Month: June 2017

By David G. Firestone

There are a lot of sports families. Names like Manning, Williams, Ripkin, Bonds, Mayweather, Dimaggio, Griffey, Howe, Hull, and Jordan are synonymous with their sports. In auto racing, there are a lot of well-known families. These include Earnhardt, Andretti, Petty, Rosberg, Unser, Pedregon, and Force. One racing that family that has flown under the radar for a while in racing is the Worsham family.

The most well-known of the Worsham family is Del Worsham. With 33 National Event wins, 25 in Funny Car, and 8 in Top Fuel, and two Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championships, one in Top Fuel and one in Funny Car, Del has carved himself out a great career. For much of his career, he raced for his father Chuck Worsham’s team. Chuck Worsham runs the team, builds and tunes the car, and builds and repairs equipment for other teams.

Del raced for his family team from 1990 to 2008. In 2009, Worsham joined Al-Anabi racing as a Top Fuel driver. In 2011, he won his first championship in Top Fuel. He then retired, and joined Kalitta Motorsports for 2012 as a crew chief to Alexis DeJoria. In 2013, driver Jeff Arend left the team, and Worsham was announced as the replacement driver. By 2015, Del had settled into his role as driver, and thanks to a great Countdown, won his second Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Championship. At the end of the 2016 season, Worsham left Kalitta Motorsports, and rejoined his family team.

I interviewed Del about his racing uniform last week, and he was great to work with. I’d like to thank Del for taking time out of his schedule for this interview. Without further ado, my interview with Del Worsham:

Dave-What is your uniform setup for a race weekend, that is, how do you rotate suits, helmets, shoes, gloves, etc over a race weekend?

Del-I generally don’t replace equipment during a weekend. I try to wear the same equipment all weekend, bearing that it doesn’t have holes or rips or tears. I visually inspect it as the weekend goes on, and at the end of the weekend if there’s something that’s major, I’ll go ahead and change it out

Dave-Some drivers black out parts of their helmet visor to cut down on distraction, which Jack Beckman referred to as “the Clydesdale effect.” I have noticed that you prefer to have your whole visor clear, have you tried the Clydesdale effect?

Del-I have, I have tried different ways. I’ve been driving 27 years, and I’ve gone with the Clydesdale Effect, I’ve gone with smoke lenses, I’ve gone with amber lenses, pretty much everything that’s out there, and my preference, the way I like to drive, and what I like to see, and for what I’d like to see, visual effect, I’m best, personally as a driver, being able to see what’s going on around me.

Dave-Could you explain, from a driver’s perspective, how you want your suit to fit?

Del-Well, I’d like my suit to fit a little loose. I don’t like it being tugged on or pulling on me in any way. I don’t always order a suit for visual effect, I order it mostly for comfort, and making sure that it’s not too bunched up in areas and causes grief in areas I don’t want. At the same time, you don’t want it baggy and sloppy. I think it should fit nice, and be comfortable during the actual event, racing.

Dave-When you switched from Kalitta Motorsports to Worsham Racing, you stayed with Stand 21 driver suits. What prompted this decision?

Del-Well I started with Stand 21 when I was with Al-Anabi, back in 2011 I believe,[Editor’s note, he actually started with Al-Anabi in 2009] and I started wearing those suits back then, and I noticed right away they were extremely comfortable suits, and they are always working to try to be the leading edge of technology. So I work with the owner, Yves Morizot, I’ve worked with the engineers, Gerald [Bonnet], and I work with Kevin [McConnell] in the United States quite a bit, just to try and build products that are specifically to what we’re doing here, and they’ve been a great company to work with.

Dave-You have had success in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, are there any differences in the uniform setups?

Del-Not today, there were back when I started racing. You could wear a suit that wasn’t rated quite as high in Top Fuel as you had to wear in Funny Car, but in today’s racing, they both require the same suit with the same rating [SFI 20], and to be totally honest with you, I always wore the highest rated suit, racing Top Fuel or Funny Car either way, and that’s what I prefer, I couldn’t imagine not wearing the most protective thing you could, in one of these vehicles, whether Top Fuel or Funny car.

