SIGNATURE PROFILES
©1999-2002 Dwight Drum

GARY DENSHAM

John Force is a legendary character known for his driving skills and charged personality, but Force is also an excellent judge of character. He surrounds himself with competent racing talent. He assembles his Ford Racing team by paying top dollar and he keeps his gifted team together with camaraderie and victories. Gary Densham, a long time Force friend, races the AAA Motor Club Funny Car, the third car in Force's elite pack.

It didn't take me long to realize why Densham was chosen by Force. He is dedicated to drag racing, helping kids in school, promoting his sponsor, and having fun while racing. Densham's skills and experience also qualify him for one of the fastest jobs on the planet. Step inside the Force/Densham transporter lounge and be a part of our conversation.

DWIGHT CHATS WITH…GARY DENSHAM

Photos © by Gary Larsen and Dwight Drum
Story by Dwight Drum

DOB: October 20, 1946
Home Town: Bellflower, Calif.

That I am just a fair person and I'm trying to do the best job that I possibly can."

"The thrill and the fun by a whole bunch."

"No."

"Plenty of them. John Force obviously. Don Prudhomme. Don Garlits. One of my heroes that the world wouldn't know is a gentleman named Doctor Rance. He was the principal of my school for ten years and the most phenomenal man I ever met."

"Oh yes, Hell yes."

"To be able to keep doing this. That's the only thing I can think of."

"Yes."

"No actually, for the AAA Auto club we take a show car around to schools and talk to kids about career goals and life choices. It's a great program. I enjoy working with kids. I taught school for 25 years so this gives me a chance to still work with kids. It's a positive program. A lot of kids in school aren't upper echelon academic kids. Unfortunately, they get left behind by the schools because every counselor out there thinks that the only way a kid is going to be successful is to go straight to a four year university. There are too many other great things out there. If a kid doesn't pick the academics they are labeled as a loser and that's not true, but if you tell a kid he's a loser long enough he'll believe it. I'd much rather see a kid interested in cars, machinery, or woodworking or whatever than have them breaking into your house or mine."

"I'm helping my son build his race car."

"A Ford pickup. I've got some street rods too, but I drive the Ford pickup with the show car behind it going to the schools many days. I don't get much time to drive my Model A around."

"I try to. Our schedule doesn't allow for you to do exactly what you like, but I make an effort at it. I've always been involved in athletics in school and college, football, wrestling and track. It's hard to get out of that mode if you want to do it."

"Wrestling. I actually could've gone to the Olympics in 1972. I was third in the state."

"Your brain. Always your brain."

"I have an old dog."

"I don't eat anything good as long as Force is around. He'll fire me if I gain weight."

"Honesty. If you have to stick it in one word. It's something I think is real important. If people are honest with themselves they're honest with other people."

"I try to be cool. I had a horrible temper when I was a kid. After I learned to control it, I learned it's a lot better to be mellow about things. It will all work out."

"I go racing to have fun. When it's time to race on Sunday morning, I try to have time for myself to watch the first few cars go down the racetrack and visualize what I've got to do to try to win."

"I've had many fires over the years in the funny car. It's a little bit scary at times, obviously. I've been lucky, I guess."

"I don't. I don't want to unwind. I like being wound up. It makes it fun. I read, but usually that's just on an airplane or in bed."

"Personally, I'd like to have a good race track in southern California which we don't have. That would allow more kids and younger people to get involved in that part of the country. That's my biggest goal at the moment."

"Not that I know of."

"I'm happiest once I'm in the race car because it's what I enjoy doing. Obviously, I have peace when I'm with my family, my wife and son. We try to have a good time together. My son is all North LA. He's 19 going on 40."

"My wife always says I drive like a little old lady. She's probably right. I don't have a fast street car because nothing compares to what we have here. I probably drive slower and more cautiously than anyone I know of. It's a good way to stay alive."

"Not being able to afford to go racing."

"Lots! Lots! The five and a half G-forces in a run maybe seven and a half negative G-forces when we open both parachutes. It gets your attention. It's not as drastic as when I had the opportunity to fly with the Blue Angels because when they pull seven G's, they hold it for quite awhile and it's exciting."

"If you lose your ego hurts really bad."

"As I mentioned earlier probably the biggest one is learning not to lose my temper and to have patience."

"Obviously, my family. My wife and son."

"The promotional skills of John Force. The compassion for my wife to put up with me. The dedication of Doctor Rance, my principal when I first started teaching school, an incredible person."

"I was dropped on my head is a small child. (laughs). I grew up in southern California in the muscle car era and had a lot of friends whose parents had money and when they turned sixteen they bought them new street cars. In order for me to be competitive with them I had to learn how to build one, because I couldn't afford to buy one. Soon I had the fastest car in school, then the fastest car in town, so I took it to the races and found out the car wasn't near as fast as I thought I was. So I built another one."

"Not been able to go racing. I always fear for my family obviously, as anything can happen to them."

"Probably I'm the luckiest person I ever met. Whatever I do for my kids and schools and racing means everything to me. I have so much fun. I'm lucky and blessed that my family enjoys this sport and goes along with it. We make it a family sport. I work with a great group of people and have the full support of my wife and son. I get up every day and I want to do this. I want to be a part of racing. I want to try to help kids. It's so satisfying to be able to do it and get paid for it. I can't believe it."

"Drag racing is the greatest sport on earth. I've been involved in a lot of sports and activities. I've driven K-boats and drag boats and sports cars and more. The fan reaction we have out here in drag racing is so great because we get to communicate with the fans. They get to talk to the crew and the drivers and that's what makes this sport so wonderful. I've been lucky enough to be able to travel around the U.S. and meet a lot of great people. I've traveled around the world. I've raced in Anchorage, Alaska. I've raced in Hawaii and Australia (eleven times). I've made tremendous friends in that part of the world. How can you beat it?"

Gary Denham has many proven attributes that are ingredients of real character. We try to apply one big word here that describes a driver's character, and it's no surprise that to apply one word to a John Force team driver is a great task. Force sees something in Densham that defies many words. Densham defies a single word description because he is, as many drivers are, much more complex than a few letters in the alphabet. Still, Zoomster must seek the fiber within a person and try put a final word on them. We found a word that may not capture Densham's total spirit, but we found a word that describes his work.

Thankfully, Gary Densham is a: