After his terrifying accident in the catch net at the Winternationals, 69-year-old Gary Densham said it was over. Not so fast, with help from John Force Racing and the support of hundreds, Densham is heading to Vegas ready to run again.

At the season opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Gary Densham ran a qualifying 4.05 when everything went wrong. His parachute did not deploy and the 69-year-old drag racer sped though the sand and into the catch net at the far end of the track. After safely climbing from the wreckage with the help of the Safety Safari, he announced that his small team was done. He was calling it a career after 34 years, 21 final rounds and eight event wins.

Then something amazing happened, he got calls from John Force, Jim Head, the Worshams, Don Schumacher and others that they wanted him in the show. His crew tried to refuse pay, fans came up with money and the final piece was John Force stepping up. So now Gary is working hard to get to the DENSO Spark Plug NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. His Facebook page has been giving updates and the one on Tuesday was the best yet.

With help from the racing community and especially John Force Racing (I guess I will be a Ford guy now), we will be doing our darnedest to be at Vegas. Our sponsors–John Lawson of Lawson Rock and Oil, Charlie Abdouch of Midwest Factory Finishes, and Chris at Far West Freighters–have all stood behind us and said they would help us get there. Some of my crew are taking a week of vacation time to get the car ready.

Densham even mentioned that he might be announcing a new partner with his race team. His career that started in 1982 losing in the first round to now retired Kenny Bernstein, continues with the help of his fellow drag racers. So out of the dust cloud at the end of the Pomona drag strip, Gary Densham rises to race stronger than before.