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Del Worsham admitted it right up front. He was not climbing in his race car on Sunday with the same tension nor the same motivation as any normal NHRA race day. The loss of Scott Kalitta on Saturday left Worsham in the same state as nearly every person even remotely associated with motorsports, and with that impact much of the excitement about racing vanished as well. Worsham was intent, and focused, and very much interested in doing well on the race track, but the triviality of round wins made the scene somewhat surreal.
Knowing it wasn't for high-fives or wild celebrations allowed Worsham, and his crew, to simply approach each lap with a steady demeanor, without the often overblown tension of a normal race. It was simply time to do their best, and the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team went about their work with a silent intensity rarely seen. In the end, huge wins over Gary Scelzi and Robert Hight propelled the CSK team into the semi-final, where they took part in a great race between two great teams. Points leader Tim Wilkerson posted a solid 4.93, and that was enough to edge ahead of Worsham's also-solid 4.95, to end the CSK driver's weekend. Disappointed he didn't make the final, Worsham was also not afraid to admit he was relieved to have his day, and his weekend, in the history books.
"We wanted to win every round today, and our guys were totally focused on doing that and so was I, but we got edged out by the guy who is just dominating the class right now, so there's no shame in that," Worsham said. "This was a hard day for everyone, a really hard day, and so unlike a normal Sunday. It kind of made all the drama we put on race day seem a little stupid, really. We normally come out here on Sunday all edgy, all nervous, and so stressed out about every little thing and every move we make. Today, it was more just a deal where we went up there to do our best, and none of us were going to stress over anything. Maybe there are some lessons to be learned from that attitude."
Despite the tragedy, it was truly a big weekend for Worsham and his team. Coming into this race off consecutive DNQs, the CSK group needed a rebound, and that started with getting qualified. To assist in their mission, the team unanimously agreed to first change their luck, but putting the blue CSK Impala on the car for no reason better than "change is good."
Sure enough, Worsham went right out there and put two solid laps on the board Friday, which is exactly the medicine the team needed to get over its recent spat of ultra-stressful weekends. Safely in the show on the strength of their Friday night 4.831, the team approached Saturday as a "test and tune" for race day, rather than a "do or die" exercise in avoiding another failure to make the field.
On Saturday's first pass, Worsham clocked in with a 4.987, which happened to be the fourth-quickest lap in the afternoon heat. It was all adding up, and Worsham was primed and ready for Q4 when the Kalitta accident occurred. He immediately told his team to turn around and head back to the pit.
"It didn't matter to me what NHRA did after the wreck, we were not going to make that lap," Worsham said. "It wasn't right, we were done, and we just came back and got ready for Sunday. We know Scotty would demand that we race hard on Sunday, and he wouldn't have been coy about it at all, so that was something we knew we were going to do, but I wasn't going to make another lap on Saturday. No way.
"It was a really hard night, and to tell you the honest truth I barely slept at all last night. I was up most of the night watching ridiculous stuff on TV, because the sleep just wasn't there. I was so happy when the morning came, and ready to race, but like I said nothing was the same. We were focused on representing our sport, our fans, and Scott. I think every team out here felt the same way. We owed the drag racing world a good race."
It was just that, from the moment Robert Hight lined up as the first Funny Car to race, with no car beside him. Kalitta's last lap moved him from outside the field into the No. 13 spot, and Hight would have been his opponent. In one of the most emotional scenes in recent history, every member of Kalitta Racing who was present at the race track, a group that number in the dozens, walked forward in the left lane, taking the place of their fallen driver. Hight pulled forward in the right lane, and when the amber lights flashed he kept his car completely still, for a solid three-count,. before letting go of the brake to allow his car to slowly idle down the track. It was a magnanimous gesture, and it was greeted by heartfelt applause and no shortage of tears, from fans and racers alike.
