Worsham leads Al-Anabi Racing to Indianapolis

Del Worsham, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold):

Del Worsham enters the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in first place in the NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Antron Brown by 136 points, and he will clinch the top seed in the Countdown to 1 NHRA playoffs by qualifying for the U.S. Nationals.

With his Aug. 7 win near Seattle, Worsham now has six wins this season, his career best. His six-win total is also more than any other Full Throttle Series driver this season. His previous career-best win total came in 2004 when he won five races in his family-owned Checker, Schucks, Kragen Auto Parts Funny Car. He went on to finish second in points that year, his career best.

Del Worsham

Photo by: Ted Rossino

Worsham prior to Indianapolis:
“It’s very cool to be so close to clinching the No. 1 seed for the Countdown (Countdown to 1 NHRA Playoffs). That’s been our goal for a long time, and it’s always nice to be within reach of an important goal. We’ve positioned our Al-Anabi team the best we can for the Countdown so we are going into the final regular-season event trying to follow up, continue improving and finish what we started. We want to have our momentum on the way up going into the Countdown.

“Starting the playoffs as the top seed gives you the best chance to win the Full Throttle championship. As we saw with Larry Dixon in 2009, every point is crucial. You don’t want to leave anything on the table. I am so proud of Alan (team manager Alan Johnson), Brian (crew chief Brian Husen) and everyone else at Al-Anabi Racing for what we’ve accomplished so far this year. We have a lot more to do and a new goal to set once the playoffs begin, but it feels good to be where we are right now.

“I’ve been saying all season that I’m pretty lucky that I got to join such an experienced team. These Al-Anabi guys know what it takes to make a dragster go down the track. They know how to win races, and they know how to win championships. These guys just get it done, and I’m excited to get to Indy to hopefully complete our first goal of being the top seed for the Countdown and do our best to win the U.S. Nationals while we’re at it. I’ve won it in a Funny Car; it would be pretty amazing to win it in a dragster, too.”

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Larry Dixon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver):

2010 NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon enters the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in fifth place in the NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel point standings. He trails fourth-place Tony Schumacher by 53 points and leads sixth-place Doug Kalitta by 311 points. Second through fifth places are separated by 88 points entering the final regular-season event of the season. Dixon has clinched his spot in the Countdown to 1 NHRA Playoffs.

Reigning Top Fuel Champion Larry Dixon

Photo by: Ted Rossino

Dixon is the defending champion of the U. S. Nationals. One year ago at Lucas Oil Raceway, Dixon was the No. 1 qualifier; he defeated Bruce Litton, Steve Torrence, Shawn Langdon and Cory McClenathan on his way to the winner’s circle. In the process, he set the track elapsed-time record with a 3.776-second pass. Dixon is a four-time winner at Lucas Oil Raceway having also won races there in 2005, ’01 and 1995.

Dixon’s silver Al-Anabi car will have a new body this weekend. It’s the same black, carbon fiber body that Worsham debuted in July at Denver. The new body has the exact same decals as the previous body, but it will appear black instead of maroon.

Dixon prior to Indianapolis:
“Besides the end result, I like how the Al-Anabi car ran in Brainerd. The car ran well, we qualified second which was a great effort. We set low ET (elapsed time) during the first two rounds on race day. Jason definitely stepped it up a notch, and going into Indy and heading to the playoffs, it’s time for all of us to bring as much as we can to the Al-Anabi team table.

“Indy is the oldest race on the NHRA tour. It’s the one the statisticians always rate you on; how many championships you’ve won and how many U.S. Nationals titles a driver or team has won means something to all of us. As a kid growing up in the sport, my Dad had a Top Fuel car, but he didn’t do the full tour. There were races all over the country, but we didn’t go to all of them. The one race we would tow back East for was the U.S. Nationals. That was the one. It’s the one everybody went to. When there were national events with eight cars, Indy would have 32-car shows because that was the one everybody went to. Out of all the races we run, it’s the one that pays the most, but more than that, for my family and me, it’s the one that means the most.

“When I started racing, I dreamt about being able to win at the tracks where my Dad raced to put the Dixon name in the win column at those tracks; it meant everything to me. I don’t know that I ever thought forward enough to think about winning at places multiple times, but now, you think about winning the next race in front of you. No offense to Atlanta, but I’m much more proud of my four U.S. Nationals wins than I am my four wins at Atlanta.

“As far as points and our position for the playoffs, we hope to win the race this weekend and see where we pan out. I’m not a guy that wishes bad luck on competitors; I like doing things on our own merit. We just need to go to Lucas Oil Raceway, do our best and see where we end up being seeded for the Countdown. (Countdown to 1 NHRA Playoffs)”

Larry Dixon in his Al-Annabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster

Photo by: Ted Rossino