A flood of emotion replaces two year drought for Worsham

Del Worsham has never taken race victories for granted. Not when he broke through as a 21-year-old rookie to win Atlanta in 1991, not when  he was in the process of winning 18 races between 2001 and 2005, and certainly not when he accomplished his famous "double-up" at Indy, by  winning the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and the U.S. Smokeless Showdown during the same weekend.  As he often says, "You treat every win like it's your last, because it just might be."   That's a healthy attitude to carry with you, but even Worsham may have been wondering if the '05 Indy win really was his last, when two and a half years went by without another trip to the Winner's Circle.

That all ended, of course, this past weekend in Houston, when Worsham, his father Chuck, and the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car team found their mojo, found the consistency they've almost always been known for, and found their way back to the winner's circle, with a dominant start-to-finish performance on race day.   On a track that befuddled many of the greatest minds in the sport,  the CSK team put on a clinic, running 4.92, 4.91, 4.91, and 4.93 to sweep through eliminations, while simultaneously lifting a million pounds of weight off their driver's shoulders.

 

 

 A flood of emotion replaces two year drought for Worsham

Del Worsham has never taken race victories for granted. Not when he broke through as a 21-year-old rookie to win Atlanta in 1991, not when  he was in the process of winning 18 races between 2001 and 2005, and certainly not when he accomplished his famous "double-up" at Indy, by  winning the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and the U.S. Smokeless Showdown during the same weekend.  As he often says, "You treat every win like it's your last, because it just might be."   That's a healthy attitude to carry with you, but even Worsham may have been wondering if the '05 Indy win really was his last, when two and a half years went by without another trip to the Winner's Circle.

That all ended, of course, this past weekend in Houston, when Worsham, his father Chuck, and the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car team found their mojo, found the consistency they've almost always been known for, and found their way back to the winner's circle, with a dominant start-to-finish performance on race day.   On a track that befuddled many of the greatest minds in the sport,  the CSK team put on a clinic, running 4.92, 4.91, 4.91, and 4.93 to sweep through eliminations, while simultaneously lifting a million pounds of weight off their driver's shoulders.

"I'd be lying if I said I never wondered, over the last two years, whether we'd ever get back to the Winner's Circle, because it's been a long dry spell," Worsham said.  "It looks worse than it was, because the truth is we were just a few feet short of winning two races last year, just barely getting beat in St. Louis and Sonoma in two side-by-side final rounds, but that even adds to the frustration and doubt because we were so close and didn't get the prize.   You look back on those years when we were winning four or five races in a season, and it's almost hard to believe.

"This year, with the DNQs we had at the first two races, it was wearing on me.  I love this sport, and I love driving a Funny Car, but let's be honest about it.  Winning is the most fun you can have, and when you go more than 50 races without getting to hold the trophy, you start to lose the memories and you start to wonder.  Sunday in Houston, it all just came back together, the car ran great, and my dad made some big-time calls throughout the day.  It was so great to feel it building, and to feel the excitement you get as you begin to go rounds.  To actually win in the final was a huge thing, and a gigantic relief.   That one was a long-time coming, and I think we really earned it."

This was not the first time Houston Raceway Park was the site of jubilation for Worsham and his CSK teammates.  After winning two races in '91, Worsham then lived through an eight-year drought before getting his next Wally, in Seattle during the 1999 season.  Following that win, he then went another two years before acing another Sunday test, but his 2001 Houston win propelled him to all-new levels of competitive success.  As mentioned earlier, Worsham parlayed that Houston win into an impressive string of victories, taking home 18 trophies before 2005 came to an end.

"Houston was the one that kind of broke the seal on it for us, back in 2001, " Worsham said.  "The Seattle win in '99 was huge, but we kind of out-foxed some people on a very loose track that day.  When we got to Houston, in '01, we just started clicking and it all came together.  We were No. 1 qualifier that year, and just flat-out earned the win with some great runs.  That got us on an amazing roll, and it didn't end until Indy in 2005.

"I don't know if this Houston win will be like that, or what will happen from here on out in the 2008 season, but I know we have a good handle on the car, and we have a great young team that is very hungry.  We didn't just win the race on Sunday, we went through a sort of baptism under fire, because we had issues between rounds all day. These guys had to come together as a team, to overcome a lot of bad things going on, and they did it.  The win meant a lot to me and my dad, for sure, but I think the whole process was a huge thing for this team.  I'm really proud of them, and happy for them."

For his young crew, most of whom had never won a race before, this was all new and all very exciting.  For Worsham, it was "that old familiar feeling" coming back again, and the sensation was truly sweet.   He held that trophy as if it, indeed, might be his last, but it seems highly doubtful that such a scenario will be the case.  You just can't keep a good man down forever.