WORSHAM BUMPS IN, ALL THE WAY TO THE 8th SPOT

On a weekend when Del Worsham and his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen team are hosting a pair of Broadway actors at the race track, it was Worsham himself who delivered the drama on Saturday. Entering the day from the No. 9 spot, Worsham smoked the tires on Saturday's first lap, which took place under cloud cover and in extremely cool temperatures. That transgression left him clinging to the 14th position going into the final session and by the time he pulled to the line to compete, he had already been bumped out of the field.

Running alongside John Force, who had also been bumped out, Worsham posted his quickest lap of the year, a 4.797, to leap not just into the field, but all the way into the top half. When the shuffling was complete, he sat 8th and will now face Bob Tasca in round one, in what is a near-revival of the old CSK red vs. blue scenario. Tasca's car is tuned by former CSK blue team co-crew chief Chris Cunningham, who brought former Worsham Racing crew members Tom Leskovan, Seth Randall, Danny Gilbert, and Mike Cunningham with him to the new program.

"We didn't need all that drama, I know that for a fact, but that's just the way it was and I knew we'd be out by the time we ran," Worsham said. "The conditions here are just pretty stellar, and you couldn't count on any of those cars behind us messing up. So, we went up there totally in the mindset that we had to bump in, and to be safe we figured we had to run a 4.80 or better, or it might not be good enough. This time, we made the right calls and the car reacted just like it should have, and we got the number we were after.

"I was just happy to be in the show and had basically no idea where we were on the ladder. All I cared about was that we were on that ladder. It doesn't really look like there's a lane of choice out there, but it's still good to have lane choice in case something develops or the car ahead of you dumps five gallons of oil on the track. I also think it will be one of the toughest laps we've had all year, because Chris has that car running absolutely great. We'll just see what the weather is like, and try to get it to the other end."

Notes:

• The CSK team played host to Buck Hujabre and Nathan Scherich, members of the touring company for the hit musical Jersey Boys, currently playing at the Fox Theater in St. Louis.
• The tight Funny Car field was anchored by Tim Wilkerson's spectacular 4.744, which was more than 2-hundredths quicker than the next best time.
• The bump spot eventually settled at 4.824, as posted by Tony Bartone.