Whit Bazemore

News

2006 NHRA Schedule
2006 NHRA POWERade Funny Car Championship Points

Whit in the Media...

Finding the winning groove: after long droughts, Schumacher, Bazemore come up big - King County Journal

Blazing Baze: NHRA Notebook - King County Journal

Bazemore successfully pedals to top of Mt. Evans - NHRA.com

Bazemore finds challenge in cycling - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Bazemore treating Gators like a must-win - ESPN.com

Funny Car Driver Bazemore Hits the Road for Matco Tools - DragRaceCentral.com

Bazemore Q&A - SpeedTV.com

Rocket on Wheels - Nuvo.net

BAZEMORE TAKES SHOT AT THIRD U.S. NATIONALS WIN, GETS RUNNER-UP

CLERMONT, Ind. (Sept. 4, 2006) - Two-time U.S. Nationals Funny Car champion Whit Bazemore survived a dramatic day of drag racing at the U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway at Indianapolis, charging his way to his fourth final round of Funny Car eliminations at this historic event, coming up just 13 feet short of a three-peat.

Driving the special-bodied Matco Tools "Tales of the Rat Fink" Dodge Charger R/T, the Indianapolis resident and No. 4 qualifier easily defeated Tim Wilkerson in the opening round with a 4.790-second elapsed time at 324.05 mph. In the quarterfinal, he dismissed Cruz Pedregon with a 5.072/275.96 to Pedregon's 5.814/174.17, who was then disqualified for crossing the centerline.

Bazemore benefited from an odd occurrence which disqualified Jim Head in the semifinal, when Head clipped a cone at the finish line following his round win over Bazemore in dueling tire-smoking runs. Head, however, did not cross the centerline.

With that, Bazemore earned a spot in a final-round match-up against Robert Hight. The pair launched with nearly identical reaction times: .078 for Bazemore, .071 for Hight. It was a tight drag race to the finish, with Hight taking the victory by .0267 of a second with a 4.737/328.38 lap over Bazemore's losing 4.756/327.82.

"We're just really disappointed," said Bazemore, "but at the same time we're really proud of the team and the guys on the Matco Tools team. It was a long weekend, a stressful weekend. We were runner-up at Indy. On one hand, it's a great accomplishment. On the other hand, you just left with a very empty feeling because you had a chance to win this race and you don't have that many opportunities. So in that aspect, it's frustrating.

"The team bounced back. We had a tough day. We spun the tires a little bit in the second round, then we spun them a lot in the third round and I couldn't get the thing to hook back up. We kept it off the wall and off the centerline, which ultimately got us the win, but I felt like we left a lot on the table there as far as the driver is concerned.

"In the final, I think the team did excellent. Hight and (crew chief) Jimmy
Prock had the car to beat all weekend, if not all year. They have a lot of
good performance over there and it was basically their race to lose and we gave them a hell of a race, and for that we're really proud."

Bazemore explained the events of his semifinal win over Head: "I saw he was awfully close to the centerline and just for a fleeting moment I had hopes that OK, maybe he did cross the centerline, but then you realize what are the odds, because we got beat. I was really upset with myself more than anything because I should be able to get this car to hook back up. And then they said that we won and, (I thought) Great, we got a lucky break. Then we go watch it on the monitor for ESPN and I'm watching Head and his rear tire actually didn't cross the whole centerline and they're interviewing me and it's on television and I'm watching and I'm thinking, We really didn't win. I didn't see him clip the cone. I just saw his rear tire touch the white line but not cross it. And the rule is you have to cross it and clearly he didn't cross it. So my emotions are, OK do I point this out and get the win taken away? It turned out that he did hit the cone."

Bazemore remains eighth in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings, with five races left in the season.

Next up is the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa., Sept. 15-17.

PROVISIONAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Ron Capps, 1300
2. John Force, 1281
3. Robert Hight, 1141 (winner today)
4. Tony Pedregon, 1112
5. Eric Medlen, 1084
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 1008
7. Gary Scelzi, 1001
8. Whit Bazemore, 956
9. Cruz Pedregon, 759
10. Phil Burkart, Jr. 756

WHIT HELPS DON SCHUMACHER RACING RAISE OVER $14,000 FOR RILEY HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN DURING OPEN HOUSE

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2006) - Don Schumacher Racing opened its 100,000-sq. ft. drag-racing facility doors in Brownsburg, Ind., to the public on Friday for the first time since the state-of-the-art building opened in February 2005. In six hours, an estimated 3,500 fans, drivers, VIPs and NHRA drag-racing participants passed through.

DSR offered race fans an opportunity to meet its drivers--including Whit Bazemore--and other stars of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, see the unveiling of the Matco Tools "Tales of the Rat Fink" Dodge Charger that Whit Bazemore is driving in this weekend's the U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and dance to the music of popular Chicago cover band Maggie Speaks on the Mopar Stage.

Classic cars and custom motorcycles were displayed in the Car and
Bike Show hosted by the Indy Hi-Winders Car Club. Proceeds from the Car and Bike Show, a raffle of an assortment of autographed and custom products from DSR partners, as well as voluntary donations and food and beverage revenue directly benefited Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. In total, the inaugural event raised over $14,000 for
the hospital.

Whit and other DSR and Mopar drivers also visited the young patients at Riley Hospital Thursday evening. "I can't say enough about the commitment made by DSR," said Jason Mueller, Corporate Giving Assistant Manager for Riley Children's Foundation. "For them to take time out of their schedule during race week is superb. We are very impressed by the number of people who came to the open house, as well as the DSR sponsors who pitched in to make this event special.

"When the drivers spoke today, Whit really talked about giving back when you have the opportunity. That really shows where his heart is and how the visit impacted him, and that's what this is really about," offered Mueller.

"We had a lot of people come by and offer support for Riley," said Mike
Lewis, Executive Vice President of DSR. "It was really a great example of teamwork between Schumacher employees, Schumacher sponsors, and the Brownsburg and Indianapolis community.

"The Indy Hi-Winders had 30 people out there working the Car and Bike
Show, and Riley Hospital provided a lot of volunteers to make it all
happen," he added.