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NHRA: Bazemore looks forward to Dallas return

3 November 2000

Putnam, Connecticut, November 2, 2000 - This weekend, the world's best 
quarter-milers will head back to Ennis, Texas for the running the 
rain-delayed O'Reilly Fall Nationals.  Although the weather forecast is less 
than favorable, Kendall Motor Oil/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 pilot Whit Bazemore 
is hoping Mother Nature will smile on the NHRA, a sentiment which is fully 
understandable in light of his semi-final and final round finishes in his 
last two races.  

"The rainout has forced us to end the season with three consecutive weekends 
of racing, which is very hard on the teams.  I just hope the weather 
cooperates, because the Motorplex is really a great surface to run on.  Last 
week, even though the Houston track proved to be extremely tricky, we still 
had the quickest field in the history of Funny Car.  With that in mind, it's 
very possible we could see the first all four-second Funny Car field in 
Dallas.

"As last week's qualifying showed, it's getting tougher and tougher to make 
the field.  It's almost like NASCAR, where being a top team does not 
guarantee you a spot on Sunday.  With the questionable conditions, it's going 
to be very important for this Kendall/Matco Camaro team to get a good first 
lap on Friday morning.  After that, we can work on a more raceable tune-up.  
We have some momentum built up after going to the finals in Memphis and the 
semis in Houston, and it would be nice if we could just keep riding it."  

The schedule for this weekend's event calls for three professional qualifying 
sessions on Friday, November 3 with Funny Cars scheduled to run at 11:00 
a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m..  Final eliminations will start at 11:00 a.m. 
on Saturday, November 4.  ESPN will broadcast one hour of highlights from 
Dallas on Thursday, November 9 from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. (Eastern - please check 
you local listings.)