Bazemore out and on fire in Memphis second round

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 17 of 23
O'REILLY NHRA MID-SOUTH NATIONALS
Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park
Race Date: Aug. 18-20, 2006

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 21, 2006) - Monday's completion of the O'Reilly NHRA
Mid-South Nationals went off on time at just before 9 a.m. Central Time at
Memphis Motorsports Park following yesterday's rain-out after the near
completion of one round of eliminations. And Whit Bazemore was on a charge
to the finish line in the quarterfinal against John Force.

After defeating Tommy Johnson Jr. in the opening round when he intentionally
slowed to a 11.545/68.78 pass because Johnson fouled out, the driver of the
Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car scorched the starting
lights with a .020 (of a second) reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Force's
.069. But, by the 60-ft. mark Force was ahead, taking the win with a
4.824-second elapsed time at 316.23 mph, while Bazemore's car caught on fire
at the finish line, posting a 5.107/238.98.

The Matco Tools Dodge suffered severe fire damage and Bazemore lost 10
points and was fined $1000 for an oildown. He was OK after jumping from the
moving car.

"We were going along just fine and it looks like it broke some valve train
parts," Bazemore explained. "You don't see them, so you keep going. Then it
just basically broke the block in half. The boost went up. It was a pretty
good fire in the car, and it was similar to the old days (when he was a
struggling, independent competitor). Everything was good until the brake
line burned off.

"I rely on the brakes a lot. Sometimes we don't even use the parachutes.
Everything was good and then the brakes just went totally - 100 percent,
zero brakes. And that's when it's hot, there's no brakes and it could take
another 30-40 seconds to stop with no brakes. Going 100 miles an hour to
zero with no brakes could take a long time with the tires still on it, and
the tires were still on it.

"I stood up and when I stood up through all the smoke I could see that we
were going to probably glance the wall. I didn't want to be a part of that,
not being buckled in, so I jumped off."

Bazemore was unhurt, but sore. "I'm fine. I'm OK," he said.

As for the damage to the car, "I don't know," said Bazemore. "We have more
cars; we're not that worried about the car."

He is eighth in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car rankings,
with 861 points, counting the oildown penalty. "If it comes down to being
fifth or third (place) at the end of the year by 10 points, then it will be
a big deal. With six races to go, the championship is a huge, huge longshot.
We're not really that worried about that."

Next up is the prestigious U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park in
Cleremont, Ind., Aug. 30-Sept. 4.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Ron Capps, 1226
2. John Force, 1223/1243 (John Force faces Tony Pedregon in the final round
today. If Force wins, he will take over the points lead)
3. Tony Pedregon, 1079/1099
4. Eric Medlen, 1060
5. Robert Hight, 1024
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 972
7. Gary Scelzi, 968
8. Whit Bazemore, 861
9. Del Worsham, 717
10. Cruz Pedregon, 707