Del Worsham/Al-Anabi Racing -On the Road to the 2011 NHRA TF Championship

Who would have thought in the beginning of the NHRA 2011 Full Throttle Series that Del Worsham would be in contention to win it all at the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona. Driving a Top Fuel Dragster for Al-Ananbi Racing and being a part of one of the greatest racing teams within the NHRA must be one of the greatest thrills of his career.

Del Worsham who was born on February 11, 1970, began his NHRA career in 1990 right in Pomona, Ca. Del made his first professional start 21 years ago at the NHRA Finals in Pomona. He competed primarily in the Nitro Funny Car series. He did split his time between Top fuel and Funny Car between 1993 and 1995. After starting the last race of the 1990 season, Worsham began his professional drag racing career in 1991 driving his father's Nitro Funny Car. Seven races into the season, he won the Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia In doing so, Worsham, who was 21 years old at the time, became the youngest driver ever to win a Funny Car event. He continued his early success by winning the Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey, less than three months later. At the conclusion of the 1991 season, Worsham finished sixth in the Funny Car points standings and was named the NHRA Rookie of the Year.

In 1993, Worsham participated in select Top Fuel races, ultimately starting eight times in the Top Fuel Series. He recorded a top speed of 300.20 mph while participating in Top Fuel. In the Funny Car Series, he finished runner-up only once, losing to John Force at the Winternationals in Pomona, California. Worsham continued to particpate in both the Top Fuel Series and Funny Car Series in 1994, starting 12 and five races, respectively. After an engine exploded during one of his races, Worsham missed 12 weeks of the season to heal the burns he sustained. In total, he advanced to the Quarterfinals three times and failed to advance each time. 1995 was the last year Worsham raced in the Top Fuel Series until the 2011 season. He raced only twice in the Top Fuel Series, however, while he made 17 starts in Funny Car. He made it to the semifinals once, and he finished 16th overall in the Point Standings. In 1997, Checker-Schuck’s-Kragen Auto Parts became the primary sponsor of Worsham's team. From 1997 to 2008 Del raced with the family own car and then that ended at the end of 2008. In 1998, Worsham advanced to the Final Round at the inaugural race at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois, marking the first time in six years he advanced past the semifinal round. He would lose to Whit Bazemore, however, and finished the season in 10th place in the Point Standings. NHRA presented the 1998 Blaine Johnson Award to Del and his family at the end of the season. This prestigious award was created by NHRA to commemorate late Top Fuel driver Blaine Johnson, who died during a crash in August 1996 at the U.S. Nationals. According to the official NHRA website, "the award is presented to the individual, team or family who best demonstrates perseverance and dedication to NHRA Drag Racing."

In September 2008, Worsham was named the new driver of the Al-Anabi Racing Funny Car, effective after the 2008 NHRA Funny Car season. The Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing Team debuted in 2009 with Del as their Funny Car driver, who was entering his 18th year as a professional NHRA driver. Worsham, who qualified for all 24 Funny Car events, advanced to the semifinals six times that year and won three of those races to advance to the Final Round. He won in all three of his Final Round appearances, his first multi-win season since 2005. His victories came at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals (Madison, IL), the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol, TN), and the Virginia NHRA Nationals (Richmond, VA). He would qualify for the Countdown to One NHRA Playoffs for the first time in his career,[1] and he would place seventh in the Funny Car Point Standings. In 2010, Del qualified for all the Funny Car events for the second consecutive year, and he made it to the semifinals seven times. He only advanced to the Final Round once, however, and lost to Bob Tasca at Englishtown, New Jersey. Worsham would again qualify for the NHRA playoffs, beginning in ninth place in the Countdown to One. He improved three places in the playoffs, finishing in sixth place in the Funny Car Point Standings, his best finish since 2004. At the end of the 2010 season, Al-Anabi Racing announced that it would not run in the Funny Car Series in 2011. Del, along with teammate and 2010 Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon, would each drive an Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel dragster in 2011.

Del is on one of his best seasons ever in 2011, and with the Finals coming this weekend he has the chance to become the NHRA Top Fuel Champion for 2011. He is only 2 points back of first place Spencer Massey for DSR. In Maple Grove this year, the Top Fuel final was the quickest side-by-side race in NHRA history as Del Worsham’s Al-Anabi Racing dragster recorded the quickest run in NHRA history, 3.735 at 323.81 Best of luck to you Del and Al-Anabi Racing for an outstanding year of racing in the NHRA Full Throttle Series. Good Luck in the Finals in Pomona.

If you ever run across Del at the track and he is walking in the pits area, he will always stop to say hi, take a picture and sign an autograph. He definitely loves his fans. This is the type of person that makes the NHRA the greatest community in Motorsports!

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