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HOUSTON (March 27, 2007) -- Del Worsham knows he needs to focus. He knows this weekend's O'Reilly Spring Nationals are his assignment, as he attempts to put his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car into the Winner's Circle at a race sponsored by one of CSK Auto's retail competitors. He knows his team needs to solidly begin the process of turning around a disappointing start to the 2007 season, and he's well aware of some substantial history of his own, at Houston Raceway Park. He's just not so sure how it's all going to feel, after the recent loss of friend and fellow Funny Car driver, Eric Medlen.
Worsham did spend last weekend racing, on an off-weekend for the NHRA, and has, therefore, already dealt with the immediate need to grapple with Medlen's death while he, himself, was strapped into a race car. This weekend's Houston event, however, will be the important first full gathering of the NHRA family, though Worsham will be attending a memorial service in Indiana before heading to Houston.
"It was really hard, this past weekend when we were racing in San Antonio," Worsham said. "Eric got injured on Monday, and we were all beginning to think he would finally pull through, in some way. Then the word that he had passed away started to circulate on Friday afternoon, and it was all kind of surreal. We had to somehow digest the news, try to make sense of it all, and then get right in the car make a lap. Something like this tests your focus, and it hurts you inside.
"I wanted to be at the services as soon as I heard the details, and that will be a good step forward for all of us, but getting together at the track in Houston is when the healing will really start to happen. We'll be back where we all belong, we'll get back into our routines, focus on our jobs, and move forward. It's just that Eric won't be there."
It's highly questionable there's any means, other than passage of time, for getting through the grieving and healing process, but success on the track certainly wouldn't hurt. If there's a place Worsham remembers as a track where "things turned around," it might just be Houston. In 2001, Worsham arrived in Houston having won only a single race since 1991. He and his CSK team had been through many trying weekends in the four years since he secured the CSK sponsorship prior to the 1997 season. They'd had their shares of DNQs, first round losses, and sheer frustration. Then, Worsham qualified No. 1 in Houston, and went on to win the race.
"It was a huge turning point for us," Worsham said. "We won two races in 1991, then went eight years before we won another one. The win in 1999, in Seattle, was enormous, but it wasn't a big performance weekend for anyone. We just kind of 5.15'd our way to a win on an iffy track. In Houston, the conditions were good, and you had to be fast to win. We got a jump on everyone Friday night, with a big run under the lights, and ended up No. 1.
"On the way into the track on Sunday morning, a guy we know walked up and just said 'This is your day, Del,' and it was. We beat everyone who got in our way, including John Force in the final, and that win really got our team rolling. From that point on, right through 2005, we won a ton of races, 18 to be exact. We could use that sort of jump-start right now."
Worsham is not one who puts personalities on inanimate objects. He doesn't much believe in a car's ability to be, literally, bratty but he knows the complex combination of mechanical systems makes these cars very difficult to tame. He also knows that confidence and a positive attitude make the tuning calls slightly easier.
"Our rough start has taken a toll on our confidence, there's no getting around that, but I'm smart enough to know it's not the car's fault, it's not picking on us," he said. "But, what has happened this week, with the loss of Eric, puts it all into so much perspective, I think we'll feel like we're starting over on Friday in Houston. We'll all be thinking of him and his family, and I know we're going to do all we can to represent his legacy and his memory well. Our attitude will be positive, and we will be focused. I can guarantee that."
The process will continue. The focus will be there. Del Worsham guarantees it.
WORSHAM KNOWS FOCUS WILL BE CRITICAL, BUT DIFFICULT
HOUSTON (March 27, 2007) -- Del Worsham knows he needs to focus. He knows this weekend's O'Reilly Spring Nationals are his assignment, as he attempts to put his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car into the Winner's Circle at a race sponsored by one of CSK Auto's retail competitors. He knows his team needs to solidly begin the process of turning around a disappointing start to the 2007 season, and he's well aware of some substantial history of his own, at Houston Raceway Park. He's just not so sure how it's all going to feel, after the recent loss of friend and fellow Funny Car driver, Eric Medlen.
Worsham did spend last weekend racing, on an off-weekend for the NHRA, and has, therefore, already dealt with the immediate need to grapple with Medlen's death while he, himself, was strapped into a race car. This weekend's Houston event, however, will be the important first full gathering of the NHRA family, though Worsham will be attending a memorial service in Indiana before heading to Houston.
"It was really hard, this past weekend when we were racing in San Antonio," Worsham said. "Eric got injured on Monday, and we were all beginning to think he would finally pull through, in some way. Then the word that he had passed away started to circulate on Friday afternoon, and it was all kind of surreal. We had to somehow digest the news, try to make sense of it all, and then get right in the car make a lap. Something like this tests your focus, and it hurts you inside.
"I wanted to be at the services as soon as I heard the details, and that will be a good step forward for all of us, but getting together at the track in Houston is when the healing will really start to happen. We'll be back where we all belong, we'll get back into our routines, focus on our jobs, and move forward. It's just that Eric won't be there."
It's highly questionable there's any means, other than passage of time, for getting through the grieving and healing process, but success on the track certainly wouldn't hurt. If there's a place Worsham remembers as a track where "things turned around," it might just be Houston. In 2001, Worsham arrived in Houston having won only a single race since 1991. He and his CSK team had been through many trying weekends in the four years since he secured the CSK sponsorship prior to the 1997 season. They'd had their shares of DNQs, first round losses, and sheer frustration. Then, Worsham qualified No. 1 in Houston, and went on to win the race.
"It was a huge turning point for us," Worsham said. "We won two races in 1991, then went eight years before we won another one. The win in 1999, in Seattle, was enormous, but it wasn't a big performance weekend for anyone. We just kind of 5.15'd our way to a win on an iffy track. In Houston, the conditions were good, and you had to be fast to win. We got a jump on everyone Friday night, with a big run under the lights, and ended up No. 1.
"On the way into the track on Sunday morning, a guy we know walked up and just said 'This is your day, Del,' and it was. We beat everyone who got in our way, including John Force in the final, and that win really got our team rolling. From that point on, right through 2005, we won a ton of races, 18 to be exact. We could use that sort of jump-start right now."
Worsham is not one who puts personalities on inanimate objects. He doesn't much believe in a car's ability to be, literally, bratty but he knows the complex combination of mechanical systems makes these cars very difficult to tame. He also knows that confidence and a positive attitude make the tuning calls slightly easier.
"Our rough start has taken a toll on our confidence, there's no getting around that, but I'm smart enough to know it's not the car's fault, it's not picking on us," he said. "But, what has happened this week, with the loss of Eric, puts it all into so much perspective, I think we'll feel like we're starting over on Friday in Houston. We'll all be thinking of him and his family, and I know we're going to do all we can to represent his legacy and his memory well. Our attitude will be positive, and we will be focused. I can guarantee that."
The process will continue. The focus will be there. Del Worsham guarantees it.
