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The wording sounds self-contradictory, but Del Worsham literally "barely squeaked into the field in the No. 11 spot" here in Seattle. When only one qualifying session could be completed, due to rain, the fields were set but only after the "Top 10 Rule" was instituted. That rule guarantees any driver in the POWERade points Top 10 a spot in the field, even if he or she is below the bump line after the lone session.
All three of the non-qualified drivers here, Gary Scelzi, Jim Head, and Cruz Pedregon, are currently in the Top 10, so three drivers who finished the session above the line had to be removed. Jerry Toliver, who had been 15th after the session, Tim Wilkerson, who was 13th after the run, and Gary Densham, who was 12th, were all knocked from the show to make room for Scelzi, Head, and Pedregon. Worsham, who was 11th after the lone run, was one spot away from that fate. He will remain 11th, and will face Tommy Johnson in round one.
"When they came up with that rule a few years back, it seemed like a good idea, but there were really only about 13 or 14 really good teams on the full tour then," Worsham said. "Now, with 19 really good teams on the full tour, it seems a little odd to bump those three guys out of the field, but that's the rule and we all know it. As a matter of fact, before the run we were specifically talking about this very thing. We knew there was a chance of us only getting one session in, so we made the decision to run it to the finish line pretty much no matter what. We were saying '16th may not be good enough, so we need to give ourselves as much cushion as possible in case they use this rule.' Looks like we barely pulled that off.
"The forecast is not exactly all that good, but at least we're making the right decision to stay here and race until we get this in or run out of time. If we get it in tomorrow, great. If not, we've still got Monday and even Tuesday, but then we have to get to Sonoma. Let's just hope we can get this race run, and put on a great show for these unbelievable fans who have put up with some really lousy weather."
WORSHAM LANDS 11th IN RAIN-SHORTENED QUALIFYING
The wording sounds self-contradictory, but Del Worsham literally "barely squeaked into the field in the No. 11 spot" here in Seattle. When only one qualifying session could be completed, due to rain, the fields were set but only after the "Top 10 Rule" was instituted. That rule guarantees any driver in the POWERade points Top 10 a spot in the field, even if he or she is below the bump line after the lone session.
All three of the non-qualified drivers here, Gary Scelzi, Jim Head, and Cruz Pedregon, are currently in the Top 10, so three drivers who finished the session above the line had to be removed. Jerry Toliver, who had been 15th after the session, Tim Wilkerson, who was 13th after the run, and Gary Densham, who was 12th, were all knocked from the show to make room for Scelzi, Head, and Pedregon. Worsham, who was 11th after the lone run, was one spot away from that fate. He will remain 11th, and will face Tommy Johnson in round one.
"When they came up with that rule a few years back, it seemed like a good idea, but there were really only about 13 or 14 really good teams on the full tour then," Worsham said. "Now, with 19 really good teams on the full tour, it seems a little odd to bump those three guys out of the field, but that's the rule and we all know it. As a matter of fact, before the run we were specifically talking about this very thing. We knew there was a chance of us only getting one session in, so we made the decision to run it to the finish line pretty much no matter what. We were saying '16th may not be good enough, so we need to give ourselves as much cushion as possible in case they use this rule.' Looks like we barely pulled that off.
"The forecast is not exactly all that good, but at least we're making the right decision to stay here and race until we get this in or run out of time. If we get it in tomorrow, great. If not, we've still got Monday and even Tuesday, but then we have to get to Sonoma. Let's just hope we can get this race run, and put on a great show for these unbelievable fans who have put up with some really lousy weather."
