<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/D_Worsham07.jpg" alt="D_Worsham07" align="left"borders="0"/>
NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2007) -- Del Worsham has driven his Checker,
Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car down the Norwalk quarter-mile many times over the past few years, but he's never earned a single POWERade point by doing so. Such a reality had nothing to do with Worsham's performance, which was always strong on his annual visits to northern Ohio, but was strictly due to the fact he was making nothing more than exhibition runs, in front of massive July crowds, during the track's extremely popular mid-summer match race. Worsham will return to Norwalk this weekend, where he will again race in front of a massive throng, but this time it will count, as Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park makes its debut on the NHRA National Event schedule.
This new stop on the NHRA tour comes at just the right time for Worsham, who has been anxious to get back into his fast-running Impala SS since a fluke mechanical problem ended his day in round one, this past Sunday in Englishtown. After proving he had one of the best cars on the property throughout qualifying, Worsham was extremely frustrated to see his race end so early, and he can't wait to get back on the track in Norwalk.
"If we would've had a weekend off right now, I might have gone totally nuts, instead of just mostly nuts like I am now," Worsham said. "We had such a good chance to win a lot of rounds in Englishtown, maybe even win the race, but one little part broke and it ended everything. All I've wanted to do, since the second I got out of the car at the end of the track, was to get back in and race some more, because we know we can win.
"The fact we're headed to Norwalk is great, too, because we've always enjoyed running there. We've done the mid-summer match race there for many years, so we're familiar with the track and how hard you can run on it. Now that they've joined the NHRA POWERade tour, it will be great to see everything they've done there and it will be awesome to race there for real."
Worsham's misfortune in Englishtown delivered a sharp jab to his points position, but the popular CSK driver wasn't shaken by the numerical hit. Having entered Englishtown in 8th place on the POWERade points sheet, he slipped to 11th with the first round loss, but he still remains less than a round out of 8th and less than two rounds out of 7th. With so many drivers bunched so closely together in the points, change will be a constant for the rest of the summer.
"Points positions are going to flip-flop all summer, more than likely," Worsham said. "You have at least 10 teams below the 8th spot who feel they can make a legitimate run for a spot in the Countdown, and you have the top eight who are all going to run their best to fend everyone else off. It's going to go right down to the wire, and you can't panic if you slip a notch or two on any given weekend. You just have to come right back and knock those same teams down a few the next race, and that's what we plan to do in Norwalk.
"We have a little bit of an advantage in that we've run here so often for the match race, but John Force's team and a few others have always done the match race too, so it's not that big a deal. Plus, you never know what a track is really going to give you until you get on it. Tracks can change from hour to hour and day to day, so it's pretty hard to say 'We ran here last year, so we're all set to go.' All you can do is get there, check it out, and make your best calls. Of course, we do already know our way from the hotel to the track, so I guess we have that going for us."
Another thing Worsham has going for him is a consistent race car, and he plans to unload that same car in Norwalk, minus the faulty part that ended his day in Englishtown.
"Last weekend, I think we finally got to where we want to be with this tune up," Worsham said. "It's a great summer tune-up, and it was pretty much flawless for us in E-town. To have one little piece break and sheer the blower pulley off was just a fluke deal, and we were all furious about it, but what are you going to do? We're not going to cry about it, we're just going to bring this same car and this same tuning approach to Norwalk and try to win the race. If we win some rounds, we'll forget about Englishtown pretty quickly.
"Like I said, it will be great to get back to Norwalk, and all the fantastic fans there. We've always had a great time at this track, and now we get to do it for real."
It will still be a great show, and the fans will no doubt pack the place, but this time it will count
WORSHAM RETURNS TO NORWALK, AND THIS TIME IT'S FOR REAL
NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2007) -- Del Worsham has driven his Checker,
Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car down the Norwalk quarter-mile many times over the past few years, but he's never earned a single POWERade point by doing so. Such a reality had nothing to do with Worsham's performance, which was always strong on his annual visits to northern Ohio, but was strictly due to the fact he was making nothing more than exhibition runs, in front of massive July crowds, during the track's extremely popular mid-summer match race. Worsham will return to Norwalk this weekend, where he will again race in front of a massive throng, but this time it will count, as Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park makes its debut on the NHRA National Event schedule.
This new stop on the NHRA tour comes at just the right time for Worsham, who has been anxious to get back into his fast-running Impala SS since a fluke mechanical problem ended his day in round one, this past Sunday in Englishtown. After proving he had one of the best cars on the property throughout qualifying, Worsham was extremely frustrated to see his race end so early, and he can't wait to get back on the track in Norwalk.
"If we would've had a weekend off right now, I might have gone totally nuts, instead of just mostly nuts like I am now," Worsham said. "We had such a good chance to win a lot of rounds in Englishtown, maybe even win the race, but one little part broke and it ended everything. All I've wanted to do, since the second I got out of the car at the end of the track, was to get back in and race some more, because we know we can win.
"The fact we're headed to Norwalk is great, too, because we've always enjoyed running there. We've done the mid-summer match race there for many years, so we're familiar with the track and how hard you can run on it. Now that they've joined the NHRA POWERade tour, it will be great to see everything they've done there and it will be awesome to race there for real."
Worsham's misfortune in Englishtown delivered a sharp jab to his points position, but the popular CSK driver wasn't shaken by the numerical hit. Having entered Englishtown in 8th place on the POWERade points sheet, he slipped to 11th with the first round loss, but he still remains less than a round out of 8th and less than two rounds out of 7th. With so many drivers bunched so closely together in the points, change will be a constant for the rest of the summer.
"Points positions are going to flip-flop all summer, more than likely," Worsham said. "You have at least 10 teams below the 8th spot who feel they can make a legitimate run for a spot in the Countdown, and you have the top eight who are all going to run their best to fend everyone else off. It's going to go right down to the wire, and you can't panic if you slip a notch or two on any given weekend. You just have to come right back and knock those same teams down a few the next race, and that's what we plan to do in Norwalk.
"We have a little bit of an advantage in that we've run here so often for the match race, but John Force's team and a few others have always done the match race too, so it's not that big a deal. Plus, you never know what a track is really going to give you until you get on it. Tracks can change from hour to hour and day to day, so it's pretty hard to say 'We ran here last year, so we're all set to go.' All you can do is get there, check it out, and make your best calls. Of course, we do already know our way from the hotel to the track, so I guess we have that going for us."
Another thing Worsham has going for him is a consistent race car, and he plans to unload that same car in Norwalk, minus the faulty part that ended his day in Englishtown.
"Last weekend, I think we finally got to where we want to be with this tune up," Worsham said. "It's a great summer tune-up, and it was pretty much flawless for us in E-town. To have one little piece break and sheer the blower pulley off was just a fluke deal, and we were all furious about it, but what are you going to do? We're not going to cry about it, we're just going to bring this same car and this same tuning approach to Norwalk and try to win the race. If we win some rounds, we'll forget about Englishtown pretty quickly.
"Like I said, it will be great to get back to Norwalk, and all the fantastic fans there. We've always had a great time at this track, and now we get to do it for real."
It will still be a great show, and the fans will no doubt pack the place, but this time it will count
