The year was 1992 when I first met Worsham , a lifelong Californian who had already won his first NHRA national event at age 21 the previous year . In 1992 , IHRA once again included the Nitro Funny Car division in their professional lineup after dropping the class the previous year when funding fell short . Worsham raced in both sanctioning bodies that year and picked up a couple of event wins , including the IHRA Spring Nationals in Bristol , where I was reporting on the event for my local newspaper .

IHRA ’ s publicity director at the time , Patrick Jaynes , brought Worsham into the media room after his win . A band of reporters were present to hear his thoughts on winning the event and learning what his future endeavors in drag racing might look like . That ’ s when he uttered the words I never forgot : “ I promised my grandmother I ’ d go to college if drag racing didn ’ t work out !” Hard to believe that was nearly 30 years ago .

So , fast-forward to Ennis , Texas , last month when I reminded Worsham of that interview and the promise he made to his grandmother . His eyes got wide and he paused for a moment , slightly stunned that a then-teenaged newspaper reporter would remember such a tiny detail from that weekend . “ Wow , I haven ’ t heard that in like 25 years !” he laughed .

After nearly three decades I was finally going to follow up on the interview from 1992 , still curious to learn why he

made that pledge to his grandmother and not to his favorite high school teacher or mentor , coach or similar role model .

So , as Worsham and I sat together on the tailgate of a pickup truck at the Texas Motorplex , I once again turned on my voice recorder as he spoke candidly about the role his grandmother played in his life and early racing career . “ My grandmother helped me financially . When I first started racing I didn ’ t even have a trailer for my race car , so she actually bought me a trailer ,” he explains , smiling as he reflected on the memory . “ My grandmother was a huge inspiration

and probably the biggest supporter I ever had , and yes , she did make me promise her I ’ d go to college if drag racing didn ’ t work out !”

At one point in his career she followed him around the country and cheered him on as he fielded a very competitive team in NHRA Funny Car , as well as Top Fuel for some time . “ She actually drove herself to all my races and didn ’ t miss a single one in six years !” he smiles .

Amazingly and quite fittingly , she lived long enough to see Del win his first NHRA world championship in 2010 before passing away approximately

one month later . “ By 2010 she was in assisted living and wasn ’ t doing well , but she was completely aware that I had won the championship and she passed away shortly thereafter .”

Worsham went on to win the championship again in 2015 , and has become a seasoned veteran of the Funny Car ranks in the years that followed .

These days Worsham continues to do quite a bit of exhibition racing and even has a Funny Car in the country of Qatar that he runs while in the Middle East . He also stays busy teaching people the craft of driving Funny Cars , upgrading their licenses , and also tuning for NHRA Funny Car competitor Alexis

DeJoria .

Most recently , Worsham put on a magnificent show at the Funny Car Chaos season opener , qualifying No . 1 and going all the way to the finals , before smoking the tires on the last run of the evening , which allowed Kyle Smith to pull ahead and score the wellearned victory .

Over the last 30 years I ’ ve seen many racers come and go , many whose careers burned brightly at first before burning out completely for various reasons . And then there ’ s a small handful like Worsham , who ’ s managed to stay in the game , travel and race abroad , teach people to drive 330 mph Funny Cars and continue carving out a good living doing what he loves . Best of all , though , he ’ s a gentleman racer and a tremendous ambassador for the sport .

And no , he never had to fall back on “ plan B ” either ... and I doubt he ever will at this point . Ever since that first interview 29 years ago , I knew this was a guy I could easily root for , and I can ’ t help but believe that “ Grandma ” Elaine Worsham would be mighty proud of his accomplishments and completely satisfied that drag racing is still very much “ working out ” for him all these years later . DI