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Del Worsham got well, on this weekend in St. Louis. He didn't grab all of his former glory, but he put a bold period on the end of the sentence about "being back." Advancing to his first final round since Indy in 2005, Worsham gave Ron Capps all he could handle, but in the end came up just half of a car length short of upsetting the runaway points leader. It wasn't the big prize, but considering Worsham's recent travails, it was a huge step forward, and he earned every bit of it.
When rain and dew cut qualifying down to a one-day, two-lap, affair, Worsham had to concentrate on simply making full passes, though his improved performance of late (four round wins in the last three races) gave the entire red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team the confidence they needed to do just that. Worsham powered to a clean 4.918 during Saturday's first session, and although he didn't improve on that during the later run (his car broke the left-side header pipes near the 1,000-foot mark) he made the show in the lucky 13th position. As is often documented, simply making the field these days is a distinct honor and accomplishment, and after he failed to do just that at the season's first two events, Worsham now seems back on track when it comes to being in the 16-car field.
For the effort, he was saddled with a first round match-up with Tony Pedregon, who came into this race in 3rd place, with one win already in his pocket. After clouds covered the area for most of Sunday morning, the sun broke through just before the national anthem, and track conditions changed quickly. This was going to be a driver's day, as tire smoke seemed inevitable.
"We had seen the weather forecast, and it was calling for sun by about 11:00, but you just never know," Worsham said. "We knew we'd be in the right lane, which really has some issues from the starting line out to about 200 feet, so the only object was to keep the car safe at the hit, so we didn't give the round away before we ever got going."
With tire smoke filling the air throughout round one of Top Fuel, the Funny Car teams approached the first stanza with a bit of trepidation, and a lot of wonder. When the red CSK car came to race, Pedregon left first but Worsham pounded after him. Sensing impending tire smoke like a psychic on his best day, Worsham pedaled the car just as the computer later showed the tire spin to be setting in, although no smoke was ever visible. The clairvoyant move saved the run, as the CSK Impala hooked up again while Pedregon suffered far greater tire spin in the left lane. It wasn't the prettiest lap of the day, but the 5.33 on Worsham's scoreboard was joined by a flashing win light, and that was a beautiful sight. The fact their supremely talented driver had saved the run only made the smiles wider in the CSK camp.
In round two, Worsham had the distinct honor of running against a certain John Force, who had taken out CSK teammate Jeff Arend in a close battle during round one. Again in the right lane, Worsham's tune-up was better this time, as he smoothly powered to half-track before suffering some top-end tire smoke. Force, over on the left side, smoked the tires hard and Worsham sped away for a huge and emotional win.
"That was huge," Worsham said. "Force beat Jeff for his first round win of the year, so you knew they were up there feeling it and smelling it. It would have surprised absolutely nobody if John went on to win this race, believe me. To take him out, well that was just enormous. It sent us on to the semi-final, and that's a good day."
In that semi-final, Worsham would have to take on his third consecutive big hitter, and this time it would be Mike Ashley, who seems to be running on a different plane of reality as of late, simply dominating the qualifying field. His No. 1 effort here was so much quicker and faster than anyone else, it deserved its own qualifying sheet.
This time, Worsham left first by a fairly large margin and, although he was once again on the less-favored right side, he tore down the track to a beautifully clean 4.925, while Ashley lost traction in the late afternoon sun. For the first time since Indianapolis, in 2005, Del Worsham wasn't just having a "good day." He was going to the final.
Waiting for him there, would be his fourth consecutive monster, points leader Ron Capps.
Pulling to the line, with the entire St. Louis crowd focused on the final pair, Worsham knew he'd accomplished a lot, but felt he could win.
"Ron and his car are about as good as they get, but it felt good," he said. "We had gotten better and better over in that right lane, to the point where I think we probably would have picked it if we had lane choice. Of course, we didn't have lane choice all day, but it didn't matter. I just thought it might be our day. I had a very good feeling that we had the tune-up nailed, and that we would absolutely give him a good fight."
A good fight it was. In the final, both cars powered down the track to one of the best side-by-side Funny Car laps of the day, and Capps inched ahead in the lights. His win, with a 4.882 to Worsham's 4.918, left the red CSK gang exhaling and shaking their heads, but moments later those same heads were held high. Del Worsham was back, and he was well.
"We've been getting better every race, since Houston," Worsham said. "After Atlanta I said we were getting there, but we weren't quite all the way back yet. Maybe we still aren't all the way back, because when we get to a final we expect to win, but man we're there. Congrats to Ronny and his guys, they earned it and they're very dominant right now. But we're feeling pretty good about what we did here. Pretty good."
His teammates, sponsors, family, and friends completely agree.
