Bazemore No. 2 behind teammate in first day of Indy qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 17 of 23
U.S. NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK
Race Dates: Aug, 28-Sept. 1, 2003

BAZEMORE TAKES SECOND IN FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 30, 2003) - Whit Bazemore made it an all-Schumacher
Racing Funny Car "front row" after the first day of qualifying for the
prestigious U.S. Nationals, by claiming the No. 2 position behind his
teammate Gary Scelzi. Bazemore was paired with his rival John Force as the
final duo to go down the track in the second session. It was an impressive
run for both. Neither bumped Scelzi, who was in the first match-up of the
evening, out of No. 1, but Bazemore clocked a 4.767-second pass at 323.74
mph to take the No. 2 spot, while Force settled for third with a
4.780/317.94.

In the first qualifying session Bazemore took his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus
to a 4.856/318.84 lap against his rival for the championship Tony Pedregon,
which put him second at that time behind Force, who is third in the
championship.

"It was a great effort by the guys," said the two-time U.S. Nationals
champion. "The Oakley team over there are running awfully strong lately and
they're low right now. It's great for Schumacher Racing. I wish we were
three hundredths (of a second) quicker, but we're not.

"We made two good runs tonight and today. We're in a good position. We're
plenty happy."

Bazemore admitted that he was pleased to have driven around his rivals
Pedregon and Force in the qualifying runs, but his focus is on final
eliminations, he said. "Anytime you run those guys and you beat them to the
finish line it means something because they're THE guys. We always know when
we're running them. But it's only qualifying. The most important day for us
now that we're in the show is Monday. Monday is the day. We'll see what were
made of on Monday. I have a feeling we'll be pretty tough."