NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car driver Del Worsham heads into the 2010 season confident he can make the field to compete in the Countdown To The Championship, like he did in 2009, driving for Al-Anabi Racing.

In his first season at Al-Anabi Racing, Worsham made the Countdown for the first time in his career and finished seventh in the final standings - 195 points behind eventual champion Robert Hight.

“I didn't know what to expect going into my first year at Al-Anabi Racing but we had great results and it was definitely a building block for (2010) and the future.”

NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car driver Del Worsham heads into the 2010 season confident he can make the field to compete in the Countdown To 1, like he did in 2009, driving for Al-Anabi Racing.

In his first season at Al-Anabi Racing, Worsham made the Countdown for the first time in his career and finished seventh in the final standings - 195 points behind eventual champion Robert Hight.

“I didn't know what to expect going into my first year at Al-Anabi Racing but we had great results and it was definitely a building block for (2010) and the future.”

Worsham, won three times in 2009 to push his Funny Car total victories to 25. Worsham also won consecutive races in 2009 at St. Louis and Bristol, Tenn. Worsham also won his third Wally of the season during the Countdown portion at Richmond, Va.

“Considering we were a brand new team, we finished up pretty well,” Worsham said.

A big addition to Worsham's team in 2009 was the hiring of crew chief Dickie Venables. Before coming to Al-Anabi Racing, Venables worked at Pedregon Racing and won 15 races and the Funny Car championship as Tony Pedregon's crew chief.

Venables tuned Pedregon to the top seed headed into Countdown to 1 despite leaving the team with three races left in the regular season. He joined Worsham prior to the NHRA’s U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

“He brings enormous experience to the team as a crew chief and tuner,” Worsham said. “We hoped by bringing Dickie on board that he would help us win more rounds and more races on Sunday and we did."

Venables can't say enough about working with Worsham.

“He's got a way to get up for it on race day,” Venables said. “He knows how to focus. He is very good behind the wheel. I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for Del as a driver, team owner and if we can get him close, we're going to win some races.”

Worsham also says that Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, is more than just an owner of the race team.

His Highness is not only a drag racer himself but has also given Worsham tips on competing and knows plenty about the profession.

“I didn't take me long to figure out that he's a big drag racing fan and a drag racer himself,” Worsham said. “He's a very good driver and is very involved in this whole thing. He knows what's going on in (NHRA) and he's given me plenty of words of wisdom and I talk to him on a regular basis.”

Worsham is also looking forward to visiting ZMax Dragway twice in 2010.

“Whenever you can go to a dragway like (Bruton Smith) has built is really special,” Worsham said. “Everything is so new and so clean and it's just a fun place to be. I can't wait to get back there.”

Worsham has been involved in NHRA practically his entire life and drove for his family's race team from 1990 to 2008. The Whittier, Calif., native also thinks this could be the year that he wins his first Funny Car championship.

“That's my goal from this point on in my career is to win a Full Throttle championship and even more than one,” Worsham said. “This team is financially backed properly, it has the right owner, it has the right manager, it has the right crew chief. Hopefully, this will all work out.”

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