Defending Gainesville FC champ Bazemore looks to repeat
DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 3 of 23
ACDelco NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE (FLA.) RACEWAY
Race Date: March 17-19, 2006
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 14, 2006) - When Whit Bazemore won his first event
of the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season in Gainesville last
year, he had just become the father of his first child the week before, and
he found himself gushing equally, it seemed, over his win and the birth of
son Dashiell Aidan.
Most would think that fatherhood would mellow a person. And it might, but it
was clear by Bazemore's victory that weekend that he'd reserved his
mellowness for the home front and not the quarter-mile.
The driver who will debut the new Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T
at this weekend's event went on to win a second title last year and led the
point standings, aiming for his first Funny Car crown. Despite the strength
of Bazemore's on-track ability and his fierce determination to win, however,
the team struggled the rest of the season to finish ninth in the standings.
With new crew chief Brian Corradi on board this season, assisted by Todd
Okuhara, the Matco Tools Dodge team is making strides to become a winning
team again as they look to repeat this weekend at the ACDelco NHRA
Gatornationals.
"We'd like to repeat, of course," says the two-time U.S. Nationals champion
who will compete in his 321st professional NHRA event in Gainesville. He's
also aiming for a 320th career round win (and more), as well as a career
20th event victory. "We're in a position with our team where we really have
to overcome some things. And I'm just telling it like it is. The facts are
the facts.
"We all need to work really hard and try to have a good weekend and that's
my goal going in. It's the kind of sport where things change very quickly
and we hope that's the case with the Matco Tools Dodge team.
"Gainesville Raceway is a good track. It's one of our favorite tracks. It
has a lot of personal meaning for me. We're all going to be on a new tire
here. We actually tested fairly well with the new tire in Phoenix, so
hopefully the conditions will be such that we'll be able to take what we
learned in testing and apply it to the race weekend."
As for being a parent to one-year-old Dashiell, who shares a birthday (March
12) with his dad: "It's just so much fun. He doesn't talk yet, at least in
English. He certainly understands a lot of what (wife) Michelle and I tell
him, and that's very, very cool. He has a couple of words, like 'cat' and
'dad,' which sound pretty similar, actually. It's just been a hell of an
experience. It's cool."
No, Dashiell does not speak a language other than English. "It's just not
English to me," explained Bazemore.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 17, professional qualifying sessions are at 11:30 a.m. and
2:30 p.m. On Saturday, March 18, pro qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. and
2:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 19, pre-race ceremonies are at 10 a.m., and final
eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Sunday, March 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying
highlights at 12:30 a.m. (ET). On Sunday, March 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will
telecast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m.
(ET). On Sunday, March 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of
final eliminations at 5 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, March 17, 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / Transponder 17K (downlink
freq: 12117, MHz horizontal)
Saturday, March 18, 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / Transponder 17K (downlink
freq: 12117, MHz horizontal)
Sunday, March 19, 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / Transponder 17K (downlink freq:
12117, MHz horizontal)
WHIT BAZEMORE QUICK FACTS:
* 12th in 2006 Funny Car point standings after two events
* Two-time U.S. Nationals champion, 1997 and 2001
* Ninth in 2005 Funny Car point standings
* Won two events in 2005 (Gainesville, Las Vegas), No. 1 qualifier once
(Columbus)
* Qualified No. 8 at 2005 Gatornationals, won over Bob Gilbertson
* 2005 was only Gainesville win; qualified No. 1 here in 1999
* First Funny Car driver to break 325-mph barrier (U.S. Nationals 2001)
* Career quickest ET is 4.713 seconds, career fastest speed is 333.25 mph,
both set at Route 66 Raceway in 2004 in what was at the time the quickest
and fastest speed in Funny Car history
* Has 19 career Funny Car event wins in 43 final rounds in 320 races
* Took the 2003 championship chase to penultimate race in Las Vegas in an
exciting final round against eventual champion Tony Pedregon
* Was second twice in the Funny Car championship in 2001 and 2003, third in
1997 and '99 and has finished in the top five six times and 13 times in the
top 10 since 1992
* Age 43, born in New York City, an avid cyclist, lives in Indianapolis with
wife Michelle, a competitive amateur cyclist, and son Dashiell Aidan, born
March 12, 2005 (same as Bazemore's birthday)
* 2006 is his sixth season with Don Schumacher Racing
***
