|
Thirty years of drag racing is becoming an even bigger
deal for Funny Car winner Gary Densham. After years of futility, he
has won four of his last five final rounds since last fall's Memphis
race. When he beat Bruce Sarver -- a man who has played the waiting
game himself -- Densham swiped the points lead from boss John Force
by two points. He leads the standings for the first time in his career.
"If you tell everyone that, they'll say, 'You're lying.
It's John Force. It's Tony Pedregon. It's not Gary Densham,' " the Bellflower,
Calif., driver said.
Densham won't crow in front of Force about his $40,000
boost, but he said, "There's always a little 'We beat you. We beat you.'
attitude." Does Force mind? Densham said the answer is yes "if I show
up next week and have a small-block Ford in my car."
Densham, 55, is so excited about his prospects in the
Auto Club of Southern California Mustang that he declared, "Nobody wishes
he was 30 years old more than me." -- Susan Wade
CHIEF CONFERENCE
|
|
| Crew chiefs John Medlen (left) and Jimmy Prock
kept the John Force 3-car team in the hunt with Prock and Densham
doing a bit better at Englishtown than Medlen and Tony Pedregon. |
BAZEMORE KEEPS POINTS POSITION
Though his two-race winning streak came to an end, Whit
Bazemore still managed a successful weekend after posting a semifinal
finish.
Bazemore went into final eliminations as the No. 9 qualifier
and the underdog in his first-round match against teammate Scotty Cannon.
In one of the closest races of the day, Bazemore won the opening round
with a 4.899-second elapsed time to Cannon's 4.888. The difference was
a quicker reaction time by Bazemore.
|
