NHRA’s Del Worsham retires after winning top-fuel title

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Drag racer Del Worsham announced his retirement Monday a week after winning the first NHRA top-fuel championship of his career.

Worsham, 41, won the title for his Al-Anabi Racing team during final eliminations in the National Hot Rod Assn.’s Full Throttle Series event, the NHRA Finals, at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. Worsham also won the Pomona event.

‘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% my decision,’ Worsham, whose driving career spanned 21 years, said in a statement. ‘It wasn’t easy, it was sad, but at the same time I am comfortable with it.’

A Whittier native who lives in Chino Hills, Worsham formerly mostly drove in the NHRA’s funny car class, where he had 25 victories. He switched to top fuel this year and had a series-high eight wins.

‘I enjoyed driving the Al-Anabi top-fuel car this year, but it really is the right time for me to retire,’ Worsham said. ‘I’ve driven for a long time, and I’m just ready to move to the next chapter of my career.’

-- Jim Peltz