Bazemore expects challenges at Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2004 POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 13 of 23
MOPAR MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS
BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY
Morrison, Colo.
Race Dates: July 16-18, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BAZEMORE EXPECTS CHALLENGES AT MOPAR MILE-HIGH NATIONALS

MORRISON, Colo. (July 14, 2004) - Whit Bazemore has enjoyed impressive
results at Bandimere Speedway in his 15-year NHRA Funny Car career,
including two wins (1997 and 2000), a runner-up finish in 1999 and four No.
1 qualifiers ('97, '98, '00 and '01).

The driver of the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus who has scored two
Funny Car wins this season and produced the quickest and fastest pass in
NHRA Funny Car history, a 333.25-mph run at a national elapsed-time record
of 4.713 seconds at Route 66 Raceway, expects new challenges at this
weekend's Mopar Mile-High Nationals following recent rules changes.

"The situation going into Denver is a little different now than normal
because of the new rules that have been implemented by NHRA," said the
Indianapolis resident and two-time U.S. Nationals champion who is third in
Funny Car points. " We're going to have a different tire supplied by
Goodyear that we're mandated to run. So there's a little bit of a question
mark as to how that tire's going to react and what we're going to have to do
to make the car competitive.

"The good thing is that everybody is in the same situation," he added. "It
may take a run or two before we get a handle on it. Sometimes in those
situations it's a crapshoot and you can get lucky and some people figure it
out before others. Hopefully with the tremendous Matco Tools team that we're
a part of we'll be one of the cars to have a handle on it sooner rather than
later."

Bazemore, who takes advantage of the start of the Western Swing each year by
following his passion and cycling through the hills surrounding Bandimere
Speedway when he has the chance, calls Bandimere one of his favorite race
tracks. "We've always liked this track," he said. "Bandimere is one of the
top facilities and the fans are tremendous. Friday night qualifying at
Bandimere is definitely one of the highlights of the year. It has a great
atmosphere and a huge number of fans that come out. We like the facility, we
like the town. 

"It's a hard race, however, but we've been fortunate that we've done well
here," he commented. "It's extremely challenging running at altitude. It's a
race at which you have to compromise and your tune-up is so different than
normal that it rewards the team that can adapt to new situations quickly.

"Lee (Beard, crew chief - a Pueblo, Colo., native) has a good tune-up for
the track and it would be nice to do well here with this Matco Tools Dodge
team at a Mopar-sponsored event."

Pro qualifying begins on Friday, July 16, with two sessions scheduled for
4:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. On Saturday, pro qualifying will continue at 3 p.m.
and 6 p.m. Final eliminations on Sunday begin at 12:30 p.m.

On Saturday, July 17, ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights
at 8 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, July 18, ESPN2 will televise 150 minutes of
eliminations at 9 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, July 18, 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 Mopar Mile-High Nationals in 2003, lost second round to
John Force
* Has qualified in the top two in seven events so far in 2004
* No. 3 in NHRA Funny Car points after 12 races, with two wins, five final
rounds
* 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 17 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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