Worsham Seeks Healing On Sonoma Mission (1 Viewer)

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WORSHAM SEEKS HEALING ON SONOMA MISSION

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25, 2006) -- Like so many California cities and towns, the village of Sonoma has Native American and Spanish roots, and it came to be with the building of a mission. That mission gave the village its original central location, but its temperate climate and near-perfect grape growing environment made it famous, so much so that the name Sonoma is now synonymous with fine wines and upscale accommodations. A typical tourist weekend in Sonoma is apt to include stops at many world famous wineries, as well as a visit to one of the area's 4-star spas.

For Del Worsham, the driver of the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Monte Carlo Funny Car, this weekend's trip to Sonoma is all about something parallel, but different. His trip will be completely centered on a "mission," though it is the sort of mission one embarks upon, rather than an old adobe building to be visited. There's also some "healing" that needs to take place, though a trip to the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn is not on the agenda. Worsham is heading to this weekend's Fram Autolite Nationals, at Sonoma's Infineon Raceway, on a strict mission of his own, and it's all about "getting well" on the race track.

"I've been doing this full-time since 1991, and I have rarely been as frustrated as I am now," Worsham said. "Believe me, we've had plenty of ups and downs over the years, and we went eight years between race wins at one point, but what's been happening to us this year is beyond my ability to digest. We've made a few mistakes, but everyone does that and I honestly don't think we've made any more than the other good teams out here. We've run well, sometimes better than almost everyone, but we always seem to run into the one guy who is running a few thousandths better than we are.

"For the first few months, it was just kind of interesting and odd but I figured it would all even out and we'd bounce right back to what we're used to. The losses just kept on coming though, and you have to begin to wonder what you did to bring this on yourself, your team, and your sponsors. I know I'm putting pressure on myself, and every person on this team feels it too, but we just have to find a way to break out of this and get better. Maybe we just need one of those crazy lucky weekends where everything goes right, but I'd rather just be a few thousandths quicker so we can break some hearts out on the track, rather than have our hearts trampled on again."

Worsham's current level of anxiety was heightened this past weekend in Seattle, where he and his teammate Phil Burkart landed on opposite sides of the ladder at the Schuck's Nationals, in front of a large group of executives and managers from CSK Auto. Looking at their first round match-ups, Worsham knew he and Burkart would have their hands full, but he also knew they had a potentially great day staring at them.

"We faced Ron Capps, and Phil had Whit Bazemore, so we knew we'd have to be right on top of our games," Worsham said. "I got in the car Sunday morning, though, feeling as good as I have all year. I knew we could win, and I knew Phil and his team could win. If you think I was secretly dreaming about an all-CSK final, at the Schuck's Nationals, you're absolutely right. As it turned out, we both lost very close races and it was Capps and Bazemore who went all the way to the final. We just can't seem to get past this deal where we're losing the closest races of the round, or the closest races of the day. We've even managed to lose one of the closest races of recent history this year. It doesn't seem to be evening out like I thought it would. Instead, the jabs just keep on hitting us, right on the chin."

Taking those punches, week after week, has left a mark on Worsham. The same boyish charm and amped-up personality are still there, but serious moments and wrinkled brows are more common now. To this 21-time winner, his legacy and his reputation seem to be on the line every week.

"We've spent the past five years being a team people didn't want to race," he said. "We built our program on hard work and total dedication, and we got some incredible rewards for all that sweat and energy. What hurts the most now is that we've lost all these close ones, races that could just as easily have gone the other way, and all of a sudden it's like 1998 all over again. We're still working just as hard, if not harder. We still dedicate ourselves to doing the best we can, but we're almost off the radar screen. I want people to remember we're out there. I want to get back to spanking the big boys and ruining their days, because way too many of my days have been ruined this year.

"We still believe in ourselves, and we know we're going to break loose at some point, but there's no getting around the fact we're pretty tired of this. Will this be the weekend? I sure hope so, and I know I'm going to do everything I can to give us that tiny edge we need. We need to get better. We need to feel good about ourselves. We've done that before, in Sonoma, and I hope we're ready to do it again."

He's on a mission, in a village built around a mission. He's aiming to feel better, in a county where people pay exorbitant rates to be pampered in luxurious spas. Del Worsham, however, has no plans to leave the race track and no desire to think about anything but racing. His healing can only take place on the quarter-mile strip at Infineon.
 
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