WORSHAM CONTINUES TO BATTLE MULTI-CAR TEAMS
CHARLOTTE, NC – Before the beginning of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello season, two-time NHRA champion, Del 
Worsham, left Kalitta Motorsports to rejoin his family-owned team Worsham Racing. Now he’s going up against the multi-car super teams as a single-car team that is still in the process of being rebuilt. This weekend, Worsham qualified 11th at the annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals with his Lucas Oil Toyota Camry Funny Car.
Worsham, the 2015 four-wide runner-up, unfortunately placed fourth in his first round match up against John Force, Ron Capps, and Chad Head. Ron Capps went on to win the race. This race marks the third time he has lost to John Force this season. But despite this, Worsham has a lot of respect for Force and the team he has built.
“When I entered my first race John Force wasn’t a champion yet. But he won it at that event and became a champion. The first race I entered was the race that John became a champion for the first time, so for pretty much my entire career, he’s always been on top, he’s always been the guy we’ve had to beat. By far he’s been the toughest competition, obviously winning 16 championships and everything thing he’s done during my career. It’s hard not to look up to a guy who wins that much and brings that much to the sport,” Worsham expressed.
John Force has a huge team and budget at his disposal, and that only pushes Worsham and his team to want to be better as they get Worsham Racing off of the ground. Compared to John Force Racing, Worsham Racing is the underdog, and Worsham is aware that if he wants to improve his standing this season, he’s going to have to improve to push past that.
“Anytime you win a Funny Car race or championship, somewhere John Force is going to be involved. He’s gonna be part of the equation every time, so beating him is part of the equation, no matter if it’s winning a race or winning a championship. I’ve known that for my entire racing career, and when you come up against him, there he is,” Worsham said.
But while John Force may hold the record for the most number of championships won, Worsham still holds the record as the youngest driver to win a Funny Car event. This coming weekend, Worsham will be racing at the Southern Nationals, where he won his first race in 1991.
“Atlanta was the site of my first win in 1991, I won there when I was 21 years old,” Worsham said. “It’s a great track, great fans, and it would be a great place to get the season on to a good start and turn it around and feel like we’re heading in the right direction.”
Worsham returns to action for the NHRA Southern Nationals on May 5-7 at Atlanta Dragway in Atlanta, GA.