Later in the session, Worsham took on Scelzi in their first round race, and he was away first at the flash of amber. Scelzi then proceeded to outrun Worsham 4.933 to 4.946, but the CSK driver's advantage at the tree gave him a big hole-shot win, and put his team back on the winning side of things.
In round two, it was the aforementioned Hight providing the opposition, and Worsham again left first, though almost too early.
"I got a bit lucky in that round," he said. "We were ready way ahead of them and it just seemed like it was taking a long time. My foot just wouldn't wait, but luckily just as I got to the point where I really couldn't wait any longer, the lights flashed. I cut a .021 light, but I'm lucky I didn't red-light. It just went our way."
It also went Worsham's way on the track, as he sped to another solid lap, a 4.938, while Hight suffered traction woes in the other lane. The lap marked the fifth consecutive clean run by the team, and their 3-for-3 performance in qualifying was good enough to earn the crew the Full Throttle Pit Crew award for the best overall effort among all the Funny Car teams. Crew member Ryan McGilvry accepted the award on behalf of his teammates prior to the race. This lap, though, simply moved Worsham back into the semi-finals for the second time this season.
He met up with good friend and points leader Wilkerson there, and their "good old drag race" was a pleasure for the fans to witness. As much as Worsham wished it had worked out differently, he was keenly reflective after the lap.
"We always race Tim hard, and he does the same. He's having an unbelievable year, just off the charts, and he's really the best out here right now. I'm impressed by what he's doing, and he's a great guy who was just as shaken and stunned by what happened here this weekend as any of us, but Tim is also a pro, and he kept his focus. I would have loved to have been the Funny Car guy who won this race in Scott's honor, but I'm also very happy we have such a solid race car again.
"We did get to test one day after Chicago, and we made some changes to how we run the car. I think they work. It's consistent, and it's solid. We can win with this car and this tune-up, and we plan on doing that. Now I just want to go home and be with my family. Norwalk is in just a few days, so we'll hold each other tight and I'll play with my girls, and then we'll go racing again. And we'll miss Scott forever."
WORSHAM'S SEMI-FINAL FINISH HELPS EASE A BIT OF HIS PAIN
Del Worsham admitted it right up front. He was not climbing in his race car on Sunday with the same tension nor the same motivation as any normal NHRA race day. The loss of Scott Kalitta on Saturday left Worsham in the same state as nearly every person even remotely associated with motorsports, and with that impact much of the excitement about racing vanished as well. Worsham was intent, and focused, and very much interested in doing well on the race track, but the triviality of round wins made the scene somewhat surreal.
Knowing it wasn't for high-fives or wild celebrations allowed Worsham, and his crew, to simply approach each lap with a steady demeanor, without the often overblown tension of a normal race. It was simply time to do their best, and the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team went about their work with a silent intensity rarely seen. In the end, huge wins over Gary Scelzi and Robert Hight propelled the CSK team into the semi-final, where they took part in a great race between two great teams. Points leader Tim Wilkerson posted a solid 4.93, and that was enough to edge ahead of Worsham's also-solid 4.95, to end the CSK driver's weekend. Disappointed he didn't make the final, Worsham was also not afraid to admit he was relieved to have his day, and his weekend, in the history books.
"We wanted to win every round today, and our guys were totally focused on doing that and so was I, but we got edged out by the guy who is just dominating the class right now, so there's no shame in that," Worsham said. "This was a hard day for everyone, a really hard day, and so unlike a normal Sunday. It kind of made all the drama we put on race day seem a little stupid, really. We normally come out here on Sunday all edgy, all nervous, and so stressed out about every little thing and every move we make. Today, it was more just a deal where we went up there to do our best, and none of us were going to stress over anything. Maybe there are some lessons to be learned from that attitude."
Despite the tragedy, it was truly a big weekend for Worsham and his team. Coming into this race off consecutive DNQs, the CSK group needed a rebound, and that started with getting qualified. To assist in their mission, the team unanimously agreed to first change their luck, but putting the blue CSK Impala on the car for no reason better than "change is good."
