Countdown by a total of 2 points. Head will face Tony Pedregon in round one.
"It is bittersweet, having to race our teammates in the first round, and it takes some of the edge off of what we did here," Worsham said. "On the other hand, if the blue team would have stepped up a little today, that would have left John Force in the 16th spot, and we'd be racing him in round one, so I guess there's two sides to everything. The bottom line is the goal, and that's to win the race. Anything short of that will be a disappointment, and we're most likely going to have to go through Force and a whole bunch of really tough teams if we plan to do that, so it's just a little frustrating to have Jeff in the first round.
"The other thing we can't control is the Tony Pedregon - Jim Head race.
By the time we run tomorrow, the chase for this last Countdown spot could be over. All Jim has to do is win one round here. If he's eliminated, though, I'm sure my pulse rate will pick up and we'll all be thinking of it. We just need to string four really good runs together, hope for a break here or there, and who knows. It's still seems like a million-to-one shot, but we'll come out here tomorrow to do our best.
"The No. 1 qualifier thing is pretty unique for us. You look at my record and see 21 wins but only four No. 1 qualifying spots, and that's a pretty good indication of how we race. We've always put consistency ahead of big moments, but every once in a while we stumble onto one of these things and it does feel good. The last one was 2004, and before that it was 2001, so at least I know we'll be due for another one of these in another three years."
