WORSHAM DRIVES CAMRY TO TEXAS NHRA FUNNY CAR FINALS

ENNIS, TX – Del Worsham drove his Toyota Camry Funny Car to the final round to lead Toyota at Sunday’s NHRA AAA Texas FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Tex.

Worsham defeated fellow Toyota driver Chad Head in the opening round, then knocked off teammate Alexis DeJoria in round two and Tim Wilkerson in the semi-finals before losing in the final round to Courtney Force after dropping a cylinder while leading.

“By far the best weekend of the year for our DHL Toyota Camry,” said Worsham, who was racing in his 500th NHRA race today. “We felt confident going into the final, we knew we had a car that was running well and thought we had a car that was good enough to win. In the final, we had an advantage early, but then dropped a cylinder. But that’s why they call it a race and not a gathering. I think our team is starting to gel. We gained a couple of spots today, but I have a feeling this one is going to go right down til the end.”

DeJoria, who was the number two qualifier, defeated Jeff Diehl in her opening race before matching up with Worsham in round two. Cruz Pedregon easily won his first round match-up against Tommy Johnson, but was called for red-lighting the start. Head and Tony Pedregon also lost in their opening runs.

In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon was the top Toyota of the day in reaching the semi-finals. He ousted Toyota driver Antron Brown in the first round and Steve Torrence in the second before losing to JR Todd in the semi-finals. Langdon’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Khalid alBalooshi, who advanced to the finals in the delayed Charlotte event on Saturday, wasn’t as fortunate today in falling to Torrence in his first round.

Both Morgan Lucas Racing drivers, Richie Crampton and Morgan Lucas also went down in their opening rounds of eliminations today.

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series heads to St. Louis next weekend for the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, September 26-28, at Gateway Motorsports Park. The event will is the third round of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.