Sure enough, Worsham went right out there and put two solid laps on the board Friday, which is exactly the medicine the team needed to get over its recent spat of ultra-stressful weekends. Safely in the show on the strength of their Friday night 4.831, the team approached Saturday as a "test and tune" for race day, rather than a "do or die" exercise in avoiding another failure to make the field.
On Saturday's first pass, Worsham clocked in with a 4.987, which happened to be the fourth-quickest lap in the afternoon heat. It was all adding up, and Worsham was primed and ready for Q4 when the Kalitta accident occurred. He immediately told his team to turn around and head back to the pit.
"It didn't matter to me what NHRA did after the wreck, we were not going to make that lap," Worsham said. "It wasn't right, we were done, and we just came back and got ready for Sunday. We know Scotty would demand that we race hard on Sunday, and he wouldn't have been coy about it at all, so that was something we knew we were going to do, but I wasn't going to make another lap on Saturday. No way.
"It was a really hard night, and to tell you the honest truth I barely slept at all last night. I was up most of the night watching ridiculous stuff on TV, because the sleep just wasn't there. I was so happy when the morning came, and ready to race, but like I said nothing was the same. We were focused on representing our sport, our fans, and Scott. I think every team out here felt the same way. We owed the drag racing world a good race."
It was just that, from the moment Robert Hight lined up as the first Funny Car to race, with no car beside him. Kalitta's last lap moved him from outside the field into the No. 13 spot, and Hight would have been his opponent. In one of the most emotional scenes in recent history, every member of Kalitta Racing who was present at the race track, a group that number in the dozens, walked forward in the left lane, taking the place of their fallen driver. Hight pulled forward in the right lane, and when the amber lights flashed he kept his car completely still, for a solid three-count,. before letting go of the brake to allow his car to slowly idle down the track. It was a magnanimous gesture, and it was greeted by heartfelt applause and no shortage of tears, from fans and racers alike.
Later in the session, Worsham took on Scelzi in their first round race, and he was away first at the flash of amber. Scelzi then proceeded to outrun Worsham 4.933 to 4.946, but the CSK driver's advantage at the tree gave him a big hole-shot win, and put his team back on the winning side of things.
In round two, it was the aforementioned Hight providing the opposition, and Worsham again left first, though almost too early.
"I got a bit lucky in that round," he said. "We were ready way ahead of them and it just seemed like it was taking a long time. My foot just wouldn't wait, but luckily just as I got to the point where I really couldn't wait any longer, the lights flashed. I cut a .021 light, but I'm lucky I didn't red-light. It just went our way."
It also went Worsham's way on the track, as he sped to another solid lap, a 4.938, while Hight suffered traction woes in the other lane. The lap marked the fifth consecutive clean run by the team, and their 3-for-3 performance in qualifying was good enough to earn the crew the Full Throttle Pit Crew award for the best overall effort among all the Funny Car teams. Crew member Ryan McGilvry accepted the award on behalf of his teammates prior to the race. This lap, though, simply moved Worsham back into the semi-finals for the second time this season.
He met up with good friend and points leader Wilkerson there, and their "good old drag race" was a pleasure for the fans to witness. As much as Worsham wished it had worked out differently, he was keenly reflective after the lap.
"We always race Tim hard, and he does the same. He's having an unbelievable year, just off the charts, and he's really the best out here right now. I'm impressed by what he's doing, and he's a great guy who was just as shaken and stunned by what happened here this weekend as any of us, but Tim is also a pro, and he kept his focus. I would have loved to have been the Funny Car guy who won this race in Scott's honor, but I'm also very happy we have such a solid race car again.
"We did get to test one day after Chicago, and we made some changes to how we run the car. I think they work. It's consistent, and it's solid. We can win with this car and this tune-up, and we plan on doing that. Now I just want to go home and be with my family. Norwalk is in just a few days, so we'll hold each other tight and I'll play with my girls, and then we'll go racing again. And we'll miss Scott forever."
