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SOMONA, Calif. -- Whit Bazemore said he was ready for the summer months before winning Seattle in record heat. And he says he, crew chief Todd Okuhara and the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team are still ready for more heat in Northern California as the final race of the three-event Western Swing (Denver, Seattle and Sonoma, Calif.) comes to Infineon Raceway this weekend for the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals.
Two-time U.S. Nationals champion Bazemore and the Matco Tools team have come back fighting after struggling early in the season and are back as top contenders in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car class.
His Seattle victory under extreme conditions bodes well for the team's performance this weekend in Sonoma, if only for the renewed confidence the first win since Las Vegas 1 in 2005 has inspired.
"Our plan is to try to win again," says Bazemore, the 1999 Sonoma Funny Car titlist. "It does feel good coming to a race after having won, but the plate is clean and you have to do it all over again. Everyone basically starts at zero.
"What happened last week really has no bearing on what happens this week or next week. I'm sure it gives everyone on the team a little more confidence having a win under our belts, especially for crew chief Todd Okuhara. Your first win as a crew chief, I'm sure, is just tremendous. Same as your first win as a driver. It's a moment you never forget. Sometimes the first one takes the longest to get.
"It didn't take Todd very long and hopefully it's a sign of things to come.
"It's typically hot weather here," says Bazemore, who was No. 1 Funny Car qualifier here three times (1999, 2000, 2001). "I think right now we have a pretty good hot-weather tune-up, as evidenced by Seattle, where they had record heat. Denver too. We ran well in Denver, we just had a problem in the first round that cost us there. If we can eliminate all of our problems, much like we did in Seattle, I think we'll be very competitive here in the conditions that we typically see in Sonoma."
WHIT BAZEMORE QUICK FACTS:
* Eighth in 2006 Funny Car point standings after 14 events, with one win, 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. 11 qualifier in 2005 Fram-Autolite Nationals, lost semifinal to Ron Capps
* Has one win at Infineon, in 1999; No. 1 qualifier three times: 1999, 2000, 2001
* 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 20 career Funny Car event wins in 45 final rounds in 332 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 28 < PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.
SATURDAY, July 29 < PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
SUNDAY, July 30 < Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at noon.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, July 29, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 8 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, July 30, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will telecast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m.(ET).
Sunday, July 30, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final round eliminations at 8 p.m. (ET).
Seattle Winner Bazemore Ready for More Heat in Sonoma
SOMONA, Calif. -- Whit Bazemore said he was ready for the summer months before winning Seattle in record heat. And he says he, crew chief Todd Okuhara and the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team are still ready for more heat in Northern California as the final race of the three-event Western Swing (Denver, Seattle and Sonoma, Calif.) comes to Infineon Raceway this weekend for the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals.
Two-time U.S. Nationals champion Bazemore and the Matco Tools team have come back fighting after struggling early in the season and are back as top contenders in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car class.
His Seattle victory under extreme conditions bodes well for the team's performance this weekend in Sonoma, if only for the renewed confidence the first win since Las Vegas 1 in 2005 has inspired.
"Our plan is to try to win again," says Bazemore, the 1999 Sonoma Funny Car titlist. "It does feel good coming to a race after having won, but the plate is clean and you have to do it all over again. Everyone basically starts at zero.
"What happened last week really has no bearing on what happens this week or next week. I'm sure it gives everyone on the team a little more confidence having a win under our belts, especially for crew chief Todd Okuhara. Your first win as a crew chief, I'm sure, is just tremendous. Same as your first win as a driver. It's a moment you never forget. Sometimes the first one takes the longest to get.
"It didn't take Todd very long and hopefully it's a sign of things to come.
"It's typically hot weather here," says Bazemore, who was No. 1 Funny Car qualifier here three times (1999, 2000, 2001). "I think right now we have a pretty good hot-weather tune-up, as evidenced by Seattle, where they had record heat. Denver too. We ran well in Denver, we just had a problem in the first round that cost us there. If we can eliminate all of our problems, much like we did in Seattle, I think we'll be very competitive here in the conditions that we typically see in Sonoma."
WHIT BAZEMORE QUICK FACTS:
* Eighth in 2006 Funny Car point standings after 14 events, with one win, 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. 11 qualifier in 2005 Fram-Autolite Nationals, lost semifinal to Ron Capps
* Has one win at Infineon, in 1999; No. 1 qualifier three times: 1999, 2000, 2001
* 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 20 career Funny Car event wins in 45 final rounds in 332 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 28 < PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.
SATURDAY, July 29 < PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
SUNDAY, July 30 < Pre-race ceremonies, 11 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at noon.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, July 29, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 8 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, July 30, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will telecast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m.(ET).
Sunday, July 30, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final round eliminations at 8 p.m. (ET).
