GAINESVILLE, Fla., (March 17, 2013) – Del Worsham, driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, raced to a runner-up finish Sunday during eliminations of the prestigious NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla.
Fan-favorite Worsham, a 43-year old resident of Chino Hills, Calif., and his competitor Johnny Gray gave the huge crowd of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series fans at Gainesville Raceway a stellar side-by-side race in the final round, but Worsham’s DHL Toyota Camry was just barely the second car to cross the 1,000-ft finish line, 4.100 sec., 303.50 mph to 4.053 sec., 315.49 mph, in the 40th Funny Car final of his 24-year career.
After qualifying in the No. 5 position (4.105 seconds, 305.49 mph) for Sunday’s eliminations, Worsham guided the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car to rounds wins over Tim Wilkerson, Courtney Force, and Robert Hight respectively en route to his first final of the season and the 51st nitro final of his storied career. Worsham’s previous final-round appearance was in the driver’s seat of a Top Fuel dragster at the final event of the 2011 season in Pomona, Calif., which he won. His previous trip to the “money round” in a Funny Car was in Englishtown, N.J., in 2010.
“My DHL team and I had a great event in Gainesville, and we needed it,” Worsham said. “It was great to get that feeling in your stomach again by going to a final. I was really pumped up and knew we had a great chance to get the win, but we came up just a bit short.
“I’m so proud of the DHL ‘Yella Fellas’ crew. Those guys work so hard to put me in a great and safe race car. Drag racing is fickle. Some days you win and some days you lose, but knowing you have a car capable of winning underneath you makes the losses a little easier to take. We won’t hang our heads at all about this at all. It was a great weekend for us, and we’ll be ready to race for the win again in [Las] Vegas (next event) in a couple weeks.”
Worsham now holds the No. 6 position in Mello Yello Funny Car championship points (168).
Worsham began his nitro drag racing career Pomona in the fall of 1990, and has gone on to secure 33 career wins, including 25 in the Funny Car class. After clinching the 2011 Top Fuel NHRA World Championship, the popular Worsham retired from driving and took to a new role as crew chief leading the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team of fellow Kalitta Motorsports driver Alexis DeJoria. After one season out of the driver’s seat, he returned to the cockpit in 2013 as the driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car.
Worsham’s previous Funny Car class win came in Richmond, Va., in 2009. The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team last raced to a final round (driver, Jeff Arend) in Chicago of 2012, where they took home the “Wally” trophy for their sole win of last season. The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team is helmed by crew chief Nick Boninfante and co-crew chief Jon Oberhofer.
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Fan-favorite Worsham, a 43-year old resident of Chino Hills, Calif., and his competitor Johnny Gray gave the huge crowd of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series fans at Gainesville Raceway a stellar side-by-side race in the final round, but Worsham’s DHL Toyota Camry was just barely the second car to cross the 1,000-ft finish line, 4.100 sec., 303.50 mph to 4.053 sec., 315.49 mph, in the 40th Funny Car final of his 24-year career.
After qualifying in the No. 5 position (4.105 seconds, 305.49 mph) for Sunday’s eliminations, Worsham guided the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car to rounds wins over Tim Wilkerson, Courtney Force, and Robert Hight respectively en route to his first final of the season and the 51st nitro final of his storied career. Worsham’s previous final-round appearance was in the driver’s seat of a Top Fuel dragster at the final event of the 2011 season in Pomona, Calif., which he won. His previous trip to the “money round” in a Funny Car was in Englishtown, N.J., in 2010.
“My DHL team and I had a great event in Gainesville, and we needed it,” Worsham said. “It was great to get that feeling in your stomach again by going to a final. I was really pumped up and knew we had a great chance to get the win, but we came up just a bit short.
“I’m so proud of the DHL ‘Yella Fellas’ crew. Those guys work so hard to put me in a great and safe race car. Drag racing is fickle. Some days you win and some days you lose, but knowing you have a car capable of winning underneath you makes the losses a little easier to take. We won’t hang our heads at all about this at all. It was a great weekend for us, and we’ll be ready to race for the win again in [Las] Vegas (next event) in a couple weeks.”
Worsham now holds the No. 6 position in Mello Yello Funny Car championship points (168).
Worsham began his nitro drag racing career Pomona in the fall of 1990, and has gone on to secure 33 career wins, including 25 in the Funny Car class. After clinching the 2011 Top Fuel NHRA World Championship, the popular Worsham retired from driving and took to a new role as crew chief leading the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team of fellow Kalitta Motorsports driver Alexis DeJoria. After one season out of the driver’s seat, he returned to the cockpit in 2013 as the driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car.
Worsham’s previous Funny Car class win came in Richmond, Va., in 2009. The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team last raced to a final round (driver, Jeff Arend) in Chicago of 2012, where they took home the “Wally” trophy for their sole win of last season. The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team is helmed by crew chief Nick Boninfante and co-crew chief Jon Oberhofer.
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