Everything in drag racing involves timing, just ask Del Worsham.

Being in the right place and the right time provided the foundation that secured Worsham’s driving job with Alan Johnson's Al-Anabi Funny Car team.

Sunday evening in the Pomona Fairplex media center, Worsham, a 22-time NHRA Funny Car winner on the NHRA Full Throttle tour wanted to talk, this after rain had forced postponement of the day’s racing following one completed round of eliminations.

New Season, New Opportunity Can Be Traced Back to One Conversation …

Everything in drag racing involves timing, just ask Del Worsham.

Being in the right place and the right time provided the foundation that secured Worsham’s driving job with Alan Johnson's Al-Anabi Funny Car team.

Sunday evening in the Pomona Fairplex media center, Worsham, a 22-time NHRA Funny Car winner on the NHRA Full Throttle tour wanted to talk, this after rain had forced postponement of the day’s racing following one completed round of eliminations.

“There’s a lot of stuff floating around out there and I just wanted to set the record straight,” Worsham explained. “I want to tell you how I ended up where I’m at.”

A comedic reporter piped up and asked, “You mean you didn’t buy the ride?”

“That’s a good one,” Worsham said, cracking a smile.

Worsham entered the nitro ranks in late 1990, as the driver of the Worsham and Hendy Tinker Toy Funny Car, and has driven mainly for his family throughout his near-two decade career. The Alan Johnson Al-Anabi appointment last fall represented only the second time in his career that he’s driven for an outside entity.

For Worsham, he found himself facing the reality that unless something came together in a hurry, he could be out of racing in 2009. He dropped a hint with Jerry Toliver, who promised to speak to Johnson on his behalf.

The next morning Worsham ventured over to talk to his friend Jim Head, also a friend of Johnson. He wanted to ask if Head would put in a recommendation for him to drive the forthcoming Alan Johnson Racing Al-Anabi Top Fuel dragster. What many didn’t know was that Worsham already knew that his ride was non-existent for 2009 considering CSK Auto Parts wouldn’t return as major sponsor.

It’s been said before that the formula for winning is found when preparation meets opportunity. With that said who would walk into Head’s hauler but none other than Johnson as Worsham sat there, surprised.

Worsham managed to speak in the presence of his future employer and conveyed, “We were just talking about you. I would just like to interview for your driving job.”

Johnson was surprised with Worsham’s request.

Worsham and Johnson had a five minute conversation at that moment.

They had another five minute conversation via telephone a few days later. By the time he hung up the phone, Worsham knew his plans for 2009.

The most pressing issue for Worsham now is mastering the task of saying Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing as quick as he used to reel off Checker, Shuck’s & Kragen in television interviews.

Worsham is still getting used to doing business the Johnson way. In other words, the driver’s are free to concentrate on what they do best – drive. The other tasks are covered and if a driver wishes to be hands-on, as Worsham had to be in his days of racing with his dad Chuck Worsham, the decision is purely voluntarily.

Additionally, the best parts are available in abundance. The Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Toyota Solara Funny Car is exactly the kind of car Worsham wanted to build when he ran his own team. It’s not so much the components on the car as much as it’s the detail put into the effort. Time restraints prohibited this kind of an effort for Worsham.

Grant Downing, who still maintains employment with Worsham Racing, is now the official chassis builder for Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing

The chassis was built in the Orange, Ca.-based chassis shop, and then shipped to the team’s main headquarters in Brownsburg, Ind., where it was prepared by Brooks and the team for a rigorous testing regimen.

“I knew from the first time I got in that car, I knew this car was going to be something special,” Worsham said.

Scoring low elapsed time in the two pre-season test sessions and a convincing first round victory at the NHRA Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals confirms Worsham's feelings.