Cory Lee to drive third Worsham Funny Car at Brainerd and Indy

Funny Car driver Cory Lee will be behind the wheel of a new entry in the NHRA Funny Car class in Brainerd, as Worsham Racing adds a third car to Team CSK. The Pontiac Firebird will team with the existing Checker-Schuck's-Kragen Funny Cars driven by Del Worsham and Johnny Gray.

"The rumors have been flying and I think it's time to announce this just to keep the distraction level down," Worsham said. "Cory is a very good driver, a talented mechanic, and an incredibly hard worker. He'll be a major asset to our program, and we hope this third car will be an equally large plus for us, as well."

"We'll be honest here. The idea with this is to capitalize on the position we're in and give us the best possible shot at ending the Force dynasty," Worsham continued. "We want it to qualify wherever it goes, and then take out whoever it runs against. If it lines up next to a Ford, or John (Force) himself, all the better. It will be a 'Mustang Hunter' pure and simple."

Worsham entered the Seattle race 112 points behind POWERade points leader and 11-time Champion Force. Force's three-car team currently occupies the numbers one, two, and four spots on the points sheet, with Worsham sandwiched into the number three slot. On Sunday in Seattle, before the rains delayed racing, Worsham had already advanced to the second round and Force was eliminated by Dean Skuza.

"It's the first time in my career I've been in a position to even see John on the horizon this late in the season," Worsham said. "I don't want to keep battling and maybe come close but come up a couple of rounds short and wonder what we could have done to make up the difference.

"With this third car, we're gong to experiment a little and give ourselves the best possible shot. We'll make the commitment to Brainerd and Indy, and then we'll see from that point forward. The car is going to be on the track to help the Checker-Schuck's-Kragen team have the best chance at the championship. We won't keep trotting it out there if the chase becomes unrealistic, but our hope is absolutely that it can be a valuable part of our program for the rest of 2002."

Cory Lee, who has driven Funny Cars for Tom Hoover and Jim Farnum, is excited about his return to the Worsham camp. In 1996, Lee handled the clutch for Worsham's car, and was a key reason for the then independent team finishing seventh in points as the only unsponsored team in the Top Ten. That accomplishment led to the team's sponsorship with CSK Auto in 1997.

"Del, his dad Chuck, and I go back a long ways and we're good friends," Lee said. "When Del ran this idea past me, I took exactly one second to agree to do it. Nothing could be more exciting than to come back to Worsham Racing and have a chance to seriously contribute to the overall program. We plan to make life harder for any team we face, period. If we do that, we'll help Del, Johnny, and the entire team."

Garry Kennedy will act as crew chief on the new black and white Firebird, working closely with Chuck Worsham and CSK blue team Crew Chief Dave Fletcher.

"Garry is the perfect guy for this job," Worsham stated. "He knows his way around the workings of these cars as well as anyone, and he can work hand-in-hand with Dave Fletcher and my dad to take the best parts of our tune-ups and make them work on Cory's car."