Del Worsham continued his strong run in the IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series by earning the No. 1 qualifying position Friday night at Darana Raceway. Worsham drove his Nitro Funny Car to a 4.094-second pass at 302.62 mph, giving him both low elapsed time and top speed of the session.
The performance placed him at the top of a field that saw Jack Wyatt qualify second at 4.266 seconds and Dan Hix third. Worsham will open eliminations Saturday against Jody Austin as the eight-car ladder takes shape.
Worsham said the evening conditions provided an opportunity for a strong run, though he wanted to push the car further.
“The first run was a great run,” Worsham said. “I was kind of bummed. We’re in the evening here and it’s nighttime, it’s Columbus. The track’s great. And I really, really, really want, want to make a three-second run for everybody here. And every chance I get like in Milan, I push it and try, and then it just keeps fighting back a little bit. But for everybody here, the track’s in good shape. There’s a lot of great competitors here. There’s a lot of funny cars, a lot of dragsters. And tomorrow’s going to be a really cool day of racing.”
The California native admitted that the return to IHRA earlier this season came with uncertainty. He said his first race back carried nerves after years away from the cockpit.
“I came in here, that first race in Columbus, and hadn’t driven in a long time,” Worsham said. “And I was a little gun shy. Just, you always question whether or not how good you can do it or if you can do it like you did it before. And made some good runs. And even though we didn’t win, we put up a pretty good race and built my confidence. And then Milan obviously helped a ton. Coming in here, I’m not going to say it’s back to my most comfortable level of my life, but I feel pretty good in the car right now.”
He also pointed to improvements in the track surface compared to earlier this year. “It’s a similar track,” Worsham said. “It didn’t rain as much, and there’s more rubber, more glue, more prep. It’s not as late. I believe there’s enough traction and teeth out there for us to run better than 4:09, and we were pushing pretty hard there too. And just have to wait until tomorrow to do it.”
The two-round qualifying format, he added, makes consistency critical. “The two qualifying runs. Now, when your first run’s a pretty good run like we did, that takes a lot of pressure off,” Worsham said. “Because you don’t want to… Let’s just say you do break traction, smoke the tires the first run. And then the second run you’re like one oil leak away or one drop cylinder away from not qualifying to making the show. So only having two qualifying runs it puts a lot of pressure on the team and the driver to make sure that you go out and do a good job and you don’t make mistakes. And it makes it tough, but it’s exciting. Shoot, man, we’re drag racing, man. That’s how it is.”
The veteran, who has spent decades balancing roles as driver and tuner, said the transition between responsibilities doesn’t faze him. “I did that most of my career, so it’s nothing I haven’t done in the past,” Worsham said. “Even with my dad, because I was heavily involved in how we ran the car. From a young age, we didn’t really have a crew chief, we couldn’t afford one, so I had to learn very young how to tune these cars and work on them. It doesn’t really affect me. I don’t really notice that.”
As he prepares for eliminations, Worsham made it clear that his passion remains the same as it was when he first came to IHRA tracks decades ago. “At the end of the day, I just love being out here,” Worsham said. “You line them up, you hit the gas, and may the best man win. That’s drag racing.”
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