Bazemore hot for the heat in Seattle
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 14 of 23 SCHUCK'S AUTO SUPPLY NHRA NATIONALS Pacific Raceways Kent, Wash. Race Date: July 21, 23, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net BAZEMORE HOT FOR THE HEAT IN SEATTLE KENT, Wash. (July 19, 2006) - Whit Bazemore loves the heat, he says. Bring it on. And, despite yielding the Funny Car first round of eliminations at the sweltering Mopar Mile-High Nationals last weekend to 13-time champion John Force, the two-time Seattle winner is ready for more. Temperatures at this weekend's Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways are expected to be in the 90s. "The hotter the race track, the harder it is to get traction," explains Bazemore, driver of the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car. "One of the hottest we've ever had was Denver this past weekend; it makes the window for performance smaller. But, it's the same for everyone. I'm the kind of person (who believes) that the bigger the challenge, the better, so the harder it is, the better, in my opinion. "Personally, I love the heat. I love racing when it's hot. I feel good in the heat and so I enjoy it. A lot of people don't like it." Bazemore is confident that the increase in the car's and team's performance in the last six races - despite mixed results, including five top-half qualifiers, a runner-up finish as well as five early-round exits - is a precursor to future success for the Matco Tools team. "We've got a team that has tremendous potential, but so far this year we haven't lived up to it. There have been a lot of changes on the Matco Tools team and it took time to jell and there have been more recent changes," he adds. "The bottom line is that the chemistry in our team is excellent, the Matco Tools guys are great and we've just lost a lot of races, quite honestly, which we shouldn't have lost. Too many times this year we have been ahead of our opponent on Sunday and we ended up losing the drag race. That's the frustrating thing. "My priority in Seattle is to go up there and take the hunger that we have for winning and try to turn it into some round wins and get ourselves back on the map." WHIT BAZEMORE QUICK FACTS: * Eighth in 2006 Funny Car point standings after 13 events, with one runner-up and two semifinal finishes * Two-time U.S. Nationals champion, 1997 and 2001 * Ninth in final 2005 Funny Car point standings * Won two events in 2005 (Gainesville, Las Vegas), No. 1 qualifier once (Columbus) * No. 15 qualifier in 2005 Schuck's Nationals, lost semifinal to Robert Hight * Has two wins at Pacific Raceways, in 1997 and 2001; and two runners-up, in 1998 and 2003; was No. 1 qualifier in 2000 * First Funny Car driver to break 325-mph barrier (U.S. Nationals 2001) * Career quickest ET is 4.674 seconds (Chicago 2006), career fastest speed is 333.25 mph (Chicago 1 2004) * Has 19 career Funny Car event wins in 44 final rounds in 331 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 WEEKEND SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, July 21, PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS are at 3:30 and 6 p.m. SATURDAY, July 22, PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS are at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. SUNDAY, July 23, Pre-race ceremonies are at 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Saturday, July 22, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET). Sunday, July 23, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 8 p.m. (ET). Sunday, July 23, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11:30 a.m. (ET). SATELLITE: Friday, July 21, 11-11:30 p.m. (ET) Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24k (Downlink frequency: 12184 MHz, horizontal) Saturday, July 22, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24k (Downlink frequency: 12184 MHz, horizontal) Sunday, July 23, 11:30 p.m.-Midnight (ET) Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24k (Downlink frequency: 12184 MHz, horizontal) ***