Dave-Do you see yourself racing in Top Fuel again?

Del-No, but you know what, I never say never, because I didn’t even know if I was going to race after 2011, and I was back in the car in 2013. So I never say never, but no I’m pretty content here in Funny Car, I like the guys I’m racing with, love the competition, I like having my own car, and this is where I feel the most comfortable.

Dave-Do you have any uniform superstitions?

Del-Not necessarily superstitions, but I do always do things in the same order, because you don’t want to forget something. Gloves go on in the same order. Boots go on in the same order. I put on the same sleeve, the HANS goes on, everything goes on in the same order. That way, by doing everything in the same order, there’s never a chance of forgetting anything.

Dave-Do you keep any memorabilia from your career?

Del-I do. Not a lot, I keep my championship helmets, I rarely get rid of helmets. I’ve gotten rid of a few over the years, to a couple of people. Pretty much if I have a helmet I like, I wear it as long as I can because changing helmets really affects my vision, the way I can see. I don’t like changing helmets if I don’t have to. So I wear helmets for quite a while. I definitely keep my championship helmets and keep my championship helmets on a pedestal.

Dave-My last question for you is: What is the strangest thing you have every autographed, or been asked to autograph?

Del-Oh brother! I’ve signed plenty of underwear my life. I’ve signed plenty of skin in my life, and I always thing that’s a little strange. One time I signed a guy’s arm, and when I saw him the next time, he had had it tattooed on his arm. So that’s about the strangest thing I’ve ever signed.

Del Worsham has raced for 27 years and has had a lot of success. He has connected with the fans, and has earned the respect of his peers. At a point where many drivers are considering placing their helmets on the mantle, and hanging up their firesuits, Del is still going strong. There is no doubt he will be around for years to come.

Next week, I start my annual summer sabbatical. For the month of July, I will have Monday videos, Throwback Thursdays, and Friday features, but I won’t update the Tracker or Grades, nor will I do My Thoughts On. Next Friday, I’m going to do a video featuring my non-racing autographs.

By David G. Firestone

[Editor’s Note: Though I teased, and had prepared an NHL article ready for this week, to coincide with the NHL Draft, the next two articles came together this last week, and I can’t keep them in reserve. The NHL article will run sometime soon.]

Though it was produced by Casa 7 Leguas, one of Mexico’s oldest distilleries for years, Tequila Patrón wasn’t always the high quality product we know today. In fact, for many years, it was more along the lines of bottom-shelf store brand tequila, that was consumed for intoxication, as opposed to flavor. That all changed in 2000. In 1989, St. Maarten Spirits, owned by John Paul DeJoria and Martin Crowley, purchased the rights to the brand.

In 2000, St. Maarten Spirits, hired Ed Brown as CEO. Brown realized that making the brand into a premium brand would increase sales. In 2002, the company moved production to a brand new facility. Inspired by Gray Goose ads, Tequila Patrón advertising began to promote the product as “premium” and it boasted “taste and sophistication.” Eventually, with a little help from Lil Jon, and other hip hop, and country singers, Tequila Patrón has not only become a fixture in the trendiest nightclubs and restaurants, but also a part of pop culture.

One other way Patrón Tequila boosts their product is through auto racing sponsorship. Tequila Patrón could be considered more devoted than most companies to auto racing. CEO Ed Brown is also a driver for Extreme Speed Motorsports, an FIA World Endurance Championship team, which races in the Weathertech SportsCar Championship. Brown and his team have won the 2014 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix, the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the 2016 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Tequila Patrón’s other major racing sponsorship comes in the form of John Paul DeJoria’s daughter Alexis. Alexis DeJoria got her start in 2005 in the NHRA Sportsman division, first racing in Super Gas before moving to Super Comp, and winning the Sportsman Nationals. In 2006, she stared racing in Top Alcohol Funny Car, and by 2009, she had founded her own team, sponsored by Tequila Patrón.

