Last year Jeff Arend drove the blue car and Worsham the red. (Jeff Burk photo)
"We've really had some fantastic people come through this team, and more than a few have been here, at nearly every race, for the whole CSK adventure," Worsham said. "John Fink and Frank Gilchrist were the Auburn Foundry and Texas Stagecoach guys before CSK came along, and I don't know what we would've done without them, both before CSK and throughout the last 12 years. Marc Denner and Bob Wilber joined the team right before the '97 season started, so they've been here for the whole sponsorship, right along with my dad and me. Bruce Scranage's sponsor decal, for Wible Realty, has been on the car the longest, and he's continued to back us and come out to wear the uniform a couple of times a season, every year.”
 CSK added Murray’s to the family in 2006 and used Del’s Funny Car to announce it. (DRO file photo) |
"Over the years, we've had waves of guys come through, and we still see a lot of them every week because they're on other teams now. I'm proud of the fact we gave a lot of those guys their first good job as a crew person, and they've gone on to success with some really big teams. I'll always remember how we were short a guy on the Western Swing, back in '97, so we picked up a volunteer in Sonoma. That was Grant Downing, who has been building our cars since not too long after that, and is now one of the most respected chassis builders in the sport. And, of course, we made a legend out of Steve 'Fuel Boy' Brown. Fuel Boy goes way back with us, and he's just about beyond description. It's been a great run, a great sponsorship, and this really has been a great team."
Now, it all winds down and comes to an end right back where it started. At the first race in 1997, Worsham qualified No. 3 in his blue and white CSK Olds, but was upset in the first round (by Gary Bolger, for those keeping score). This time around, he'd rather revisit his results from the Finals in 2001 and 2003, when he kept the year alive as long as possible, right through the final round and into the Winner's Circle with his red Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car. That would certainly be a grand way to wrap things up.
(Ron Lewis photo)