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TOPEKA, Kan. (June 2, 2007) – Whit Bazemore used a consistent tune-up from champion crew chief Lee Beard to race his Matco Tools dragster to the No. 3 qualifying position Saturday afternoon at Heartland Park Topeka. The two-time winner of the Topeka race (1997, 2004) clocked a run of 4.534-seconds to finish third in the 16-car order.
A decade ago, Bazemore broke through to earn his first career victory, then in the Funny Car category. With 19 additional victories and 30 poles added to his resume, the veteran nitro pilot aims for a third career victory at the Topeka track. Bazemore, who recently moved to Eugene , Ore. , used two solid passes in qualifying to secure the third starting spot. He powered the Matco Tools dragster to a run of 4.534 seconds at 324.75 mph on his first pass of the weekend. Bazemore then concluded qualifying with a solid 4.611-second effort on a hot, sunny Heartland Park quarter mile.
“We’re in a good position,” Bazemore said. “We feel good. We’re working on a lot of things driver-wise and tune-up-wise. It’s all moving in the right direction. We made two good runs down the track. To have both cars running so well says a lot about the team and what Lee (Beard) and Rob (Flynn) are doing. We’re in a good place and we’re going to be very competitive tomorrow.
“We’ll be ready. We’re racing a tough team. They’re good. They won the last race, but we’ll be ready.”
Bazemore will face off against No. 14 qualifier and Top Fuel star Melanie Troxel in the opening round of eliminations which begin at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday morning at Heartland Park . ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage from the O’Reilly Summer Nationals from 4-7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Q1 4.534 ET, 324.75 MPH No. 3
Q2 canceled rain
Q3 12.520 ET, 75.41 MPH No. 3
Q4 4.611 ET, 319.29 MPH No. 3
BAZEMORE FINISHES IN NO. 3 SPOT IN MATCO TOOLS DRAGSTER AT TOPEKA
TOPEKA, Kan. (June 2, 2007) – Whit Bazemore used a consistent tune-up from champion crew chief Lee Beard to race his Matco Tools dragster to the No. 3 qualifying position Saturday afternoon at Heartland Park Topeka. The two-time winner of the Topeka race (1997, 2004) clocked a run of 4.534-seconds to finish third in the 16-car order.
A decade ago, Bazemore broke through to earn his first career victory, then in the Funny Car category. With 19 additional victories and 30 poles added to his resume, the veteran nitro pilot aims for a third career victory at the Topeka track. Bazemore, who recently moved to Eugene , Ore. , used two solid passes in qualifying to secure the third starting spot. He powered the Matco Tools dragster to a run of 4.534 seconds at 324.75 mph on his first pass of the weekend. Bazemore then concluded qualifying with a solid 4.611-second effort on a hot, sunny Heartland Park quarter mile.
“We’re in a good position,” Bazemore said. “We feel good. We’re working on a lot of things driver-wise and tune-up-wise. It’s all moving in the right direction. We made two good runs down the track. To have both cars running so well says a lot about the team and what Lee (Beard) and Rob (Flynn) are doing. We’re in a good place and we’re going to be very competitive tomorrow.
“We’ll be ready. We’re racing a tough team. They’re good. They won the last race, but we’ll be ready.”
Bazemore will face off against No. 14 qualifier and Top Fuel star Melanie Troxel in the opening round of eliminations which begin at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday morning at Heartland Park . ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage from the O’Reilly Summer Nationals from 4-7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Q1 4.534 ET, 324.75 MPH No. 3
Q2 canceled rain
Q3 12.520 ET, 75.41 MPH No. 3
Q4 4.611 ET, 319.29 MPH No. 3
