'Rejuvented' Bazemore goes to quarters in E-town

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 11 of 23
K&N FILTERS SUPERNATIONALS
OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J.
Race Dates: June 17-19, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

'REJUVENATED' BAZEMORE GOES TO QUARTERS IN E-TOWN

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 19, 2005) - Whit Bazemore reached the quarterfinal
round today at the K&N Filters SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J. after
defeating Jeff Arend in a tire-smoking duel in the opening round
(5.947/227.61 for Bazemore, 6.555/151.87 for Arend).

Even though he lost the second round to his teammate Ron Capps, the
Indianapolis resident posted his best run of the weekend of 4.844 seconds at
321.42 mph. 

This straight, clean pass re-energized the driver of the Matco Tools Iron
Eagle Dodge Stratus, who has struggled in the last five events (four
first-round losses and one DNQ) and has had to adjust to new crew chiefs and
a new tune-up this weekend.

"We're excited," said Bazemore, who is now eighth in POWERade Drag Racing
Series Funny Car points, just two short of seventh. "It's been a hard
weekend, with all new guys, basically, and new leadership over here. I'm
really proud of the guys on the Matco Tools team and the way they all came
together and put the hardships behind us and worked hard. And, we went down
the race track.

"We were fortunate during the first round, but I'm really, really glad that
we were able to make that second lap today. It just gives everybody
confidence. The car did exactly what (crew chiefs)Todd (Okuhara) and Dan
(Olson) wanted it to do.

"Personally, I feel rejuvenated and I'm really excited about the rest of the
season and what the future holds for the Matco Tools Dodge team."

Next up are the NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison,
Ill., (outside of St. Louis, Mo.) June 24-26, 2005.

NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES FUNNY CAR POINTS:
1. John Force, 806
2. Gary Scelzi, 744
3. Robert Hight, 719
4. Tommy Johnson Jr., 647
5. Ron Capps, 639
6. Cruz Pedregon, 609
7. Eric Medlen, 600
8. Whit Bazemore, 598
9. Del Worsham, 546 (winner today)
10. Tony Pedregon, 492

***