Bazemore inks multi-year agreement with Schumacher Racing

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2004 POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES


INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 18, 2004) - Whit Bazemore announced today that he has
signed a multi-year agreement with Don Schumacher Racing to drive the Matco
Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus Funny Car in 2004 and beyond in the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Bazemore, runner-up in the 2001 and 2003 NHRA Funny Car championships,
joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2001, and since then has amassed five wins
in 11 final rounds of his career total of 15 in 36 final rounds. Bazemore's
crowning achievement with the Schumacher Racing team came just last year,
where he led the Funny Car point standings for the first time in his career,
took the battle for the title to the penultimate race, and finished ahead of
12-time Funny Car champion John Force in the standings.

"This is my fourth year with Schumacher Racing and actually the first time I
have a contract with Don," said Bazemore, 40, of Indianapolis. "The team has
come a long way and has been competitive from the very first year. Part of
being a good race car driver is putting yourself with the team that enables
you to best accomplish your goals. I think that's what I've done here with
Schumacher Racing and with Matco Tools.

"Having a multi-year contract shows the confidence and the support that I
have earned within the team and with Don," he continued. "It's a big vote of
confidence. It means a lot. It takes off a little bit of stress. I've never
in my entire career had a multi-year agreement with anybody. When I had my
own team all of my sponsorships were year to year. Having a
multi-year agreement is going to be enable my wife Michelle and me to better
plan our future."

Team owner Don Schumacher concurs. "I feel it's important to the whole team
and my whole organization that we all feel that we have long-term
commitments to each other to go out and perform and know that we're all
committed and behind the other one," he said. "It's very rewarding to have
multi-year agreements in place. It eliminates any of the unknowns for all
parties, crew people, crew chiefs, drivers, owners and sponsors.

"Whit has been with me for three years and we have developed a closer
relationship and a better relationship as the time progressed," added
Schumacher, who became a multi-team owner in 2001, and currently owns two
Funny Car teams, one Top Fuel Dragster and two Pro Stock Bike teams. "We
were two unknowns reading each other and two pretty strong personalities
that had different ways of doing things at times. I think both of us have
grown together tremendously and are both looking for the one goal that we
are working very hard towards."

The 23-event 2004 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series begins this weekend at
the K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona Raceway, Feb. 19-22.