Championship Drag Racing

KEYSTONE NATIONALS
READING (Sept. 14-17)

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Whit Bazemore Kendall Camaro Funny Car

Reports: Saturday Pre-race

Reading, Saturday: Twice during the 2000 NHRA Winston Drag Racing season, Whit Bazemore entered the final qualifying session outside the top 16 positions necessary to qualify for final eliminations. In each instance, not only was he able to make a run quick enough to place the Kendall Motor Oil/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 in the field, but he followed those dramatic performances with his two best showings of the season, winning in Denver and reaching the final round at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

On Saturday afternoon at Maple Grove Raceway, Bazemore once again found himself in this precarious position, having struggled to complete a full-power pass on each of his first three attempts. Running in the right lane, Bazemore launched hard and powered down the track. The early performance numbers showed that Bazemore was on a strong run. However, just as it Bazemore would once again use his final attempt to claim a spot on Sunday's eliminations ladder, his car suddenly slowed, the victim of a freak mechanical failure. Despite posting his best elapsed time of the weekend, his 5.631-second attempt was not enough to prevent Bazemore from having to watch the remainder of the competition from the sidelines.

This marks the first time in nearly three years that Bazemore has not qualified, dating back to the 1997 Pennzoil Nationals in Memphis, Tennessee, a string of 64 races.

"The Kendall/Matco was definitely on a good run - we estimate it would have been a high 4.80 or low 4.90,” said Bazemore. “Unfortunately, about 100 feet before half-track, it appears that it simply broke the aluminum studs that hold the blower onto the manifold. This caused us to lose boost and then the blower belt came off. Ironically, I don't think the motor blew up.

"It's just unbelievably bad luck on our part. However, we've been in this situation a few times lately, and as Chuck says (team owner Etchells), when you're not in going into the last session, you're playing with fire, and sooner or later something out of the ordinary is going to burn you. That's precisely what happened to us this weekend.

"We keep fighting this car. It has thrown Terry (crew chief Manzer) a big curve. It either sets a new track record (as it did in Denver and Seattle), or it doesn't get down the track at all. We have got to find the middle ground, because it's hard to be successful when the car is all over the map like this one is."

Reading, pre-race: Whit Bazemore is an acknowledged drag racing fanatic. Long before he ever climbed behind the wheel of a Funny Car, Bazemore was an avid student of the sport, learning everything he could and jumping at any opportunity to see the world's best quarter-milers compete. Ask him, and he will describe in great detail weekends from over twenty years ago spent watching the stars of that era, such as Gene Snow and Don Prudhomme, race at Gainesville Raceway and Atlanta Dragway.

It is this understanding of drag racing's roots that makes Bazemore appreciate the NHRA's annual visit to Maple Grove Raceway. As the Kendall Oil/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 Racing Team arrives in Reading for this weekend's Keystone Nationals, Bazemore is fully aware of the area's contributions to the sport, and he hopes to add to this rich tradition.

"There is a strong heritage of Funny Car Racing in Eastern Pennsylvania," said Bazemore. "Through the years, that area has given us many great stars, including such legends as "Jungle Jim" Lieberman and Jungle Pam. As a result, the fans in Maple Grove are among the most knowledgeable on the NHRA circuit. They are so into Funny Car racing that it makes it a very special and fun weekend every time we're there."

Bazemore and crew come in looking to add to their own history at Maple Grove Raceway. Although Bazemore has yet to reach the Reading winner's circle, team owner Chuck Etchells took home the trophy in 1995, defeating John Force in the final. In addition, Etchells was the No.1 qualifier in 1993 and 1997 and still holds the track top speed record at 309.91 mph.

Even though they have struggled to get a handle on their 6,000 horsepower fuel coupe for much of the 2000 season, recent weeks have seen somewhat of a resurgence in the Etchells camp, as evidenced by their climb from 11th to sixth in the Winston points standings over the last six races. However, the consistency necessary to compete for the win on a regular basis continues to be an elusive target.

This week, the Kendall/Matco team will tackle a track with a seemingly split personality. On one hand, there are the atmospheric conditions, where the abundant trees and usually cooler fall temperatures are ideal for generating maximum horsepower. However, crew chiefs throughout the pit area will be challenged by a racing surface that features a short concrete launching pad, putting traction at a premium. Once again, race day success will go to the team that does the best job of balancing these two factors.

"Maple Grove is a hard track to figure," said Bazemore. "With trees all around it, the atmospheric conditions are great and we tend to make a lot of horsepower. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the longest concrete pad. It can be very tricky or really good. We'll just have to see what it's like when we get there.

"But the most important thing for our team is that we get our Kendall/Matco Camaro to go down the track consistently and competitively. That's what Terry (crew chief Manzer) and the crew are working to do. Besides, although this has been a good track for Etchells Racing, I haven't fared all that well there, and that's something I'd like to change this weekend. There are just a few races left in the season, and we have some goals that we'd like to accomplish, and it all starts with a strong run in Reading."