WORSHAM POWERS TO FINAL ROUND, LOSES TO CAPPS IN TIGHT FINISH
Del Worsham got well, on this weekend in St. Louis. He didn't grab all of his former glory, but he put a bold period on the end of the sentence about "being back." Advancing to his first final round since Indy in 2005, Worsham gave Ron Capps all he could handle, but in the end came up just half of a car length short of upsetting the runaway points leader. It wasn't the big prize, but considering Worsham's recent travails, it was a huge step forward, and he earned every bit of it.
When rain and dew cut qualifying down to a one-day, two-lap, affair, Worsham had to concentrate on simply making full passes, though his improved performance of late (four round wins in the last three races) gave the entire red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team the confidence they needed to do just that. Worsham powered to a clean 4.918 during Saturday's first session, and although he didn't improve on that during the later run (his car broke the left-side header pipes near the 1,000-foot mark) he made the show in the lucky 13th position. As is often documented, simply making the field these days is a distinct honor and accomplishment, and after he failed to do just that at the season's first two events, Worsham now seems back on track when it comes to being in the 16-car field.
For the effort, he was saddled with a first round match-up with Tony Pedregon, who came into this race in 3rd place, with one win already in his pocket. After clouds covered the area for most of Sunday morning, the sun broke through just before the national anthem, and track conditions changed quickly. This was going to be a driver's day, as tire smoke seemed inevitable.
"We had seen the weather forecast, and it was calling for sun by about 11:00, but you just never know," Worsham said. "We knew we'd be in the right lane, which really has some issues from the starting line out to about 200 feet, so the only object was to keep the car safe at the hit, so we didn't give the round away before we ever got going."
With tire smoke filling the air throughout round one of Top Fuel, the Funny Car teams approached the first stanza with a bit of trepidation, and a lot of wonder. When the red CSK car came to race, Pedregon left first but Worsham pounded after him. Sensing impending tire smoke like a psychic on his best day, Worsham pedaled the car just as the computer later showed the tire spin to be setting in, although no smoke was ever visible. The clairvoyant move saved the run, as the CSK Impala hooked up again while Pedregon suffered far greater tire spin in the left lane. It wasn't the prettiest lap of the day, but the 5.33 on Worsham's scoreboard was joined by a flashing win light, and that was a beautiful sight. The fact their supremely talented driver had saved the run only made the smiles wider in the CSK camp.
In round two, Worsham had the distinct honor of running against a certain John Force, who had taken out CSK teammate Jeff Arend in a close battle during round one. Again in the right lane, Worsham's tune-up was better this time, as he smoothly powered to half-track before suffering some top-end tire smoke. Force, over on the left side, smoked the tires hard and Worsham sped away for a huge and emotional win.
"That was huge," Worsham said. "Force beat Jeff for his first round win of the year, so you knew they were up there feeling it and smelling it. It would have surprised absolutely nobody if John went on to win this race, believe me. To take him out, well that was just enormous. It sent us on to the semi-final, and that's a good day."
In that semi-final, Worsham would have to take on his third consecutive big hitter, and this time it would be Mike Ashley, who seems to be running on a different plane of reality as of late, simply dominating the qualifying field. His No. 1 effort here was so much quicker and faster than anyone else, it deserved its own qualifying sheet.
This time, Worsham left first by a fairly large margin and, although he was once again on the less-favored right side, he tore down the track to a beautifully clean 4.925, while Ashley lost traction in the late afternoon sun. For the first time since Indianapolis, in 2005, Del Worsham wasn't just having a "good day." He was going to the final.
Waiting for him there, would be his fourth consecutive monster, points leader Ron Capps.
Pulling to the line, with the entire St. Louis crowd focused on the final pair, Worsham knew he'd accomplished a lot, but felt he could win.
"Ron and his car are about as good as they get, but it felt good," he said. "We had gotten better and better over in that right lane, to the point where I think we probably would have picked it if we had lane choice. Of course, we didn't have lane choice all day, but it didn't matter. I just thought it might be our day. I had a very good feeling that we had the tune-up nailed, and that we would absolutely give him a good fight."
A good fight it was. In the final, both cars powered down the track to one of the best side-by-side Funny Car laps of the day, and Capps inched ahead in the lights. His win, with a 4.882 to Worsham's 4.918, left the red CSK gang exhaling and shaking their heads, but moments later those same heads were held high. Del Worsham was back, and he was well.
"We've been getting better every race, since Houston," Worsham said. "After Atlanta I said we were getting there, but we weren't quite all the way back yet. Maybe we still aren't all the way back, because when we get to a final we expect to win, but man we're there. Congrats to Ronny and his guys, they earned it and they're very dominant right now. But we're feeling pretty good about what we did here. Pretty good."
His teammates, sponsors, family, and friends completely agree.
