NHRA
Baytown: Gary Densham preview
Densham hopes to end Houston drought. National Record-Holder Seeks First Career Win at Houston. BAYTOWN, Texas (April 11-13) -- He may not be Kid Rock or even George Strait, but there's no doubt that Gary Densham's spring tour, which moves this ...
Published: Apr 11, 2003, 11:33 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Densham hopes to end Houston drought.
National Record-Holder Seeks First Career Win at Houston.
BAYTOWN, Texas (April 11-13) -- He may not be Kid Rock or even George Strait, but there's no doubt that Gary Densham's spring tour, which moves this week to Houston Raceway Park, is attracting as much attention as any other.
The Speed Thrills Tour, playing this year at 23 venues including L.A., Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle and St. Louis, features a barrel-chested former high school auto shop teacher (Densham), a bespectacled mad scientist (Jimmy Prock), lots of pyrotechnics and a hybrid race car (the Team Castrol/Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang) that's downright bad to the bone.
It's a simple show, really, the 21st Century equivalent of shooting a man out of a cannon.
Prock arms the Mustang with a supercharged 7,000 horsepower engine, crew members strap Densham inside and the 56-year-old lights the fuse.
The result? On two separate occasions, most recently at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Densham has accelerated from zero-to-326 miles per hour in only 440 yards, 1,320 feet, the length of a single city block. No one else has done that even once, at least not in a full-bodied car like the one Densham drives for car owner John Force.
Now, the resident of Bellflower, Calif., is focused on going even faster but only if it helps him achieve his primary goal, which is to win this week's 16th annual O'Reilly Spring Nationals and, ultimately, the NHRA POWERade Funny Car Championship.
Amazingly, both of those goals are within his reach 32 years after he first climbed behind the wheel of a race car. Currently second in POWERade points behind only teammate Tony Pedregon, Densham revels in his recurring role as Funny Car drag racing's "King of Speed."
However, being the first to reach 330 mph, the next major performance barrier, is not yet a blip on his radar screen.
"It's a long way from 326 to 330, I'll tell you that," Densham said, "but if there is a car out there that can do it and you'd have to have absolutely perfect conditions then I think with Jimmy Prock's magic, this one's the one."
The NHRA national record holder at 326.87 mph, a mark he established more than a year ago at Pomona, Calif., Densham was clocked at 326.56 mph last week in qualifying for a Las Vegas race in which he was ousted in the semifinals.
Given this week's expected weather conditions, the Houston track's sea level elevation and the recent performance of the Auto Club Ford, if nothing else Densham should eclipse Force's four-year-old track speed record of 321.88 mph.
What he really would like to do, though, is conclude his Houston show by joining Top Fuel and Pro Stock champions on the podium for one final curtain call. Such a result would be especially meaningful given the fact that he is 0-for-17 in previous appearances at HRP, having advanced no farther than the semifinals.
However, even if he doesn't earn his sixth tour victory, even if he misfires on the quest for 330 mph, the show will go on and, for Densham, the thrill won't be gone.
"Going fast," he said, "is flat fun."
In other words, speed thrills.
-www.johnforceracing.com
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Baytown: Mark Whisnant preview
Next article Baytown: Warren Johnson Friday summary
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
John Force
John Force retirement: Heartfelt tributes pour in for "true legend" 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion
General
General
John Force retirement: Heartfelt tributes pour in for "true legend" 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion
John Force retires from NHRA at 76 after violent 300mph crash: "I've been hurt really bad"
General
General
John Force retires from NHRA at 76 after violent 300mph crash: "I've been hurt really bad"
John Force Racing confirms its return to action
NHRA
NHRA
John Force Racing confirms its return to action
Latest news
The closest finish in MotoGP history: Toni Elias over Valentino Rossi 20 years ago
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Portuguese GP
50 min
The closest finish in MotoGP history: Toni Elias over Valentino Rossi 20 years ago
When will Mercedes become F1 world champions in 2026?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
When will Mercedes become F1 world champions in 2026?
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
7 h
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe