NHRA News: Bazemore's driving path began in New York (5/12/2000)

Bazemore's driving path began in New York

5/12/2000

"So in effect, by the age of 2, I had already felt the need for speed, drag raced and had my first wreck."
-- Whit Bazemore

Englishtown, pre-race: Growing up on Manhattan's Upper East Side, one would think that Whit Bazemore could not be further isolated from the sport of drag racing. However, even at the tender age of 2, this New York City native was already displaying the tendencies that would lead him to become one of the most recognizable stars in the NHRA's Funny Car division, driving the Kendall Motor Oil/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 owned by Chuck Etchells.

"My grandmother used to tell me stories of things I would do with my tricycle," said Bazemore. "At the time, we lived on East 79th street, and when she would take me out so I would race her to the end of the block, and then wait for her to catch up. In addition, the building we lived in had a concrete ramp that led into the basement. One day I rode down the ramp, hit the wall because I was going too fast, and broke my nose. So in effect, by the age of 2, I had already felt the need for speed, drag raced and had my first wreck."

After this auspicious debut, Bazemore's motorsports career was put on hold until high school. Now living in Atlanta, he had developed a keen interest in cars and would often go to the track and watch the races. From the start, he was particularly fascinated by the speed and fury of the nitro-burning Funny Cars.

Although itching to get behind the wheel, he had neither the funds nor the experience necessary to do so. As a result he started a photography business in order to stay around the sport he loved. His first big break came in 1979 when he captured a spectacular accident on film, which was featured on the front page of the Atlanta paper. This drew the attention of the track operator, who provided him with a press credential, and, more importantly, introduced him to the marketing manager for series sponsor R.J. Reynolds. Soon, Bazemore found himself hired by several Fortune 500 companies and top drivers, including drag racing icon Kenny Bernstein, to attend races as their professional photographer.

"Here I was, just a kid in high school, making a decent living with my photography and going to all the races," said Bazemore. "It was an exciting time, and I temporarily lost sight of my original goal of driving a race car. But it didn't take long for the initial thrill to wear off, and soon I was looking for a way to get in the cockpit."

Ironically, it was at a photo shoot in 1985 that Bazemore's competitive fire would be re-ignited. At the completion of the session, Bazemore convinced the showcar driver to let him take the GTP sports car out for a spin on the Road Atlanta circuit. After several 140-mph laps, Bazemore was hooked. After scraping together the money for tuition, he enrolled in the Skip Barber Driving School at Indianapolis Raceway Park and soon found himself racing in open-wheeled sports cars. Although this seemed an unusual choice for an aspiring drag racer, it was all part of Bazemore's plan.

"Even though my ultimate goal was racing a Funny Car, I decided to start in road racing for several reasons," said Bazemore. "First of all, I had to find out if my ability matched my desire. I had always been a closet racer, and had received more than my share of speeding tickets. But I needed to know if I could do it in an authentic racing environment. Road racing offered me that opportunity at a relatively low cost, which I couldn't do in drag racing, only because I didn't want to drive anything but a Funny Car.

"So here I found myself in Indianapolis in May, when everything focuses on racing, and I'm a race car driver. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. From that point on, I was done. No matter what, I had to race."

But Bazemore's dream never strayed too far from the quarter-mile. Despite his success in the formula cars, he soon returned to taking pictures at NHRA national events, and, in the process, learned more about the business side of racing. Once his checkbook allowed, he attended Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School. While there, he showed such a natural ability that in 1986 Hawley himself help Bazemore land his first ride in an alcohol Funny Car. Over the next three years, he honed his driving skills by driving less-than-perfect racecars in match races across the country at facilities that are a far cry from the tracks he competes on today. Finally, in 1989, Bazemore took the next step, moving into one of the NHRA's elite professional classes, Nitro Funny Car.

Over the next 10 years, Bazemore rode a competitive and emotional roller coaster. From nightmarish fires and career-threatening injuries (suffered in an off-track motorcycle accident) to contending for the championship and winning the sport's biggest race, the U.S. Nationals, in 1997, he covered the spectrum, always exhibiting a knack for survival. Most recently, in 1998 his livelihood was again threatened with the loss of his primary sponsor. Disbanding his own team, he signed on to drive Chuck Etchells' perennial contender, allowing his pursuit of his ultimate goal - the Winston championship - to continue.

"It's a tough business, and you have to keep hammering," said Bazemore. "Take this Etchells Racing Team as an example. We've had a tough start this year, but we're far from giving up. If anything, we're going to work even harder to get back on top."

Returning for this year's Matco Tools Spring Supernationals, Bazemore's life seems to have come full circle. After many strange twists and turns, he returns to the site of more childhood memories with the same objective as he had on 79th Street - to win.

"We would spend our summers at my grandparents' place on the Jersey shore," said Bazemore. "And I remember going to Englishtown for the Summernationals when I was old enough. It's an important race to win for any drag racer, because of the tradition, but for me, getting the Kendall/Matco Tools Camaro to the winner's circle there would make a childhood dream come true."

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