Bazemore Aims For No. 1

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Round 5 of 23
O'Reilly Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil
HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK
Race Date: April 11-13, 2003


WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH IN VEGAS, BAZE AIMS FOR THE TOP IN HOUSTON

HOUSTON (April 9, 2003) -- With a runner-up finish in Vegas from the No 1.
qualifying position, Whit Bazemore is not discouraged that he fouled out in
the final round. That event is over; it's time to move on, says the driver
of the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car, who is now third
in points and aiming for first.

"We had a good weekend in Vegas," he said. "We were runner-up, No. 1
qualifier and our team proved that it's a championship-caliber team. And we
are a great team. I made a mistake in the final. It's frustrating. It's a
very hard way to lose, but the fact is that stuff like this happens. We're
pushing the envelope and we're going to move on. I've given it a lot of
thought and I learned a few things about myself.

"I'm confident that we're not going to make that mistake again. If we can
pick up where we left off here in Houston with the Matco Tools Dodge, then
we'll be looking pretty good."

Noted for its ability to produce kudos horsepower, the Matco Tools team
headed by Lee Beard is expected to be a threat at Houston Raceway Park.
"Houston has the potential to be really fast because it's at sea level,"
said Bazemore. "But it's gotten a little bumpy over the last couple of years
and it's been hard to get the maximum out of the cars. I'm told they
repaired the bumps. If they have, then the potential is there for it to be a
real horsepower track, which fits our Schumacher Racing team well, because
we have a high-horsepower car."

Bazemore moved into third in points with his runner-up finish in Vegas and
is challenging the John Force-owned teams of Gary Densham (second) and Tony
Pedregon (first) for No. 1. John Force himself is out of the top 10. "We're
in the best position we've ever been in points-wise this early in the
season," said Bazemore. "The team has some momentum. We put some more
distance between ourselves and John Force. Right now it looks like Tony
Pedregon is the team to beat. But looking at the big picture, you certainly
can't count out Force, or (Don) Prudhomme's guys or Del Worsham. It's a long
year and a lot of things are going to happen. It's important, especially
with Force, to build up as big a cushion between us as we can. We were able
to do that in Vegas. So that's good. If we can stay with Tony and stay close
and try to take him out next time, then we're right there. We feel pretty
good about that.

"We just have to concentrate on our car and the job at hand and that is to
maximize our car and its performance and for me to get the most out of
myself and not try to beat the other guys so much. It's important for me to
perform at my very best, which is more than good enough to get the job done.
That's what we're going to try to do here."

Qualifying for the Nitro classes at the O'Reilly Spring Nationals this
weekend is at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 11. On Saturday,
April 12, Nitro classes qualify at 12:00 noon and 3:30 p.m. Final
eliminations on Sunday, April 13, begin at 11 a.m. All times are CT.