Pomona NHRA opener postponed, Bazemore No. 12

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2004 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 1 of 23
K&N FILTERS WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA (Calif.) RACEWAY
RACE DATES: FEB. 19-22, 2004

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438

POMONA NHRA SEASON OPENER POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN; BAZEMORE NO. 12 IN FIELD

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2004) - Nagging rain sprinkles and intermittent
showers disrupted the continuation of pro qualifying for the NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing Series season-opener yesterday and today after the completion of
one qualifying round on Thursday. With more rain forecast for Sunday, NHRA
postponed the season-opening K&N Filters Winternationals to next Friday,
Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 27-29).

One qualifying round will be held on Friday, two on Saturday, with final
eliminations scheduled for Sunday.

Whit Bazemore, driver of the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Funny Car, painted
in new Matco Tools 25th anniversary commemorative colors, made it into the
field in No. 12 on Thursday with a tire-smoking 5.448/229.43 pass. With the
threat of rain, Bazemore and crew chief Lee Beard put a premium on that
first run.

"It's good. You always need your first run," said Bazemore, runner-up in the
2003 NHRA Funny Car championship. "We'll have to see what the weather
conditions and the track conditions are when we come back to see if that
first pass means anything or not. But the fact is it's really good for our
team that we're going to have three runs next week, because we're not quite
where we want to be yet with this tune-up and this engine combination. Lee
Beard and the team have made a huge commitment over the winter; they've put
in the hours, we've put in the hours testing and it's a situation where you
have to work and keep trying to make progress. And that's where we are. It
will all work out for the best."

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