Tue, 27 May 2003, 12:44 PM Arnie Karp Successfully Completes Licensing Runs in Topeka

Courtesy of Bob Wilber Will Debut Artisan Home Entertainment Nitro Funny Car this Weekend in Chicago

TOPEKA, KANSAS -- Arnie Karp, driving the Worshams' new Artisan Home Entertainment Pontiac Funny Car, completed three fine laps in Topeka today, earning his Nitro Funny Car license. With the licensing procedures complete, Karp will make his fuel racing debut as planned, at this weekend's Lucas Oil Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago.

Karp had already made the prescribed amount of runs in the car, at the specified speed and elapsed time targets, but he and the Worshams felt it was most prudent to complete full, under-power, runs through the lights before moving forward.

On his first pass in Topeka, he posted a 5.01 at 304 mph, then followed that up with a straight and true 4.98 at 309 mph. On the final pass, the tree was incorrectly set to sportsman yellows, which would confuse any pro driver, and Karp's car then broke the right side header pipes a little over 3-seconds into the run, but he handled it all and completed the pass.

"On the runs we made in Indianapolis, Arnie actually shut off early, and he was still getting used to the immense power and speed of the car," Del Worsham said. "Knowing that he's going to have to jump into the deep end on this deal, running his first race at Chicago where we usually run about as fast as anywhere on the tour, we all agreed we needed to come out here today and run the car like we were in a race. We put a good tune-up in it, and told Arnie to leg it to the finish line if it was running okay.

"He did great. He steered the car very well, and on the second pass he kept it dead-center the whole way. On that third run, he had to deal with tree problems he'll never see at a national event, and he had to deal with melted headers, and he did very well. Obviously we still need to make the car go quicker, but he did extremely well today and I have confidence he's ready to be competitive."

Karp was excited and relieved after the day of test runs.

"I knew that in Indy we had made the numbers we needed to officially qualify for a license, but I was right there with Del in wanting to make more laps and run some competitive times. We made big strides today, and I'm still learning a lot every time I get in the car, but we're moving very well in the right direction and I'm really looking forward to Chicago.

"We're going to have a large contingent of Artisan people, and will be announcing some key new associate sponsors when we're there. (Crew Chief) Garry Kennedy and the whole crew are pretty pumped up right now. We hope to do well up there in our debut."

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