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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 10, 2008) -- Fans and racers walking through the pit area at this weekend's AC Delco Gatornationals, at Gainesville Raceway, should have no problem quickly recognizing Del Worsham's familiar Checker, Schuck's, Kragen transporter, parked in the Funny Car pit area. It's the actual Funny Car itself, this time decorated in the orange and black of K&N Filters, that might cause a few double-takes.
As part of an agreement between CSK Auto, Worsham Racing, and K&N, the team's associate sponsor gets the opportunity to "step up" to the primary position for the next two races, and Worsham will be putting the striking new car design on the track when Gainesville qualifying begins on Friday. After stumbling out of the gate at the season's first two events, the popular CSK driver is looking forward to changing it up at the Gatornationals.
"It's a beautiful car, and I'm honored to drive it for the great people at K&N Filters, who have been an important part of our program for a number of years now," Worsham said. "I know it really doesn't matter, to the race car, what the body looks like, and what's really important is the tune-up and the driver, but I'm not opposed to mixing things up a little, just to see if we can't break loose here.
"I don't want to make any excuses, because our record to this point is what it is, but we know we're far better than this and I know, in my heart, that we can come out in Gainesville and be way more than just competitive. We can be that, and we will be that, but we can also win this race. I know we can. And since Checker, Schuck's, Kragen is still on the car, they're just up on the wing instead of all over the sides and hood, we can still put them in the Winner's Circle. They'll just have to share the fun with K&N."
This year's version of the historic Gatornationals will mark the third consecutive year in which K&N has taken over the primary sponsorship on a Team CSK Funny Car, but it's the first time Worsham will be doing the driving himself. In the past, the team's second car, driven by Phil Burkart in 2006 and Jeff Arend in 2007, played the role of K&N host while in Gainesville. Now, as a single-car team, Worsham gets his chance to drive the orange and black Impala.
"For the last six years or so, we've put most of the special-edition cars on the other side of the CSK pit, but now I get a chance to get back into the program and be a part of what really is an important part of our sponsorship. Without companies like K&N, who work with us all year to make sure we have what we need, we wouldn't be able to fight it out on anything close to a level playing field. I'm glad I'm getting the chance to drive this car, here in Gainesville and at the next race in Houston.
"Of course, the key is performance and we're totally focused on that. We smoked the tires twice in Phoenix, on the only two runs we made because of the rain, so we stayed there and tested after the race. We went right down the track, having the knowledge from the two tire-smokers in the book, so I know we'd have been fine if we had all four runs there. This past weekend, we went to Valdosta and tested there, and the car was great. We were the only Funny Car team to make a good run on Sunday, actually. Now, we just want to come out here on Friday and keep up this momentum. We're doing all the right things, and this hard work really should pay off."
That "payoff" for Worsham and his team will come on the Gainesville track, where he has experience in all segments of the results spectrum.
He's failed to make the show in the past, has won some big rounds, and
has claimed the Wally at the Gatornationals as well, taking the win in 2004. Last year, the Gators marked the start of Worsham's resurgence.
"We came in here in exactly the same situation last year, and squeaked in the show in the 16th spot," Worsham said. "We actually didn't run that well here, and lost in the first round, but it got us going and we picked it up pretty well after that. We qualified for every race for the rest of the year after getting in 16th here, and there's no reason we can't do that again. There's no reason we can't qualify in the top half and win the race, either. That would be a great way to really thank the people at K&N for all they've done for us."
One imagines the fine folks at Checker, Schuck's, Kragen would be fine with that, as well.
WORSHAM HOPES CHANGE OF COLORS BRINGS CHANGE OF FORTUNE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 10, 2008) -- Fans and racers walking through the pit area at this weekend's AC Delco Gatornationals, at Gainesville Raceway, should have no problem quickly recognizing Del Worsham's familiar Checker, Schuck's, Kragen transporter, parked in the Funny Car pit area. It's the actual Funny Car itself, this time decorated in the orange and black of K&N Filters, that might cause a few double-takes.
As part of an agreement between CSK Auto, Worsham Racing, and K&N, the team's associate sponsor gets the opportunity to "step up" to the primary position for the next two races, and Worsham will be putting the striking new car design on the track when Gainesville qualifying begins on Friday. After stumbling out of the gate at the season's first two events, the popular CSK driver is looking forward to changing it up at the Gatornationals.
"It's a beautiful car, and I'm honored to drive it for the great people at K&N Filters, who have been an important part of our program for a number of years now," Worsham said. "I know it really doesn't matter, to the race car, what the body looks like, and what's really important is the tune-up and the driver, but I'm not opposed to mixing things up a little, just to see if we can't break loose here.
"I don't want to make any excuses, because our record to this point is what it is, but we know we're far better than this and I know, in my heart, that we can come out in Gainesville and be way more than just competitive. We can be that, and we will be that, but we can also win this race. I know we can. And since Checker, Schuck's, Kragen is still on the car, they're just up on the wing instead of all over the sides and hood, we can still put them in the Winner's Circle. They'll just have to share the fun with K&N."
This year's version of the historic Gatornationals will mark the third consecutive year in which K&N has taken over the primary sponsorship on a Team CSK Funny Car, but it's the first time Worsham will be doing the driving himself. In the past, the team's second car, driven by Phil Burkart in 2006 and Jeff Arend in 2007, played the role of K&N host while in Gainesville. Now, as a single-car team, Worsham gets his chance to drive the orange and black Impala.
"For the last six years or so, we've put most of the special-edition cars on the other side of the CSK pit, but now I get a chance to get back into the program and be a part of what really is an important part of our sponsorship. Without companies like K&N, who work with us all year to make sure we have what we need, we wouldn't be able to fight it out on anything close to a level playing field. I'm glad I'm getting the chance to drive this car, here in Gainesville and at the next race in Houston.
"Of course, the key is performance and we're totally focused on that. We smoked the tires twice in Phoenix, on the only two runs we made because of the rain, so we stayed there and tested after the race. We went right down the track, having the knowledge from the two tire-smokers in the book, so I know we'd have been fine if we had all four runs there. This past weekend, we went to Valdosta and tested there, and the car was great. We were the only Funny Car team to make a good run on Sunday, actually. Now, we just want to come out here on Friday and keep up this momentum. We're doing all the right things, and this hard work really should pay off."
That "payoff" for Worsham and his team will come on the Gainesville track, where he has experience in all segments of the results spectrum.
He's failed to make the show in the past, has won some big rounds, and
has claimed the Wally at the Gatornationals as well, taking the win in 2004. Last year, the Gators marked the start of Worsham's resurgence.
"We came in here in exactly the same situation last year, and squeaked in the show in the 16th spot," Worsham said. "We actually didn't run that well here, and lost in the first round, but it got us going and we picked it up pretty well after that. We qualified for every race for the rest of the year after getting in 16th here, and there's no reason we can't do that again. There's no reason we can't qualify in the top half and win the race, either. That would be a great way to really thank the people at K&N for all they've done for us."
One imagines the fine folks at Checker, Schuck's, Kragen would be fine with that, as well.
