Bazemore back in fast lane for Houston
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 4 of 23 O'REILLY NHRA SPRING NATIONALS Houston Raceway Race Date: March 31-April 2, 2006 BAYTOWN, Texas (March 29, 2006) - Whit Bazemore had grown accustomed to living life in the fast lane, whether it was winning 19 times on a quarter-mile in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger Funny Car or pedaling his Seven Cycle at high speed on a Velodrome. As he heads to Houston Raceway this weekend for the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals, the fourth round of the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Bazemore finds himself back in that familiar fast lane after struggling through the end of last season and earlier this year. Following a sound No. 2 qualifying effort at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., and a successful Monday test session following the event, the two-time U.S. Nationals champion and the Matco Tools team are regaining their old form of being a thorn in their competitors' sides. "We feel good coming into Houston because the Matco Tools team has definitely made a lot of progress since the beginning of the year," said Bazemore. "That's exciting and that's what it's about, always trying to improve, especially when you need to improve. "We had a really productive Monday after Gainesville testing and I think it's become fairly obvious that we have a car that's capable of setting low elapsed time at any time and what we are working on now is trying to make it more consistent. "I think we went a long way towards making that happen Monday in testing, so we're probably the most confident we've been this year in that we can go to Houston knowing that we have a car that's capable of setting low ET and if we work hard we'll be in a good position where we can maybe win the race," added Bazemore, who is aiming for a 20th career victory this weekend. Bazemore's best results at Houston Raceway are a runner-up finish in 1998 and a No. 1 qualifying effort in 2002. SCHEDULE: On Friday, March 31, professional qualifying sessions are at 3 and 6 p.m. On Saturday, April 1, pro qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. On Sunday, April 2, final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Saturday, April 1, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET). Sunday April 2, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will broadcast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET). Sunday, April 2, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 4 p.m. (ET). SATELLITE: Friday, March 31, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / Transponder 13K (downlink freq: 11960, MHz horizontal) Saturday, April 1, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / Transponder 13K (downlink freq: 11960, MHz horizontal) Sunday, April 2, 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) - SBS 6 / Transponder 17K (downlink freq: 12117, MHz horizontal) WHIT BAZEMORE QUICK FACTS: * 12th in 2006 Funny Car point standings after three events * Two-time U.S. Nationals champion, 1997 and 2001 * Ninth in 2005 Funny Car point standings * Won two events in 2005 (Gainesville, Las Vegas), No. 1 qualifier once (Columbus) * Qualified No. 12 at 2005 O'Reilly Spring Nationals, lost second round to John Force * Runner-up here in 1998, qualified No. 1 in 2002 * First Funny Car driver to break 325-mph barrier (U.S. Nationals 2001) * Career quickest ET is 4.713 seconds, career fastest speed is 333.25 mph, both set at Route 66 Raceway in 2004 in what was at the time the quickest and fastest speed in Funny Car history * Has 19 career Funny Car event wins in 43 final rounds in 321 races * Took the 2003 championship chase to penultimate race in Las Vegas in an exciting final round against eventual champion Tony Pedregon * Was second twice in the Funny Car championship in 2001 and 2003, third in 1997 and '99 and has finished in the top five six times and 13 times in the top 10 since 1992 * Age 43, born in New York City, an avid cyclist, lives in Indianapolis with wife Michelle, a competitive amateur cyclist, and son Dashiell Aidan, born March 12, 2005 (same as Bazemore's birthday) * 2006 is his sixth season with Don Schumacher Racing