WORSHAM BRINGING HOT STREAK TO LAS VEGAS
Tue, 2008-04-08 16:59
There's probably no better time to head to Las Vegas than when you're on a
certifiable hot streak. Whether it's drawing to an inside straight, putting a
pile of chips on that one lucky number, watching 7-7-7 come up on a slot
machine, or finding your drag racing stride after two and a half years of
frustration, the payoffs in Sin City can be large, and Del Worsham is headed to
the Nevada desert looking to cash in.
After having won 18 races in five years (2001-2005), capped off by his
memorable victory at the '05 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Worsham seemingly lost
his map to the Winner's Circle, and the exasperation born of his winless skein
was made worse when he led off each of the last two seasons with a pair of
back-to-back DNQs. Less than two weeks ago, Worsham finally erased a losing
streak that was one of the most confusing and frustrating in the sport, by
dominating four rounds of racing in Houston, and all of those negative thoughts
were relegated to the dusty files of ancient history. Worsham now shifts his
sights to Las Vegas, where he has never won.
"Our team has won at The Strip but it was our blue car when Phil Burkart
was driving, so I haven't had the pleasure," Worsham said. "The Strip is one of
the best, and most major-league tracks on the tour, and it's definitely at the
top of my list for places I'd like to add to the scrapbook, but I've never
approached a race in my life looking all the way ahead to think about winning.
Houston was just like every other race we've ever won; we went there trying to
do our best and hoping to go rounds. Some weekends, it just all comes together
and you get rewarded. Some weekends, you run even better and it doesn't happen.
You just never know."
There's probably no better time to head to Las Vegas than when you're on a
certifiable hot streak. Whether it's drawing to
an inside straight, putting a
pile of chips on that one lucky number, watching 7-7-7 come up on a slot
machine, or finding your drag racing stride after two and a half years of
frustration, the payoffs in Sin City can be large, and Del Worsham is headed to
the Nevada desert looking to cash in.
After having won 18 races in five years (2001-2005), capped off by his
memorable victory at the '05 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Worsham seemingly lost
his map to the Winner's Circle, and the exasperation born of his winless skein
was made worse when he led off each of the last two seasons with a pair of
back-to-back DNQs. Less than two weeks ago, Worsham finally erased a losing
streak that was one of the most confusing and frustrating in the sport, by
dominating four rounds of racing in Houston, and all of those negative thoughts
were relegated to the dusty files of ancient history. Worsham now shifts his
sights to Las Vegas, where he has never won.
"Our team has won at The Strip but it was our blue car when Phil Burkart
was driving, so I haven't had the pleasure," Worsham said. "The Strip is one of
the best, and most major-league tracks on the tour, and it's definitely at the
top of my list for places I'd like to add to the scrapbook, but I've never
approached a race in my life looking all the way ahead to think about winning.
Houston was just like every other race we've ever won; we went there trying to
do our best and hoping to go rounds. Some weekends, it just all comes together
and you get rewarded. Some weekends, you run even better and it doesn't happen.
You just never know."
The "you just never know" theme applies to Las Vegas as a whole, where an
enormous industry is based on the unlikely, but still possible, chance that the
next play could deliver riches. It happens every day, though it usually seems
to happen to someone else.
"Yeah, when I'm in the casino I see people screaming, yelling, and jumping
up and down, but it's hardly ever me," Worsham said. "But that's the beauty of
the casino, just like it is in our sport. If you've got half a clue, and you're
playing with a plan, it is possible to win. I guarantee you'll never win the
big bucks if you stay in your room and don't play. On the track, you have to
get in the game, have a plan, execute the plan, and then hope for some luck.
For more than two years, the luck part might have been missing for us, and
maybe some of the plan I guess, but you have to play if you want to win.
"As well as we ran in Houston, there have been times when we'd do just
exactly the same thing and somehow get tripped up before the final, or maybe in
the final. When it happens once, you're disappointed. When it happens multiple
times, you start to wonder if you'll ever win again. Sunday in Houston proved
to us that hard work and doing it the right way will pay off. It was a huge win
for us, and we just want to keep rolling right now."
If Worsham can let it ride and keep the numbers rolling, he'll be able to
maintain or improve an unlikely surge in the POWERade points standings. The
season is now four races old, but after two events Worsham was mired in 20th
place, with nothing more than the 20 points he was awarded for making qualifying
attempts in Pomona and Phoenix. While other teams were winning rounds, and
races, Worsham was just trying to come up for air.
After a second-round finish in Gainesville, and his win in Houston, Worsham
leapfrogged over 11 other drivers, and now finds himself in the No. 9 slot on
the points sheet. The POWERade Top 10 is a place the popular driver wants to
stay.
"Being in the Top 10 has always been an honor, and something every one of
us has aimed for," he said. "Now, with the Countdown adjusted to 10 teams
instead of eight, it's the biggest key thing this season. We just made a huge
jump to get out of the basement and back in the game, so it would really be
great to keep winning some rounds right now, hopefully solidifying a spot. As
tight as the points are, and will be for quite a few more races, you can fall
just as fast as you climbed, so right now we have to focus on qualifying and
then getting to the second round. If we didn't win another race, but got to the
second round at each one until the cut-down, we'd be in the playoff deal. You
never know, but it's in our hands now."
Just like the spin of the reels or the toss of the dice; you never know.
But you can't win if you don't play.
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