Fastest and quickest in Funny Car, Bazemore realistic for Topeka

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2004 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 9 of 23
O'REILLY NHRA SUMMER NATIONALS
HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA (Kan.)
RACE DATES: MAY 28-30, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Note: In case you missed it, Whit Bazemore became the fastest and quickest
Funny Car driver in the world at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., last
Sunday, when he posted an NHRA Funny Car elapsed-time national record of
4.713 seconds at a speed of 333.25 mph

FASTEST AND QUICKEST FUNNY CAR DRIVER REALISTIC FOR TOPEKA

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 26, 2004) - Whit Bazemore is back to business this weekend
at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka after
becoming the fastest and quickest Funny Car driver on the planet last Sunday
at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. Setting the elapsed-time national record
of 4.713 seconds and top speed of 333.25 mph aside, the driver of the Matco
Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus is focused on reality...and winning.

"Being realistic means that we expect to have a good weekend," said
Bazemore, who moved into No. 1 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny
Car point standings as well. "We've been in four finals in the last five
races. I think that's pretty outstanding, so we feel good. But, you have to
prove yourself every race and you can't take anything for granted.

"The first step in Topeka is to go down the race track, get qualified and
hopefully have a good, consistent and fast race car - the same race car
we've had the last month or so. Plus, we have the new Goodyear tire that
we're mandated to run. My teammate Gary Scelzi's team tested with it on
Monday in Joliet and from what we learned it shouldn't throw us a curve
ball, but you never know with these things. Hopefully it won't upset the
apple cart too much."

Bazemore, who finished runner-up twice in the NHRA Funny Car championship,
is seeking his first crown and is in the midst of a battle royal - once
again - with his arch-rival John Force, whom he's faced twice this season in
the final round and lost both times. Bazemore, however, maintains a 16-point
lead over the 12-time champion going into Topeka.

"The motivation is to win races and that's what we're trying to do," said
Bazemore, also the first Funny Car driver to break the 325-mph barrier. "The
objective is obviously to get as many points as you can all the time. You do
that by winning races. The fact that we're fighting for the lead with Force
is a good thing. They're the still the team to beat, they're running well.
Their performance isn't that far behind us."

Bazemore has done well on Topeka's quarter-mile. He won his first Funny Car
race here in 1997, was No. 1 qualifier in '99 and runner-up last year.
"Topeka has been a good track for me," he said. "So, obviously, I have fond
memories of racing here. It's a good track. If we have cool and overcast
conditions, Topeka is the kind of place that can really offer good traction
and a good surface. Although I don't think we will see the performances we
had in Joliet last week I think we can be close. But, on the other hand, it
is Memorial Day weekend, it's May, it's almost summertime, and it can be hot
here. If it's hot then everybody is going to struggle to get traction."

Can he top 333-mph again this year and establish an all-new top-speed
national record? "I think we can," he responded. "It would be obviously in a
night run. We're not going to be able to do that anytime this summer during
the day, I wouldn't think. Maybe in Englishtown (N.J.) at night we could do
it. And maybe even Topeka at night. If it's cool enough we could do it. So
much depends on the track surface and the weather.

"When we went 325 mph a couple of years ago, it was unheard of at the time,
and then Force's team and our own team were able to do it repeatedly after
that, even during daylight hours. Maybe the same thing will happen here, I
don't know.

"You always want records, sure," added the Heartland Park track speed record
holder of 326.48 mph (May 2003).

Two qualifying rounds for the Nitro classes will be held Friday, May 28, at
5 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturday, May 29, at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Final eliminations begin on Sunday, May 30, at 11 a.m.

On Saturday, May 29, ESPN will televise two hours of qualifying highlights
at 8 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, May 30, ESPN2 will televise two hours of
eliminations at 4 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, May 30, ESPN2 will televise NHRA
2Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11:30 a.m. (ET).

WHIT BAZEMORE QUICK FACTS:

* Quickest and fastest Funny Car driver in NHRA history: 4.713-second ET
(national record) at 333.25 mph
* Qualified No. 3 at O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in 2003, was runner-up
to Tony Pedregon
* No. 1 in NHRA Funny Car points after eight races, with one win, four final
rounds
* Holds track speed record here of 326.48 mph (May 2003)
* Won Funny Car class here in 1997, runner-up in 2003. Was No. 1 qualifier
in 1999
* First Funny Car driver to break 325-mph barrier (U.S. Nationals 2001)
* 2003 Funny Car points runner-up
* Won three times in 2003, runner-up five times
* Has 16 career Funny Car event wins
* Took the 2003 championship chase to penultimate race in Las Vegas in an
exciting final round against eventual champion Tony Pedregon
* Was also second in the NHRA Funny Car championship in 2001, third in 1997
and '99 and has finished in the top five six times and 11 times in the top
10 since 1992
* Age 41, born in New York City, an avid cyclist, lives in Indianapolis with
wife Michelle, a semi-pro cyclist
* 2004 is his fourth season with Don Schumacher Racing
* Two-time U.S. Nationals champion

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