It appears Del Worsham is as good in virtual reality as he is in real life.

After a month of competition and over a hundred thousand votes, Worsham outlasted 19 other Funny Car racers to win the inaugural Throwback Showdown presented by Boninfante Friction, a virtual reality drag race promoted by CompetitionPlus.com.

Worsham defeated Jeff Diehl in a race that changed leads seven times over a five-day voting period and was decided in the end by less than 100 votes. 

"That was a lot of work, I thought for a while I was campaigning to be President of the United States," said Worsham, who entered the event as the No. 3 qualifier. "I wore my contacts list out trying to get everyone we knew to go on CompetitionPlus.com and vote. The harder we pushed the harder they pushed back on the other side."

On the big stage of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Diehl likely wouldn't present a major challenge to Worsham. However, in the cyber world, Diehl presented a monumental challenge as the No. 1 qualifier. 

The Throwback Showdown presented by Boninfante Friction featured the Top 20 competitors in the Funny Car division at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Those drivers were then asked to select a scheme from the 1970s Funny Car era they would love to represent if this were a real race. Artist Greg Russell of Greg Russell Designs was commissioned to deliver renderings for 20 drivers.

In the end, Worsham believes the two most popular Funny Cars in drag racing reached the championship round. Worsham represented the Blue Max while Diehl carried the legend of the Jungle Jim scheme.

"There's no doubt the two most iconic cars reached the final round," Worsham said. "I had no visions of a runaway win for either one of us. You just had to know it was going to be close."

Worsham will receive a special custom made trophy for his victory as well as a full-size banner from CompetitionPlus.com commemorating the ladder of competition to hang on his wall. He will be presented his awards at the upcoming NHRA Winternationals next month. 

"Just winning, that was pretty much all I wanted ... it didn't matter if there was a trophy or anything. Winning meant everything," Worsham added.

Worsham's road to the winner's circle included victories over Tony Pedregon, teammate Alexis DeJoria and Ron Capps.

For his part, Diehl ran roughshod over the field by qualifying No. 1 by a 2-to-1 vote margin and beating Chad Head, Jack Beckman and Dave Richards. 

"The event was an eye-opener as to the following we have out there," admitted Diehl. "We put little effort into reaching out to our fans, but they were there for us. They stepped up big time. I hardly ever go on the internet, my wife handles that. I have to say I am blown away by the whole experience."

"Everybody so badly wants something to be competitive in during the offseason and it just gets you excited about the upcoming season for sure," Worsham said. "I will say this; it helps us to get off on the right foot in our title-defense. It's a good thing."

The 2016 - 2017 Throwback Showdown will resume in November of this year with Top Fuel as the showcase category with drivers picking schemes from the 60s and 70s.