WORSHAM'S STRONG LAP NOT ENOUGH TO OVERTAKE HIGHT
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/d_worsham.jpg" alt="d_worsham" align="left"borders="0"/>
Jack Beckman, Gary Densham, Tony Pedregon, and Cruz Pedregon all won their first-round match-ups on Sunday in Sonoma. In a purely theoretical world, had Del Worsham been paired with any of them, or the people they raced, it's highly likely he would have been victorious as well, but Worsham had the misfortune of being lined up with a certain Robert Hight in the opening round, despite the fact he out-qualified Hight by five spots on the ladder. Worsham's 4.181 was the strongest losing lap in round one, by a good margin, but it lost just the same. In terms of points value, it was no different than a tire-smoker.
Worsham's No. 6 qualifying spot, his fifth-consecutive strong starting position, came as the result of a uncannily consistent set of laps on Friday and Saturday. Going 4-for-4 over the course of the two days, Worsham posted three 4.26-second runs, and hit his 4.132 home run on Friday evening. His other three laps were 4.264 in Q1, 4.263 in Q3, and another 4.264 to wrap up qualifying in Q4, and he never finished any session lower than 6th on the list during the weekend. The fact his strong effort still attracted a first-round date with Hight only added to the driver's frustration.
"I'm not mad, and to tell you the truth I'm only disappointed that we lost, because that's all I really care about, but you have to shake your head and wonder about fate and luck when you look back over the last few races," Worsham said. "We've qualified well, or even great, and yet we can't seem to get away from Hight and (Ron) Capps in the opening round. It's hard to believe."
In his last three races, Worsham has qualified 9th, 2nd, and 6th, yet drew Hight, Capps, and Hight again in round one, losing all three of those match-ups. Luck has certainly not been on his side, and never was that more apparent than here in Sonoma.
During the first round, other teams took their win-lights with times ranging from 4.186 to 4.399, but Worsham's 4.181 wasn't enough to overcome Hight's 4.148. It was a side-by-side battle for the length of the track, with Worsham's Techron / CSK Impala coming up just short at the finish line.
"You have to beat these guys to win races, and everyone out here is tough, but right now absolutely no one is making a mistake against us," Worsham said. "You watch all the other pairings and you see tire smoke in one or both lanes, but it seems like we're always coming up against super teams that make perfect laps. With who we've had to race lately, you'd think we were qualifying 15th or 16th every week, not where we've been.
"I just want to win, you know, and as much as I'd like to outrun a guy like Robert, or maybe even beat him on a hole-shot, the truth is I'd take a win-light any way I could get one. Over the course of a season, especially a good year, you usually win a lot of those imperfect races, the ones where you don't run perfect but the other guy has worse issues than you do. Teams like Robert's just don't leave the door open very often, and they didn't even let it open a crack today. We ran great, but we lost. That's just the way it is. It's reality, but I don't have to like it."
After the marathon of the Western Swing, the schedule now grants Worsham and his teammates a rare weekend off before resuming with back-to-back races in Brainerd, Minn. and Reading, Pa. Those two races, along with the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, are all that remain before the Countdown field is set, so Worsham knows what he's up against.
"We're not done yet, and as long as we still have a chance I still believe we can do it," he said. "The thing we have going for us is that we're running as well and as consistently as we have in a long time, maybe in a couple of years really. We got sidetracked by those two DNQs in early June, but since then we've been qualifying high and running strong. If getting a break or two is what we need, I'm all for that. Like I said, I don't really care if we win a few ugly ones, as long as they're wins. I'd rather win ugly than lose beautifully, like we did today."
Worsham will take up his quest again in two weeks, when the POWERade tour visits the scenic Brainerd Lakes region in north-central Minnesota.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/d_worsham.jpg" alt="d_worsham" align="left"borders="0"/>
Jack Beckman, Gary Densham, Tony Pedregon, and Cruz Pedregon all won their first-round match-ups on Sunday in Sonoma. In a purely theoretical world, had Del Worsham been paired with any of them, or the people they raced, it's highly likely he would have been victorious as well, but Worsham had the misfortune of being lined up with a certain Robert Hight in the opening round, despite the fact he out-qualified Hight by five spots on the ladder. Worsham's 4.181 was the strongest losing lap in round one, by a good margin, but it lost just the same. In terms of points value, it was no different than a tire-smoker.
Worsham's No. 6 qualifying spot, his fifth-consecutive strong starting position, came as the result of a uncannily consistent set of laps on Friday and Saturday. Going 4-for-4 over the course of the two days, Worsham posted three 4.26-second runs, and hit his 4.132 home run on Friday evening. His other three laps were 4.264 in Q1, 4.263 in Q3, and another 4.264 to wrap up qualifying in Q4, and he never finished any session lower than 6th on the list during the weekend. The fact his strong effort still attracted a first-round date with Hight only added to the driver's frustration.
"I'm not mad, and to tell you the truth I'm only disappointed that we lost, because that's all I really care about, but you have to shake your head and wonder about fate and luck when you look back over the last few races," Worsham said. "We've qualified well, or even great, and yet we can't seem to get away from Hight and (Ron) Capps in the opening round. It's hard to believe."
In his last three races, Worsham has qualified 9th, 2nd, and 6th, yet drew Hight, Capps, and Hight again in round one, losing all three of those match-ups. Luck has certainly not been on his side, and never was that more apparent than here in Sonoma.
During the first round, other teams took their win-lights with times ranging from 4.186 to 4.399, but Worsham's 4.181 wasn't enough to overcome Hight's 4.148. It was a side-by-side battle for the length of the track, with Worsham's Techron / CSK Impala coming up just short at the finish line.
"You have to beat these guys to win races, and everyone out here is tough, but right now absolutely no one is making a mistake against us," Worsham said. "You watch all the other pairings and you see tire smoke in one or both lanes, but it seems like we're always coming up against super teams that make perfect laps. With who we've had to race lately, you'd think we were qualifying 15th or 16th every week, not where we've been.
"I just want to win, you know, and as much as I'd like to outrun a guy like Robert, or maybe even beat him on a hole-shot, the truth is I'd take a win-light any way I could get one. Over the course of a season, especially a good year, you usually win a lot of those imperfect races, the ones where you don't run perfect but the other guy has worse issues than you do. Teams like Robert's just don't leave the door open very often, and they didn't even let it open a crack today. We ran great, but we lost. That's just the way it is. It's reality, but I don't have to like it."
After the marathon of the Western Swing, the schedule now grants Worsham and his teammates a rare weekend off before resuming with back-to-back races in Brainerd, Minn. and Reading, Pa. Those two races, along with the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, are all that remain before the Countdown field is set, so Worsham knows what he's up against.
"We're not done yet, and as long as we still have a chance I still believe we can do it," he said. "The thing we have going for us is that we're running as well and as consistently as we have in a long time, maybe in a couple of years really. We got sidetracked by those two DNQs in early June, but since then we've been qualifying high and running strong. If getting a break or two is what we need, I'm all for that. Like I said, I don't really care if we win a few ugly ones, as long as they're wins. I'd rather win ugly than lose beautifully, like we did today."
Worsham will take up his quest again in two weeks, when the POWERade tour visits the scenic Brainerd Lakes region in north-central Minnesota.
