Bazemore fails to qualify in Brainerd

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 16 of 23
LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS
Brainerd (Minn.) Int'l Raceway
Race Date: Aug. 11-13, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

BAZEMORE FAILS TO QUALIFY IN BRAINERD

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 12, 2006) - Whit Bazemore missed the Funny Car field
today for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway
when a mechanical problem surfaced in the fourth and final qualifying
session, causing the team to abort the run at the starting line.

The driver of the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car entered
that final qualifying round on the bump spot, in No. 16, and by the time his
pairing reached the starting line, he was already off the roster.

Following the burnout, an oil leak was discovered as the team prepared for
the final pass, and NHRA asked the crew to shut down the engine.

Prior to that attempt, Bazemore had produced a 4.925-second pass at 309.13
mph (No. 7 at the time), a 4.924/268.01 (No. 11), and a problematic
5.217/203.12 (No. 16).

"It's a huge disappointment," said Bazemore, whose last DNQ was in the first
Chicago race in 2005. "The biggest reason for the disappointment is that the
run this morning we were really on par to be low qualifier for the whole
weekend, but in this sport if you don't go to the finish line nothing
matters. We had a parts breakage this morning and that ended up putting us
in a position where things had to be perfect for the last run.

"We are very, very confident about the tune-up. There was a pinched O-ring
in the car, which resulted in an oil leak and that was it. So we didn't get
to run in the final session. It's a huge disappointment.

"I'm more frustrated for the guys on the Matco Tools team because they give
110 percent every day for this team and for them not to get to race tomorrow
is hard to take. And also for all the Matco Tools distributors who support
us through thick and thin. They're used to having a car that wins races and
we are a team that can win races. We had a bad weekend and we can easily
come back in Memphis (next weekend), Our goal is to test well at Indy, go
win Indy (U.S. Nationals on Labor Day) and win a lot at the last seven
races.

"We're capable of doing that. The challenge is for everybody to keep their
heads up, and stay very, very positive and believe in themselves and
everyone else. I know I do and I certainly hope they do. You hate to say
'it's racing,' but you're going to have bad days.

Next up for Bazemore is the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis,
Tenn., Aug. 18-20.

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