Densham Finally Has a Race to Remember

By SHAV GLICK

Oct. 8, 2004 12 AM PT

There’s a gamesmanship axiom that holds one should never beat the boss in golf, poker or women.

Gary Densham, 57, a former schoolteacher from Bellflower, relishes beating his boss.

That his boss, John Force, is the greatest funny car driver in drag racing history, makes it even sweeter. And that drag racing is still only a part-time job for Densham makes it sweeter yet.

On Labor Day weekend, Densham won the biggest prize in his sport, parlaying a win over Force in the Skoal Showdown to a win in the U.S. Nationals over Cruz Pedregon. His winnings were $100,000 for the Showdown, $75,000 for the Nationals and a $50,000 bonus from the National Hot Rod Assn. for becoming only the fifth driver in 50 years to score the double win.

Densham is a regular in the NHRA Powerade series, driving the Auto Club Ford Mustang as part of Force’s three-car team that also includes Eric Medlen. Between races, such as last week’s in Chicago and this week’s rain-postponed event in Reading, Pa., the longtime Cerritos Gahr High auto shop instructor flies home to give vocational guidance and career hope to high school students from San Diego to Bakersfield.

“I loved teaching and I loved vocational training because I knew every kid wasn’t college caliber and there are a lot of things out in the world for them to do,” Densham said.

“When I first drove the Auto Club Mustang, I met Tom McKernan, the Auto Club president, and when he told me that we had lost a huge percentage of shop classes in California schools, I was appalled.

“Tom made me a spokesman for the Auto Club’s Youth and Education initiative and I speak to about 60 schools a year....

“I emphasize the types of jobs available ... mechanics, technicians, welders, machinists, computer experts, public relations people and so on. My goal is to spark the kid’s interest in areas he probably had never thought of before.”

Densham was an all-star lineman at Bellflower High, where he played alongside Ron Yary, who starred at USC and became a Hall of Fame tackle in the NFL.

“It was football on Friday nights and the drag strip on Saturday nights,” Densham recalled. “I was too into cars to think about college. That was the height of the muscle-car era and I put an Olds engine in a ’40 Ford so I could beat the guys at school who had Chevy 409s and Pontiac GTOs. It was intoxicating....

“We were the forerunners of funny cars. In 1971, when funny cars became the most popular class in drag racing, we were in the middle of it.”

That was also the year Densham made a barnstorming trip to Australia with another young funny car enthusiast from Bell Gardens, John Force.

“When we got down there, I was embarrassed at how little John knew about racing,” he said. “If I had taken six spark plugs out of his car and laid them on the table, he would still be there because he wouldn’t know how to put them back in.”

When Force found himself short of funds, Densham helped him get back to Bell Gardens, a favor the bombastic Force never forgot. When Densham couldn’t find sponsorship in 2001 and feared retirement, Force signed him.

“John taught me a lesson,” Densham said. “When the rest of us worked side jobs to make money to support our racing, John said, ‘I’ll go out and make enough money to hire someone to do that kind of work.’

“He did it, too. He became not only a great race car driver, but certainly the sport’s greatest promoter.”

Densham himself was no overnight success. He drove 244 national events before winning one, but he never lost his enthusiasm.

He still lives by his favorite saying: “A bad day drag racing is better than a good day doing almost anything else.”

Southland Scene

The heated battle among Rip Williams, Mike Kirby and Damion Gardner for the USAC/CRA sprint car championship will continue Saturday night with the Jeff Bagley Classic at Perris Auto Speedway. Williams, who has led most of the season, holds a 71-point margin over Kirby, with Gardner another eight back.

Corey Kruseman, who has three wins while running a limited schedule, will return from the Midwest for the 30-lap main event.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Ford Focus midgets will be on the program with the weekly NASCAR stock car racing Saturday night at Irwindale Speedway. Chris Rahe of Placentia leads the Focus series with seven wins.

Sean Vincent, 24, of Newhall, has been named Sunbelt Region Craftsman mechanic of the year for NASCAR’s Dodge Weekly Series. Vincent is crew chief for super stock driver Henry Miles at Irwindale.

SCORE will hold the draw for Baja 1,000 starting positions Saturday at 2:30 p.m. during the Off-Road Expo at the Pomona Fairplex.

The race will be run Nov. 18 to 20.

The Rumor Mill

Around NASCAR, word is that Jason Leffler will join Tony Stewart in one of Joe Gibbs’ Nextel Cup cars next year. If it happens, Leffler will get the ride that was being saved for J.J. Yeley. According to sources close to the situation, the Gibbs team wants Yeley, a former U.S. Auto Club multi-series champion, to get more seasoning in the Busch series before stepping into Nextel Cup full-time.

This Week’s Races

NASCAR

Banquet 400

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.; Sunday, race (Channel 4, 11 a.m.).

* Where: Kansas Speedway (tri-oval 1.5 miles, 15 degrees banking in turns), Kansas City.

* Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.

* 2003 winner: Ryan Newman.

* Next race: UAW-GM Quality 500, Oct. 16, Concord, N.C.

BUSCH

Mr. Goodcents 300

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 11:30 a.m.); Saturday, race (TNT, 11 a.m.).

* Where: Kansas Speedway.