Veteran Funny Car driver Gary Densham knows a thing or two about getting the maximum life out of his parts.

Normally such a statement would describe the components associated with either his fuel Funny Car or AA/FC entry. This time it does not.

Densham, 65, learned a few months ago the parts on his race cars aren’t the only ones with a shelf life. A month ago, Densham underwent knee replacement surgery.

“That knee was just worn out,” Densham said, explaining, “I used to laugh at my buddies over the year, because in my day I was tough, playing football and wrestling through high school and college with the biggest and baddest dudes.  They all got hurt and I laughed at them because I never did. Then all of a sudden one day I woke up and my knee started hurting.”

This initial pain surfaced about five years ago and according to Densham, progressively got worse until he could no longer ignore it.

Veteran Funny Car driver Gary Densham knows a thing or two about getting the maximum life out of his parts.

Normally such a statement would describe the components associated with either his fuel Funny Car or AA/FC entry. This time it does not.

Densham, 65, learned a few months ago the parts on his race cars aren’t the only ones with a shelf life. A month ago, Densham underwent knee replacement surgery.

“That knee was just worn out,” Densham said, explaining, “I used to laugh at my buddies over the year, because in my day I was tough, playing football and wrestling through high school and college with the biggest and baddest dudes.  They all got hurt and I laughed at them because I never did. Then all of a sudden one day I woke up and my knee started hurting.”

This initial pain surfaced about five years ago and according to Densham, progressively got worse until he could no longer ignore it.

“All my life I've spent on my feet,” Densham said. “When I taught school I never sat down. When you race you sit down but otherwise you are up and moving around. Evidently it got worn out and started rubbing bone to bone back and forth on it. The more it rubbed the more it takes away [knee cartilage], the more it irritates, the more it hurts, and it just progressively got worse over about a five year period.”

The pain got progressively worse to the point those around Densham could notice the grimaces. When it came to the surgery, the selling point for Densham was the potential of becoming pain free.

Densham described the procedure as “brutal”. He was partially sedated as the physician used tools similar to what his crew used to work on the race car. A one-foot long incision was made in his leg.

“They give you a spinal so they don't completely put you out but enough that you can't see what they're doing,” Densham explained. “They got the same grinders and saws and crap that we do. They cut off the thigh bone and then they take a grinder and radius it and then glue this stainless steel piece on it. And then they cut off the shin bone and sand it flat and drill a hole down the center of it and the other piece, they pound that down in the shin bone and it's a stainless steel spike with a piece of plastic or Teflon on the top of it. They put in the angles to make it all work and then they put a piece in, behind the knee cap and put everything back in place. If you can imagine when they put this big slice in they have got to peel all these ligaments and tendons and everything away to get down to where they're working. They kind of beat you up pretty good.”

Densham confirmed he’s been religious with his rehab regimen. He admits some days are easier than others. Adding up the bad days sometimes has him second-guess his decision to undergo the procedure.

Following his surgery Densham was scheduled to remain in the hospital for five days for observation but talked the doctor in a two-day early release based on his rehab progress.

“I talked them out of two days because the first day if you're really lucky, you're supposed to be able to sit up and put weight on it - the first day,” explained Densham. “I actually got up with crutches and walked up and down the hall and the second day I threw one crutch away and walked up and down the halls and up and down the stairs. They told me to get the heck out of there.”

Densham said he was looking at two weeks of walking on crutches but admittedly stopped using them after one.

“It's like everything went twice as good as it should for the first two weeks and now it's like this last week stagnated,” said Densham admitting he’s felt discomfort the last few days. “I can do pretty much what I want, but it hurts. It still aches a lot at night where you don't get to sleep and you try turning over and you get in a different position and it wants to flop one way or another, feels like somebody stabbed you in the knee.”

Despite the surgery Densham says he’ll be ready to drive again when the NHRA tour rolls into Las Vegas next month. His experience of rehabbing a severely mangled foot 30 years ago helped put him on the fast track to recovery.

“It's a tough deal and as we all get older it gets a little bit tougher,” admitted Densham.

With a new knee, Densham considers himself a little tougher than he used to be.