Densham makes good on promise

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 25) - Going from a DNQ in Pomona to a semi-final appearance in back-to-back events is huge in anybody's book, but Funny Car driver Gary Densham was determined not to disappoint his fans and crew at the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals and he didn't.

"We knew we had what it takes go rounds and we proved it today, Densham said. "If there is any disappointment, it's that we didn't win, but this puts us back on solid footing again."

The Densham piloted Torco Racing Fuels - Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo started Sunday's final eliminations of the Checker Schuck's Kragen Auto Parts Nationals from the 14th position against Gary Scelzi. The match-up turned out to be one of the most exciting in first round competition as both cars lost traction, Densham's first, then Scelzi's. But it was Densham's pedaling skills that paid off with a win light by one of the narrowest of margins, defeating Scelzi by .023-seconds.

In round two, Densham faced-off against Bob Gilbertson. This time Densham made a solid run all the way to the finish in 4.89-seconds at 288 mph, while his competitor languished 200 ft. from the starting line in tire smoke .

The semi-final match-up pitted Densham against Tony Pedregon, who would go on to ultimately win the event.

"We knew Tony would be tough so it was imperative we tune the car on the edge if we were going to beat him," Densham said. It turns out that the track couldn't hold what we thought it could and we lit the tires.

"But I can't put into words how good it feels to give Evan Knoll at Torco and the great folks at Racebricks some confidence in our program. We wanted to share a Wally with them this weekend, and even though that wasn't in the cards, we went rounds and that was huge for everybody.

"Now we head to Gainesville with some much needed confidence, knowing that we can still race competitively in what has become a very tight field."