Del Worsham drove his red Checker, Schuck’s, Kragen Impala to a very strong 4.785, at 323.66 mph, to grab the 5th spot after the first of five qualifying sessions in Indy. Contested under clear skies, with cool temperatures, the session featured a number of very strong runs, including the one made by Worsham’s teammate, Jeff Arend, who ended the day No. 1, with a 4.754. At this point, although the current bump spot is Tim Wilkerson’s 5.202, 15 cars have run 4.882 or better after only a single session, and with another night run scheduled for Saturday, the numbers will most certainly continue to shrink.
“We were definitely not shy about what we wanted to do there, ” Worsham said. “We went up there with an aggressive set-up, and we wanted to run right with the very best. As good as it was, it wasn’t perfect, and tomorrow night I’m pretty sure we’ll be shooting for something even lower. Actually, both of our teams went up there thinking 4.75 was the target number, and Jeff and the blue guys absolutely nailed it. To be No. 1 and No. 5 after the first session here, though, is huge and it really helps to set us up for the rest of a very long weekend.
“Usually, after Friday night you’re half-way done with qualifying, but here in Indy it’s just the first of five sessions, so there will be a lot of jockeying going on before this field is set. The truth is, though, that only two of the five runs are under the lights, so it’s great to get a leg up on it on Friday night. It takes a lot of the pressure off going into Saturday. We’re thrilled to run well for Mac Tools here, it’s the obviously the biggest race of the year for them, and we’ve been a proud Mac Tools team for 11 years. They put on a great reception for us last night, in downtown Indy, and this was our way of paying them back for a really fun night! ”
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