BAZEMORE GOES TO SECOND ROUND IN TEXAS

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2004 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 20 of 23
O'REILLY NHRA FALL NATIONALS
TEXAS MOTORPLEX
DALLAS, TEXAS
RACE DATES: Sept. 24-26, 2004



ENNIS, Texas (Sept. 26, 2004) - After two days of qualifying under overcast
skies, track conditions at the Texas Motorplex changed once again on race
day as a bright sun, hot temperatures and humid air welcomed the competitors
in eliminations for the O'Reilly NHRA Nationals.

Crew chiefs scrambled to make last-minute adjustments, including Lee Beard
and the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus Funny Car team, and some even
made lane swaps in the first two rounds of competition.

The driver of the Matco Tools Dodge and No. 4 qualifier Whit Bazemore met
his new Don Schumacher Racing teammate Johnny Gray in the first round. Gray
took off first at the starting light (.069 to .105 - .000 is perfect), but
it was Bazemore taking the win light by a margin of 2.4047 seconds when Gray
smoked the tires at half-track in Don Schumacher's Wonder Wagon, with a
4.957/300.60 to Gray's 7.397/113.86.

In the second round, Bazemore went face to face against Del Worsham, who is
knocking on Baze's door to pass him for third in the NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series Funny Car championship. Bazemore had the edge at the starting
light with a .097 to Worsham's .106, but the Matco Tools Dodge swerved
slightly towards the left wall at about 60 ft. and Bazemore lost with an
elapsed time of 4.950 seconds at 306.33 mph to Worsham's winning
4.912/316.60. Margin of victory: .0297 of a second.

Worsham ended up winning the event, which moved him into third, ahead of
Bazemore, now in fourth, by 14 points.

"The Matco Tools Dodge was moving around a little bit down track," said
Bazemore. "It was a disappointing loss, but we were behind a hundredth or
two (of a second) from 60 feet on.

"I feel bad for the guys," he added. "The guys on this Matco Tools team have
given 200 percent and it's just been a tough year for us. As good as it was
at one time, it has turned into not a very good season and it's hard on
everybody on the team. The people on this team are absolutely the best in
the business and I'm proud to be a part of a team with them."

"We definitely made progress on our hot-weather tune-up and that's a credit
to (crew chief) Lee Beard and everybody else on the team. That's always a
very positive sign when you have a problem somewhere with the tune-up and
you're able to fix it. It shows what kind of team you really have.

"And these guys are second to none. It didn't spin the tires. We just got
outrun. We had a tiny holeshot advantage. Del is a very tough competitor and
you're going to beat that team sometimes, but because they're really good,
sometimes they're going to beat you, and that's how it went today."

Bazemore has won twice so far this season, 17 in his career, and has
finished runner-up in the Funny Car championship twice. With four races
remaining, he is 250 points behind leader John Force and still
mathematically in the running to claim his first Funny Car crown.

"We'll go back to Chicago and try to win that race," said Bazemore of next
weekend's (Oct. 1-3) CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway
in Joliet, Ill., where he set the quickest and fastest Funny Car lap in NHRA
history earlier this year of 4.713 seconds at 333.25 mph.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:

1. John Force, 1457
2. Gary Scelzi, 1229
3. Del Worsham, 1221
4. Whit Bazemore, 1207
5. Gary Densham, 1143