Mopar Places Three Into Pro Stock Field

Team Mopar
Mopar Mile-High Nationals
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Final Qualifying Notes

Mopar Places Three Into Pro Stock Field
Bazemore Takes Home Third

MORRISON, Colo. (July 19, 2003) -- Allen Johnson and Darrell Alderman paced
the Mopar factory Pro Stock effort for tomorrow¹s Mopar Mile-High Nationals
at Bandimere Speedway.

Johnson, who wields the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T, maintained the
13th-qualifying position with a 7.269-second elapsed time at 189.68 mph. The
Greeneville, Tenn., resident will face off against Jim Yates in round one.

³We still missed it down low a little bit,² said Johnson, talking about his
fourth-round qualifying pass. ³It felt like we made up some ground in a
positive direction on that last one. We had a couple of hundredths left in
it. We felt like we should have run a 7.28 or a 7.29 (second elapsed time).
Those numbers would be in the hunt.

³This track gets really tricky,² Johnson said. ³I think we had a bad set of
tires during the first few rounds of qualifying. We changed tires for that
run, but we needed to adjust a little more. When you put something new
(tires) on like that, you¹re not sure which way to go. We feel like we¹re
ready for tomorrow and we think we can go some rounds.²

Three-time POWERade Pro Stock World Champion Darrell Alderman qualified
right behind his Johnson & Johnson Racing teammate. Alderman¹s Hemi-powered
Dodge Stratus clicked off a 7.279-second lap at 189.92 mph, setting up a
first round match up with Ron Krisher. Alderman defeated Krisher in the
first round of last year¹s Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

³I think we could have run just a little bit better,² Alderman said. ³We
tried some new tires on our last run, but we spun them a little more than we
would have liked. We¹re going back to our baseline tomorrow and hopefully go
some rounds. 

³The track should be hot for tomorrow,² Alderman added. ³If it¹s going to be
as hot as it was today, it will be a challenge for us.²

The DBP Enterprises Dodge Neon of Greg Stanfield landed the 10th-qualified
slot after running a 7.266-second elapsed time at 189.90 mph. The Bossier
City, La., racer has a round one match with defending Pro Stock champion Jeg
Coughlin, Jr.

³We need to get a handle on this car,² Stanfield said. ³We¹re backing up.
We¹re going to go back to a baseline and go from there. I don¹t think lane
choice is going to mean a lot, and if we go back to what we first qualified
with, we should be okay. I also want to get him (Jeg) on the starting line
too.²

Larry Morgan was unable to crack the top 16 with his Mopar Parts Dodge
Stratus. The Newark, Ohio resident ran to a 7.312-second elapsed time at
188.57 mph.  Morgan¹s Mopar teammate and 2002 NHRA Rookie of the Year Gene
Wilson also missed the show. The 30-year-old hotshoe ran a weekend best time
of 7.350 seconds at 188.25 mph.

Bazemore Takes Third; Scelzi Grabs the 16th SlotŠ

Matco Tools Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore, who is piloting the Mopar ŒBling
Bling¹ Dodge Stratus this weekend, maneuvered his way to the third-qualified
position with a 5.061-second elapsed time at 300.00 mph. The Indianapolis
resident will take on Terry Haddock in the first round of eliminations.

³We are a little disappointed because the conditions were right to grab the
pole,² said Bazemore, on his 5.19 second fourth session pass. ³We were
trying to get the top spot on that last one. We took some spoiler away from
the car, and we were just a little bit too aggressive for these conditions.

³It¹s still been a decent weekend so far,² Bazemore continued. ³The heat is
pretty amazing out here. It¹s the same for everyone and we¹re fortunate that
we can adjust the aerodynamics on this Dodge Stratus body. We can turn up
the downforce a lot more than the others. That will give us an advantage and
we know where we are for tomorrow. We just have to get more control on our
engine and clutch. The guy that wins tomorrow will be the one that spins the
tires the least.²

Gary Scelzi squeaked into the field with his Oakley-sponsored Dodge Stratus
Funny Car. Despite improving his elapsed time at 5.192 seconds at 287.84
mph, it wasn¹t enough to move up the elimination ladder. The Fresno, Calif.,
resident¹s round one opponent is No. 1 qualifier Tim Wilkerson.

³We¹ve been behind with our superchargers this weekend,² Scelzi said. ³We
got to the point where we just had to get down the race track. We figured we
could have run a 5.13-second elapsed time and that¹s what we were trying
for. We had a supercharger eat itself on that run. It was a blessing that it
actually made it to the finish line. We spun the tires and did everything
that we shouldn¹t have done. Tomorrow is going to be hot and slippery. We¹ll
see. This place is one of those places that¹s like no other, but we have a
few tricks up our sleeves.²