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Sometimes you do everything right, just the way you want to do it, and it's just not enough. Such was the case for Del Worsham on Sunday, in Topeka, when he posted his best lap of the weekend in round one, driving his red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Impala right down the middle of Heartland Park's right lane while posting a time that was "right in the ballpark" with the most of the first-round winners, only to be defeated by Mike Ashley. In their eighth face-to-face match-up, it was the first time Ashley had ever defeated Worsham.
Worsham got to that point by surviving three very tough qualifying sessions. On Friday, the "take a stab at it" first session came off just about on schedule, but the nightcap was mercifully called off at the stroke of 10:00 pm, when rain drops again visited Heartland Park. Worsham spent the night in the No. 14 spot, but knew his 5.14 was nowhere near good enough to make the eventual field. He returned on Friday, along with the rest of the pro contingent and an enormous Topeka crowd, only to see the first session result in nothing much more than tire smoke, for nearly everyone. It was going to come down to the final lap, and Worsham knew it would be tough.
"It wasn't just the fact we were 14th and needed to make a big jump, it was also the fact that Ron Capps, Tony Pedregon, Kenny Bernstein, Tony Bartone, and Cruz Pedregon were all behind us. There were absolutely no thoughts of thinking we might be safe if various people did various things. We knew we had to step up."
And they did just that, as Worsham put on a clinic for how to get your Funny Car to the finish line without so much as a bobble or a fishtail. His 4.943 got him in the show, in the 15th spot, but in the end the major news ended up being the two big hitters who failed to make the field. Both Capps and Tony Pedregon were unable to negotiate the quarter-mile, and each missed the cut for the first time this year.
The No. 15 spot was very good, in comparison to the letters "DNQ" but the low slot of the eliminations totem pole left Worsham with a first round match against his former teammate.
"Hey, Mike's car has been pretty much the class of the field for a lot of races," Worsham said. "I mean, really, it's him and Robert Hight right now, in terms of performance, and we've been really fortunate, and sometimes really good, to have gone 7-0 against him over time. One of these times, he was going to slap us pretty good, and there was really no getting around that."
Under sunny skies and surprisingly cool temperatures, Worsham and Ashley pulled to the line as the fourth pair in round one. At the flash of amber, Worsham tore away first, grabbing an edge of .026 at the tree, and the race was on. Both cars stayed stuck, stayed lit, and stayed straight for the full 1,320. Both cars ran well, and Worsham bested his qualifying time by a lot, posting a strong 4.894 at 316.45 mph. It was clearly a step in the right direction, and a very solid first-round lap. The only problem was Ashley's enormous, back-breaking 4.793 in the other lane. That number represented low E.T. of the first round by more than 5-hundredths of a second, and that's a "mile" in drag racing terms.
"We did what we wanted to do, and we stepped up, but we just got beat," Worsham said. "There's not a lot you can do about it when the other guy dominates the whole field like that. Being 15th was part of the deal, but as everyone saw here, it wasn't easy to even be in this show and two major hitters DNQd, so the alternative was way worse. We'll just keep on doing what we're doing, and we'll keep winning rounds. This is just a small bump in the road, so it's on to Chicago and we'll go for it up there."
There's no shame in doing well, but scarcely any joy in losing. Del Worsham and his CSK teammates will simply move on, and aim to turn the tables less than a week from now.
WORSHAM'S BEST LAP OF THE WEEKEND NOT ENOUGH
Sometimes you do everything right, just the way you want to do it, and it's just not enough. Such was the case for Del Worsham on Sunday, in Topeka, when he posted his best lap of the weekend in round one, driving his red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Impala right down the middle of Heartland Park's right lane while posting a time that was "right in the ballpark" with the most of the first-round winners, only to be defeated by Mike Ashley. In their eighth face-to-face match-up, it was the first time Ashley had ever defeated Worsham.
Worsham got to that point by surviving three very tough qualifying sessions. On Friday, the "take a stab at it" first session came off just about on schedule, but the nightcap was mercifully called off at the stroke of 10:00 pm, when rain drops again visited Heartland Park. Worsham spent the night in the No. 14 spot, but knew his 5.14 was nowhere near good enough to make the eventual field. He returned on Friday, along with the rest of the pro contingent and an enormous Topeka crowd, only to see the first session result in nothing much more than tire smoke, for nearly everyone. It was going to come down to the final lap, and Worsham knew it would be tough.
"It wasn't just the fact we were 14th and needed to make a big jump, it was also the fact that Ron Capps, Tony Pedregon, Kenny Bernstein, Tony Bartone, and Cruz Pedregon were all behind us. There were absolutely no thoughts of thinking we might be safe if various people did various things. We knew we had to step up."
And they did just that, as Worsham put on a clinic for how to get your Funny Car to the finish line without so much as a bobble or a fishtail. His 4.943 got him in the show, in the 15th spot, but in the end the major news ended up being the two big hitters who failed to make the field. Both Capps and Tony Pedregon were unable to negotiate the quarter-mile, and each missed the cut for the first time this year.
The No. 15 spot was very good, in comparison to the letters "DNQ" but the low slot of the eliminations totem pole left Worsham with a first round match against his former teammate.
"Hey, Mike's car has been pretty much the class of the field for a lot of races," Worsham said. "I mean, really, it's him and Robert Hight right now, in terms of performance, and we've been really fortunate, and sometimes really good, to have gone 7-0 against him over time. One of these times, he was going to slap us pretty good, and there was really no getting around that."
Under sunny skies and surprisingly cool temperatures, Worsham and Ashley pulled to the line as the fourth pair in round one. At the flash of amber, Worsham tore away first, grabbing an edge of .026 at the tree, and the race was on. Both cars stayed stuck, stayed lit, and stayed straight for the full 1,320. Both cars ran well, and Worsham bested his qualifying time by a lot, posting a strong 4.894 at 316.45 mph. It was clearly a step in the right direction, and a very solid first-round lap. The only problem was Ashley's enormous, back-breaking 4.793 in the other lane. That number represented low E.T. of the first round by more than 5-hundredths of a second, and that's a "mile" in drag racing terms.
"We did what we wanted to do, and we stepped up, but we just got beat," Worsham said. "There's not a lot you can do about it when the other guy dominates the whole field like that. Being 15th was part of the deal, but as everyone saw here, it wasn't easy to even be in this show and two major hitters DNQd, so the alternative was way worse. We'll just keep on doing what we're doing, and we'll keep winning rounds. This is just a small bump in the road, so it's on to Chicago and we'll go for it up there."
There's no shame in doing well, but scarcely any joy in losing. Del Worsham and his CSK teammates will simply move on, and aim to turn the tables less than a week from now.