2011 was a big year for Alexis. She scored her first win in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the 2011 NHRA Northwest Nationals, becoming the second woman to do so. She also got her nitro licensee, and joined Kalitta Motosports, driving the Tequila Patrón Toyota Funny Car. She had moderate success in 2012, and 2013.

2014 was her breakout year, winning the first race at Phoenix, the first race at Las Vegas, and the coveted US Nationals at Indianapolis. She also became the first woman to race a sub 4-second run, with a 3.998 run at Ponoma.

In 2015, Alexis didn’t have the same success as the previous year, making it to only one final round, losing to defending Funny Car champion Matt Hagan. She did make the Countdown to the Championship, finishing 8^th in the standings. 2016 was looking to be a good year. She won the first Las Vegas race, and set personal ET and speed records at Topeka, where she ran a 3.875ET 332.18 MPH in Q2. Sadly, a broken pelvis at Toyota Sonoma Nationals, at Sonoma, and a concussion at the Toyota Nationals at Las Vegas stalled what could have been a championship season.

2017 has been a mixed bag for Alexis. She has had some good runs, and put up some good numbers. Though a family issue has forced her to miss a few events, she isn’t out of the championship picture yet. If Robert Hight can win the Funny Car championship from the 10^th seed, Alexis can surely win too.

I was fortunate enough to be able to interview Alexis about her Funny Car uniform. After the Jack Beckman interview, I decided to take a bit of a different route, this time, more focusing on Alexis’ preferences, as opposed to trying to get as much general Funny Car uniform information. I’d also like to say a huge Thank You to Allison McCormick, who went above and beyond to help make this interview a reality! Without further ado, my interview with Alexis DeJoria:

Dave-What is your uniform setup for a race weekend, that is, how do you rotate suits, helmets, shoes, gloves, etc over a race weekend?

Alexis-I have two firesuits, two helmets, two sets of gloves, two pairs of shoes, two pairs of fire boots, and multiple pairs of carbonex underwear and tops. Throughout the race season, I go back and forth between the two suits. They get pretty dirty so I try not to wear one over and over again. I rotate between the two of them and at the end of the year, I sign them and auction them off for charity.

Dave-How long do driver gloves, shoes, and balaclavas tend to last?

Alexis-I’ve had my balaclavas and some of my carbonex underwear, tops and socks for a few years. I take really good care of my things. They do get pretty thrashed, but I take them home and wash them after every race and hang them to dry. Shoes, it just depends. I wear them until they have holes in them basically; until they’re no longer safe. Same goes for my gloves.

Dave-Some drivers black out parts of their helmet visor to cut down on distraction, which Jack Beckman referred to as “the Clydesdale effect.” I have noticed that you prefer to have your whole visor clear, have you tried the Clydesdale effect?

Alexis-I have not tried ‘the Clydesdale effect.’ For me personally, I like to be able to focus on the top end of the race track where I want to end up, but also still be able to see in my peripheral vision. For me it helps, especially on race day; I like to see and be prepared for whatever may happen.

Dave-You suffered a series of crashes during the season last year, and missed a number of races as a direct result. Did you have to modify your uniform

Alexis-No modifications to my uniform were made. There were some modifications done to the cockpit of the race car to make it safer in the event of something like that happening again. But no, as far as what I wear personally, there were no modifications.

Alexis was also kind enough to share some pictures of her racing uniform:Image by Gary Nastase

Images by William Lester

Alexis DeJoria has experienced a lot of ups and downs in her racing career. Her driving talent and her tenacity have helped her reach the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. She is a popular driver, and having met her in person at Route 66, I can honestly say she is an amazing person. I would like to thank her, and Allison McCormick for helping make this happen!

Next week, I will post an interview with Del Worsham.