In fact, Force was able to extend his lead over Bazemore from 243 to 285 points with only five races remaining, all but insuring his 11th series championship and ninth in succession.

For Densham, winning at Memphis was appropriate. Going in, Memphis was one of only three tracks on which he did not have a losing record and was one of only five tracks on which he had advanced to the final round (losing in 1995 to Gary Clapshaw).

The Tennessee track also had been good to Prock, whose first win as a Crew Chief came with McClenathan at the 1992 Mid-South Nationals. Appropriately, he got his first win as a Funny Car Crew Chief at the same event.

The Memphis race was the fifth this season in which Densham had reached the semifinals, a personal record. The result also enabled him to move from 10th to ninth place in points with five races remaining. Only three times in his career has Densham finished in the Top 10.

Force, who credits Densham for "saving me over in Australia" when the two were on tour in 1974, could not have been more pleased.

"This is something we talked about," said the 97-time tour winner, "but I knew that Densham didn't want it if he didn't earn it. There was no talk about me laying down for him or him laying down for me despite what some of the announcers were saying. It was a race because Densham wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

"The last thing I told him before we went up there," Densham recalled, "was, 'I'm gonna kick your butt.'

"It started smoking the tires and turned sideways down there and I thought it was over. I was just starting to pedal it and the engine just quit. I don't know why, maybe something in the ignition chip. I thought, 'oh, no,' but then it fired back up. I never saw John."

Densham's victory provides the Ford-based team with a clean sweep this season. Each of the three drivers - Force, Densham and Tony Pedregon - has qualified No. 1, won a race and set top speed of the meet.

(more stories)