Funny car driver Gary Densham emerges unscathed after crash

The parachute for Gary Densham’s Dodge Charger failed to deploy during his first run on Saturday at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals, sending his funny car into the safety net at the end of the track.

Densham was “checked and released by NHRA emergency services officials,” according to an NHRA news release, and he did not appear to suffer any significant injuries.

“Tore up a perfectly good race car,” Densham said. “Don’t know what happened. It’s great that the Safety Safari is here and they do what they do.

“These race cars are awful fast and when the parachutes don’t work, they just don’t stop. That’s the way it goes.”

Densham’s time of 4.050 seconds was his best out of three qualifying runs. His availability for the rest of the weekend isn’t known yet.