Veteran driver Densham to let son take wheel at LVMS

Gary Densham is racing in the past with an eye on the future.

The veteran drag racer will watch today as his son Steven, 28, takes over driving his "Teacher's Pet" nostalgia Funny Car in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series during this weekend's Rockabilly Rod Reunion at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Denshams have one of 21 replica Funny Cars entered in the event, and it will be the younger Densham's first time behind the wheel.

"If he doesn't treat it nice, I'll take it back," said Gary Densham, an eight-time NHRA title winner from Bellflower, Calif.

Densham, 63, drove the car in its debut in March but is eager to hand off to his son.

"It will be miserable not to drive it. It will be terrible," he said with a laugh.

It's a replica of a car that Densham raced in the late 1970s. The nostalgia version produces about 3,500 horsepower, less than half the power of the Nitro Funny Cars that Densham races part time on the NHRA pro tour.

Densham's first year of national competition was in 1979, and he's raced in at least one pro event every year since. Known as a low-budget, independent racer, he drove for John Force Racing from 2001 through 2004 and won two national titles each year.

He won the Las Vegas title in April 2002.

The escalating cost of professional racing limited Densham to seven Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events on the West Coast last year, and he plans a similar schedule this year.

The nostalgia Funny Cars are less costly to race than those on the pro tour, he said, because they must use a smaller fuel pump that consumes less nitromethane. Also, durable rear racing slicks are used for more runs. Those are key factors in keeping top speeds in the mid-250 mph range compared with 300 mph in the national series.

Densham, who was a schoolteacher for 28 years, is enjoying life in a more affordable and slower lane.

"Everybody out here is having fun," he said of the nostalgia circuit. "I get to hang out with guys I raced with 30, 35 years ago. This is considerably cheaper and not nearly as labor intensive as the cars we run at the big NHRA races."

In addition to Funny Cars, the Heritage series will feature competition in A-Fuel and Jr. Fuel dragsters and AA/Gas Supercharged coupes. The first of three Funny Car qualifying sessions begins at 11 a.m. today.

Doug Davenport of Las Vegas will compete in the Nostalgia Eliminator II category. He drove his front-engine dragster to victory at this year's March Meet in Bakersfield, Calif., after winning the series championship last year.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.