Bazemore ends 2003 NHRA Funny Car season second in points

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2003 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 23 of 23
Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals
Pomona (Calif.) Raceway
Race Dates: Nov. 6-9, 2003


POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 9, 2003) - It's official. Whit Bazemore is the
runner-up in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship
after qualifying No. 3 and advancing to the second round in the Automobile
Club of Southern California Finals. His only opponent for the second spot
was John Force, who was eliminated by Bazemore's teammate Gary Scelzi in the
second round.

Bazemore, of Indianapolis, lucked out in the first round when Bob Gilbertson
fouled out and crossed the centerline, while Bazemore smoked the tires at
half track, then coasted to an 8.043/98.84 lap.

In the second round, Bazemore backed up his strong first-round .044 reaction
time with a .032 against Del Worsham's .082, but it was all for naught as
the tires on his Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus smoked immediately at
the hit of the throttle due to a mechanical problem, as Worsham made it
easily to the finish stripe to win with a 4.834/319.60.

"It broke an air line in the clutch management system and so the car went
right up in smoke," said Bazemore. "Del and his team did a good job; they
didn't make a mistake, so we weren't able to rebound.

"In the first round we just overpowered the race track and then Gilbertson
fouled out twice on the same run. So we were really lucky there.

"We had four really good runs in qualifying. What happened in the second
round was one of those freak breakages where a plastic pneumatic line split
right down the middle. There was something else that went on that may have
contributed to that problem, and that's what we have to get to the bottom
of. That's the way it goes."

Bazemore has 15 career wins, three in 2003, and ends his closest NHRA Funny
Car championship battle of his 16-year career second in points, with 1628.

"We had a great year; we had an oustanding year," he said. "It was notable
for me because of the way the team really came together as one unit to work
towards a common goal. That's the sort of chemistry, the unseen ingredient,
that you really need to be successful in any sport. We achieved that this
year, even though we finished second.

"Look at my driving. It's given me a lot of confidence and that's what it
takes," he added. "You can't have anyone second guessing any decisions or
any actions that you make. You have to have the entire team stand behind
everybody else and believe in everybody else 100 percent with the knowledge
and the understanding and the expectation that everyone's going to make a
mistake somewhere down the road. And you just try to minimize them. And the
best way to minimize those mistakes is to have really key support and a
close-knit group of people who really understand where everybody else is
coming from. And we achieved that.

"To me it's a credit to (crew chief) Lee Beard and (co-crew chief) Dan Olson
and (Gary Scelzi's crew chief) Mike Neff and (chief mechanic) Ronnie
Thompson and all the guys on the team to get to that level. That's really
the most notable thing for me."