IT'S OFFICIAL:

DENSHAM WILL DRIVE THIRD FORCE MUSTANG

By Dave Densmore.
DRO file photo by Jeff Burk.

Gary Densham, who 27 years ago took an aspiring but naive young drag racer named John Force into his confidence and provided him with the rudiments necessary for future success, has been named driver of the newest vehicle in the John Force Racing fleet.

Densham made his last appearance in this car at Phoenix.

Densham, 54, a former schoolteacher from Bellflower, Calif., officially was confirmed as Force's newest Ford teammate on February 28th. He will make his debut in a Force-owned Ford Mustang, co-sponsored by the Auto Club of Southern California, at the 32nd annual Mac Tools Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla.

Backed by crew chief Jimmy Prock and a team-in-training, the "World's Fastest Schoolteacher" will drive a Steve Pleuger-built Ford for the first time, March 8-11, in a test session at Houston Raceway Park that also will include Force's Castrol GTX® Mustang, the world's fastest Funny Car (324.05 miles per hour) and the Castrol SYNTEC™ Mustang driven by Tony Pedregon, the world's quickest Funny Car (4.779 seconds).

The Gatornationals also will mark the debut of Auto Club sponsorship on all three cars fielded by Team Force for the remainder of the 2001 NHRA season.

While the third car originally was to have run only a limited schedule and have operated primarily as a training vehicle for Prock and members of a crew that ultimately will make the transition to Top Fuel, Densham's involvement interjected a new dynamic.

According to Force, it became clear during negotiations that the Auto Club, a major sponsor of Densham's racing program the last four seasons, was interested in more than just a research-and-development program and saw the opportunity to enhance its brand awareness, especially in the Southern California and Texas markets.(next page)