Mopar Unveils New Funny Car Paint Scheme

Team Mopar
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Mopar Mile-High Nationals
Bandimere Speedway -- Morrison, Colo.
Pre-Race Notes

--Photos Available Upon Request--

Mopar Unveils New ŒBling Bling¹ Paint Scheme
Whit Bazemore to Wear Mopar Colors for Mile-High Nationals

GOLDEN, Colo. (July 17, 2003) -- Mopar unveiled its new ŒBling Bling¹ paint
scheme for Whit Bazemore¹s Dodge Stratus Funny Car entry today. These colors
will be run during this weekend¹s Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere
Speedway.

This is the first season Mopar has been associated with team owner Don
Schumacher and his Illinois-based Schumacher Racing organization.

³Whit's new Mopar Funny Car showcases the authentic blue and black of the
Mopar brand -- Edgy, bold and fast,² said Kevin Miller, Mopar Brand
Excitement Manager. ³We're excited to be a partner this year with the entire
Don Schumacher race family. Their performance speaks for itself, as Whit has
already won two races this season, while teammate Gary Scelzi pilots the
fastest Funny Car in the world -- driving his Dodge Stratus to a speed of
328.06 mph. That¹s the first Funny Car to ever crack the 328-mph mark in
NHRA history!²

Bazemore has been very competitive this season. He currently sits second in
the NHRA POWERade Funny Car points race, making three-straight, final-round
appearances earlier this season. Bazemore won at both Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., and Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.,
during that streak.

"It¹s exciting to be racing in Denver with Mopar behind us,² said the
Indianapolis resident. ³To unveil a very cool new paint scheme on my Dodge
Stratus at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals is pretty big for this race team.
Not to mention that this is one of my favorite races we run every year. It¹s
special for me. We¹re going to go out there and try to win this race for the
third time.

³There are so many ingredients to making a successful race team,² Bazemore
continued. ³And on the body of a Funny Car -- like my Dodge Stratus -- the
aerodynamics play a critical role. We rely on Dodge and this Stratus body to
give us the aerodynamics to make us more competitive, especially at this
race in Denver. It¹s going to be extremely important. We¹re at a high
altitude and that means we¹ll need all the downforce we can get, but still
have the least amount of drag possible. That¹s what the Dodge Stratus body
gives us.²

The mountain has been kind to Bazemore, as he won both the 1997 and 2000
Mopar Mile-High Nationals. He also captured two-straight, number-one
qualifiers (2000, 2001) and became the first to crack into the four-second
range with a 4.99-second pass during the 2000 race.

Bazemore will debut the new Mopar ŒBling Bling¹ Dodge Stratus when Funny Car
qualifying commences during the 2003 Mopar Mile-High Nationals at 5 p.m.,
MST on Friday.