Bazemore defeated by Densham in Rte. 66 first round

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2004 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 20 of 23
CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA NATIONALS
ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
JOLIET, ILL.
Race Dates: Oct. 1-3, 2004

JOLIET, Ill. (Oct. 3, 2004) - Chicago-area fans were treated to one of the
finest side-by-side races today in the first round of Funny Car eliminations
for the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway. Whit
Bazemore and Gary Densham were nose to nose for the entire quarter-mile
until Bazemore slipped a little to the left and crossed the finish line a
mere 15 inches behind Densham.

Bazemore launched just four thousandths of a second after Densham, with a
.097 reaction time to Densham's .093 (.000 is perfect). The cars were
clearly equal the rest of the way, with Densham taking the win by a whisker
and a holeshot advantage with a 4.756-second elapsed time at 327.59 mph to
Bazemore's quicker yet losing 4.754/317.94 mph.

"We don't get embarrassed here at the Matco Tools team, we get frustrated
and disappointed," said Bazemore. "Densham is a great competitor. He's a
crusty old veteran. We were certainly fired up to race him.

"Our light was four thousandths (of a second) slower than his and we lost
the race by two thousandths and it's just very frustrating. The good news is
we ran our best-ever speed at half track (266.95 mph). We had some things
happen on that run that I think have taught us a lot with the race car.

"Except for the fact that it was a loss, it was still a good run from an
educational standpoint. I think ultimately we will be a stronger, more
competitive team.

"It spun the tires down there a little bit and that made it move around. If
we can address that problem it will certainly run a lot better. We're kind
of in uncharted territory there. Our competition is running a tenth quicker
than we are so we're not content to do what we know. We have to improve
ourselves and improve the race car and that's what we're doing.

"We actually did learn some valuable things in that run, and it will help us
at the next race."

With Del Worsham winning today's event against points leader John Force and
Force setting a national ET record of 4.665 seconds (for 20 bonus points),
Bazemore falls out of the chase for his first Funny Car championship with
three races remaining. He will battle for second place against his teammate
Gary Scelzi, Del Worsham, Eric Medlen and Gary Densham in the final three
races of the 2004 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season.

Next up is the Reading, Pa., make-up event next weekend at Maple Grove
Raceway, which had been rained out two weeks ago.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS

1. John Force, 1575
2. Del Worsham, 1338
3. Gary Scelzi, 1262
4. Whit Bazemore, 1239
5. Eric Medlen, 1207
6. Gary Densham, 1197
7. Cruz Pedregon, 1082
8. Tim Wilkerson, 1081

***