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READING, Penn. (September 27, 2006) -- Two weeks ago, Del Worsham and his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car team traveled to eastern Pennsylvania, parked their transporters and motorhomes, set up their racing equipment, readied their race cars, checked into an area hotel, and watched it rain. Now, after a quick trip to Texas, Team CSK returns to Maple Grove Raceway to try it again. It's the ultimate "do over," complete with 2,900 miles of over-the-road travel, a full weekend of racing in Dallas, rebooked hotel rooms in new areas, and the overriding hope of good weather in Reading this weekend.
During the one-week swing from "back east" to "the Lone Star State" Worsham managed to break his nearly unthinkable string of back-to-back DNQs, though it took a last-shot lap in Dallas to do that. Today, he heads back to Reading, no longer looking to snap a negative streak, but to build on a positive one.
"When we were here two weeks ago, we were coming off the Indy deal, where we missed the field by 5-thousandths of a second," Worsham said. "I was really eager to get after it at Maple Grove, but the rains came down and we never got after anything more serious than driving into town for dinner and some bowling. This past weekend, we made some progress in Dallas, and put our best lap of the weekend on the board in round one, so our frame of mind is a little better this time around. I'm looking to win some rounds."
Worsham's on-track mindset may be improved, but the logistical side of his always active brain knew the Reading rain-out was going to present a number of issues, all of which he and his staff have been tackling since the moment the race was called off, on September 16th.
"It's not all that easy to just come back here on short notice, but we all have to do it and figure out a way to make it happen. The first thing we found out was that there were no hotel rooms in Reading for this weekend, so we're staying in a new area and we're lucky to be as close to the track as we are. I know some teams are staying 40 to 50 miles away this time. And, instead of being able to go back to our shop in Indiana for a week to get things ready for Richmond, we can only pack up and come straight back to Reading, and then we'll go directly to Richmond as soon as the race is over. All you can do is send the guys in the big rigs out on the road, give everyone directions to a new hotel in a new town, and we'll all meet up at the track."
Once he and his team are on-site and ready to go, Worsham will shift mental gears to again focus on getting qualified, winning rounds, and working his way back into the POWERade Top Ten. He currently sits 11th, just 29 points behind teammate Phil Burkart in 10th, and just 54 points behind Cruz Pedregon, who is 9th. All three drivers are certainly looking even further ahead, at the spot still occupied by Whit Bazemore, who is no longer driving in the Funny Car class. Bazemore's total of 956 points is not going to change at the final four races, meaning Worsham would need to rack up roughly 200 POWERade points to pass him.
"We're in a little bit of a tough spot because the guy right in front of us is our teammate," Worsham said. "So, we have to assume we're chasing the guys ahead of Phil, because we want him to keep winning rounds too. We're three rounds behind Cruz, but you have to assume he's going to qualify and win some rounds, so he's harder to catch. With Whit on the sidelines for the rest of the year, our goal is to earn enough points to catch his total, and to do that we'll have make every show and win four rounds. If we do that, I'll take my chances on being in front of either Phil or Cruz, too. So there's the challenge. We need to win some rounds."
We'll never know if Worsham would have won some of those rounds two weeks ago in Reading, but now he's set to return for the "do over" and his plans include improved qualifying performance and some round wins.
Weather permitting, of course.
WORSHAM READY FOR READING "DO OVER"
READING, Penn. (September 27, 2006) -- Two weeks ago, Del Worsham and his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car team traveled to eastern Pennsylvania, parked their transporters and motorhomes, set up their racing equipment, readied their race cars, checked into an area hotel, and watched it rain. Now, after a quick trip to Texas, Team CSK returns to Maple Grove Raceway to try it again. It's the ultimate "do over," complete with 2,900 miles of over-the-road travel, a full weekend of racing in Dallas, rebooked hotel rooms in new areas, and the overriding hope of good weather in Reading this weekend.
During the one-week swing from "back east" to "the Lone Star State" Worsham managed to break his nearly unthinkable string of back-to-back DNQs, though it took a last-shot lap in Dallas to do that. Today, he heads back to Reading, no longer looking to snap a negative streak, but to build on a positive one.
"When we were here two weeks ago, we were coming off the Indy deal, where we missed the field by 5-thousandths of a second," Worsham said. "I was really eager to get after it at Maple Grove, but the rains came down and we never got after anything more serious than driving into town for dinner and some bowling. This past weekend, we made some progress in Dallas, and put our best lap of the weekend on the board in round one, so our frame of mind is a little better this time around. I'm looking to win some rounds."
Worsham's on-track mindset may be improved, but the logistical side of his always active brain knew the Reading rain-out was going to present a number of issues, all of which he and his staff have been tackling since the moment the race was called off, on September 16th.
"It's not all that easy to just come back here on short notice, but we all have to do it and figure out a way to make it happen. The first thing we found out was that there were no hotel rooms in Reading for this weekend, so we're staying in a new area and we're lucky to be as close to the track as we are. I know some teams are staying 40 to 50 miles away this time. And, instead of being able to go back to our shop in Indiana for a week to get things ready for Richmond, we can only pack up and come straight back to Reading, and then we'll go directly to Richmond as soon as the race is over. All you can do is send the guys in the big rigs out on the road, give everyone directions to a new hotel in a new town, and we'll all meet up at the track."
Once he and his team are on-site and ready to go, Worsham will shift mental gears to again focus on getting qualified, winning rounds, and working his way back into the POWERade Top Ten. He currently sits 11th, just 29 points behind teammate Phil Burkart in 10th, and just 54 points behind Cruz Pedregon, who is 9th. All three drivers are certainly looking even further ahead, at the spot still occupied by Whit Bazemore, who is no longer driving in the Funny Car class. Bazemore's total of 956 points is not going to change at the final four races, meaning Worsham would need to rack up roughly 200 POWERade points to pass him.
"We're in a little bit of a tough spot because the guy right in front of us is our teammate," Worsham said. "So, we have to assume we're chasing the guys ahead of Phil, because we want him to keep winning rounds too. We're three rounds behind Cruz, but you have to assume he's going to qualify and win some rounds, so he's harder to catch. With Whit on the sidelines for the rest of the year, our goal is to earn enough points to catch his total, and to do that we'll have make every show and win four rounds. If we do that, I'll take my chances on being in front of either Phil or Cruz, too. So there's the challenge. We need to win some rounds."
We'll never know if Worsham would have won some of those rounds two weeks ago in Reading, but now he's set to return for the "do over" and his plans include improved qualifying performance and some round wins.
Weather permitting, of course.
