Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Del Worsham knew his experimental nitro-burning Top Alcohol Funny Car had potential. He didn’t know it had 291 mph in it.
At the NHRA Brainerd Nationals, driver Jacob “Jake” Slater stopped the Compulink timing system at 5.452 seconds and 291 mph, chasing down Chris Foster in the second round of Top Alcohol Funny Car eliminations.
Worsham’s reaction said plenty. The former NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car champion put both hands on his head after seeing a speed he admitted wasn’t even on his radar.
The run was believed to be the fastest speed ever recorded by a Top Alcohol Funny Car, and it immediately put Worsham’s experimental combination under an even brighter spotlight.
The car uses nitro Funny Car-style architecture but operates under restrictions designed to keep its elapsed-time performance competitive with conventional supercharged methanol Top Alcohol Funny Cars. The concept is intended to create a more direct gateway from Top Alcohol Funny Car into professional nitro racing.
Now Worsham has a different challenge: figuring out how to keep the car competitive without its massive finish-line speed overshadowing what the experiment was created to accomplish.
Go inside the Worsham Racing pit at Brainerd as Worsham explains the 291-mph run, what the team has learned in competition and where this nitro experiment goes from here.
CompetitionPlus.com — Drag Racing’s Internet Magazine Since 1999.
Del Worsham knew his experimental nitro-burning Top Alcohol Funny Car had potential. He didn’t know it had 291 mph in it.
At the NHRA Brainerd Nationals, driver Jacob “Jake” Slater stopped the Compulink timing system at 5.452 seconds and 291 mph, chasing down Chris Foster in the second round of Top Alcohol Funny Car eliminations.
Worsham’s reaction said plenty. The former NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car champion put both hands on his head after seeing a speed he admitted wasn’t even on his radar.
The run was believed to be the fastest speed ever recorded by a Top Alcohol Funny Car, and it immediately put Worsham’s experimental combination under an even brighter spotlight.
The car uses nitro Funny Car-style architecture but operates under restrictions designed to keep its elapsed-time performance competitive with conventional supercharged methanol Top Alcohol Funny Cars. The concept is intended to create a more direct gateway from Top Alcohol Funny Car into professional nitro racing.
Now Worsham has a different challenge: figuring out how to keep the car competitive without its massive finish-line speed overshadowing what the experiment was created to accomplish.
Go inside the Worsham Racing pit at Brainerd as Worsham explains the 291-mph run, what the team has learned in competition and where this nitro experiment goes from here.
CompetitionPlus.com — Drag Racing’s Internet Magazine Since 1999.
