Brainerd: Etchells Racing Saturday pit note

Whit Bazemore and the Kendall Motor Oil/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 Racing Team returned to form during the second day of qualifying for The Colonel's Truck Accessories Nationals. After struggling to get a handle on the tricky Brainerd International Raceway surface on Friday, the Etchells Racing entry rebounded to post two of the quickest passes of the day. His best effort of 4.949 seconds, which came with a top speed of 308.21 mph, was the best run by a Funny Car in Saturday's early session, and ultimately qualified Bazemore 6th. The 4.954-second elapsed time posted on Bazemore's fourth and final attempt was also significant as it displayed the consistency the team knows will be a key to success on Sunday. Bazemore's first-round opponent will be No. 11 qualifier Bob Gilbertson, marking the first time these two will meet in competition.

"It was important for us to run consistently today, and being able to make two strong runs shows that we accomplished our goal. Obviously we feel a lot better than we did yesterday, but we know we still have some work to do. We made some really good progress today, and the car seems to be responding. The Kendall/Matco Camaro was close to perfect on both runs today - it was easy to drive and went right down the track. That is what we have to do tomorrow. If we're able to do that, I feel really good about our chances."