Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Worsham opts for Chevy

Thursday, April 1, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Del Worsham, who leads the NHRA Funny Car points standings after victories in the past two national events, is trading in his Pontiac Firebird for a brand-new Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Worsham, who will debut his new nitro-powered Monte Carlo in Friday's first qualifying session at the fifth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, said switching car bodies is not as big a gamble as one might think.

"I know people are wondering why we'd come in here on a two-race winning streak and change bodies," Worsham said. "But we have to do it to keep up, and running the new Chevrolet is something we're looking forward to. Our goals are a lot bigger than winning Phoenix and Gainesville, so we have to look ahead.

"The old Firebird has been great, and we've had a wonderful ride with it, but the truth is we're playing against stacked odds every time we race with it these days because the other guys have cars with better aerodynamics. If you don't think it's a gamble to race against guys who can be running five or eight miles per hour faster at the finish line, then you aren't paying attention."

Worsham acknowledged that he and his Checker Schuck's Kragen team might be subject to a learning curve while they adjust to the new body.

"Yes, we might need a short transition period to really learn what the Monte Carlo wants and needs," Worsham said, "but we'll be a better team with this better body on the car. That I'm sure of."

After losing I the semifinals to eventual champion Jerry Toliver in the season opener in Pomona, Calif., Worsham defeated Tony Pedregon in the final at Firebird International Raceway and John Force in the final at the Gatornationals two weeks ago. Worsham leads Force by 110 points in the Funny Car standings.

In addition to Worsham, veteran Funny Car drivers Phil Burkhart Jr. and Cruz Pedregon will make their first competitive passes in the new Monte Carlo this weekend in Las Vegas.

Schumacher, who has won two of the first three Top Fuel events this season, is listed at a 5-2 favorite to leave Las Vegas with his third victory of the season. Force is the 3-1 favorite in Funny Car and Anderson is listed at 7-5 in Pro Stock.

The Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster piloted by Brandon Bernstein also will carry a special paint scheme this weekend in conjunction with a promotion being conducted this month by Anheuser-Busch.

"At least we know what this car can do when it drags a parachute for a thousand feet."