Images courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

What most of the drag community already knew was made official in a statement from Al-Anabi Racing and driver Del Worsham on Monday, as the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel Champion announced his retirement as a driver. Having fulfilled his life-long and career-long goal of earning an NHRA championship, Worsham felt that now  was the time to put a period on his driving career.

“I’ve been thinking about retiring for a while; after winning the Full Throttle championship last week, I made my final decision, and it was 100 percent my decision.  It wasn’t easy; it was sad, but at the same time I am comfortable with it.  I enjoyed driving the Al-Anabi Top Fuel car this year, but it really is the right time for me to retire.  I’ve driven for a long time, and I’m just ready to move to the next chapter of my career. I am so thankful for the opportunity (team owner) Sheik Khalid and (team manager) Alan Johnson gave me to drive the Al-Anabi Top Fuel car this year.  They believed in me, and that’s something I’ll never forget.  I appreciate (crew chief) Brian Husen and our entire Al-Anabi Racing Team, and I thank them for everything they did for me.  I’d also like to thank my Dad, my wife, my entire family and all my friends and fans for 21 years of support while I was driving.”

In his 21-year driving career, Worsham earned 33 national event wins. The first 25 of those came in Funny Car, which he added to with an impressive eight wins in his return to Top Fuel board the Al-Anabi Racing dragster this season on his way to his first championship. Adding to his list of accolades, Worsham is one of just five drivers to have led the points chase in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, and one of 15 to have won a national event in both categories. He made his debut at the 1990 NHRA Winston Finals in Pomona and was the 1991 NHRA Rookie of the Year. He would go on to make 456 career starts as a professional driver.

“We are definitely sorry to see Del retire, but we support his decision and wish him all the best,” Al-Anabi Racing team manager Alan Johnson said.  “Not only did Del do a fantastic job driving and winning a championship, he helped make racing fun.  I cannot imagine the last three years without Del’s enthusiasm to compete and his dedication to the entire Al-Anabi Racing team; he will be missed dearly. Del wanted to win a championship, and I am so happy we were able to help him achieve that goal.  It’s nice to see someone go out on top because so few people have that opportunity; I’m happy for Del and his family.  There’s no doubt we will find a capable driver to pilot the Al-Anabi Gold Top Fuel car for 2012, but we will never be able replace Del Worsham, either on or off the track.”

Although nothing has been confirmed, the rumor mill suggests that Worsham will assume the role of crew chief for Alexis DeJoria and her Kalitta Motorsports-managed Tequila Patron Funny Car next season.