The Orange County Register – If you need a hint, the fact that the Winternationals are taking place in Pomona as July turns to August is a reminder that COVID-19 scrambled the NHRA schedule just as much as it did that of any other sport.
Alexis DeJoria needs no reminder, nor does drag racing legend Del Worsham. DeJoria, 43, is the driver of the ROKiT/ABK Beer Toyota Camry and Worsham runs the Orange-based DC Motorsports team for which she drives, and they and their teammates are starting to hit their stride after a pandemic-scrambled beginning.
DeJoria is seventh in the overall Funny Car standings coming into Pomona for a race weekend that under normal circumstances is held in February. In her last three events, she’s advanced to a semifinal, a final and a semifinal, and she’s been second in qualifying five times and third once in nine events. So while she has yet to win in her return to the track, the feeling in her garage is that it’s a matter of time.
“I believe once we break through, we’ll probably flood through it and do it multiple times,” Worsham said in a phone conversation Thursday. “There’s still another level that we all need to rise to, that we’re not 100 percent there yet. What’s cool is that at least we know there’s room for improvement. We haven’t maxed out. We know it’s going to take more, and there’s more in this team, there’s more in the car and there’s more in the driver.”