Championship Drag Racing

Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Chicago, IL
(June 7-10)

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Driver Profile

Del Worsham DHL Toyota

Chicago, prerace: John Force, Whit Bazemore, and Del Worsham. Any way you slice that short list, it's not bad company and, heading into this weekend's Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 Nationals, Worsham would like nothing better than to personally pare that specific roster to one. The list denotes the three Funny Car drivers who are tied for the most career wins at Route 66 Raceway, one of the most spectacular venues on the NHRA POWERade tour, and Worsham would certainly like to pull away from the pack with a fourth.

With Bazemore now driving in the Top Fuel class, the chance for any one driver to take the lead by grabbing his fourth career win at Route 66 comes down to Force and Worsham, and should either one accomplish the deed, it will be big news indeed.  Force, of course, has only one round win all season, and is currently sitting 17th on the POWERade points chart. A Joliet win for the 14-time POWERade Champion would most likely stop all of the "Can he do it?" talk and put Force right back in the mix.

Worsham has fared better, to this point in 2007, with a runner-up finish in St. Louis being his best finish, but his 8th place standing in the points is still tenuous, as his own teammate, Jeff Arend, is only 27 points behind him. Looking the other way, a Worsham win would vault him onto more solid ground within the precious top eight. For the Checker, Schuck's, Kragen driver, it's all about Route 66 and feeling that good Windy City vibe.

"We've had some huge moments here, so there's no doubt it's one of my favorite tracks," Worsham said. "We had the Mountain Dew weekend in 2001, when we had that beautiful 'Do The Dew' car for the race, but then blew it sky-high on the last qualifying run. A lot of people remember that, but I remember putting together a funny looking CSK/Mountain Dew car overnight, transplanting some of the decals onto my red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen car, and then winning the race with that body.

"In 2002, we won the race but had to get past Force in the second round. That was the one where we were side-by-side, and he started having engine problems at about 900 feet. I saw him disappear and then the anchor fell out, because my parachutes deployed for no reason. I beat him by a few inches with the 'chutes out.  In 2004, we came in here in the fall, right after we won Dallas, and not only made it back-to-back wins but it was also our fifth win on the year, which is the best we've ever done. So, there are plenty of good memories for us at Route 66."

Rekindling those memories would, obviously, be Worsham's primary goal this weekend, but to do that he and his CSK team will have to maximize every ounce of their performance. The 2007 Funny Car class may go down in history as the strongest contingent to ever race on the NHRA tour, and every run is critical, starting with the first qualifying lap on Friday.

"It really is crazy out here," Worsham said. "You know, we started off just terrible, not qualifying at the first two races this season, and I know a lot of people thought we were toast and the sky was falling. It was tough for me, believe me, but I knew it would even out. There are just far too many good teams out here, and every week someone is going to stumble. So far, only my teammate Jeff and Gary Scelzi have been in all eight race fields, and even Force has a DNQ. There are race fans old enough to vote who weren't even born the last time that happened, so that ought to be all the proof you need that it's really tough out here.

"In Chicago, the track is awesome and the performance is usually huge.   That can make it even tougher, because guys like Robert Hight, Ron Capps, Scelzi, Force, and the other big power teams, can just wail on you here.  If it's cool and overcast, you have to have it all just right. If you mess up on the first qualifying run, that sets you back and you're at a disadvantage going into the second session.  Pretty soon, you can be buried with only two afternoon runs left on Saturday.  If the sun comes out, you're done."

Over the course of history at Route 66, Worsham has dealt with those challenges. He's overcome tough qualifying situations, even bumping into the race field on the last run if that was necessary. And three times, he's gone all the way. A fourth Wally in the Windy City would be just fine.

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