Richmond: Whit Bazemore Friday notes

BAZEMORE FLIES TO NO. 2 SPOT FRIDAY AT RICHMOND

PETERSBURG, Va. (Oct. 5, 2007) -- Whit Bazemore, who enters the final race in the Countdown to Four ranked sixth in the Top Fuel standings, raced his David Powers-owned Matco Tools rail to the provisional No. 2 qualifying position Friday evening at Virginia Motorsports Park.

The veteran nitro racer, with 20 career wins to his credit, used a tune-up from champion crew chief Lee Beard to power the Matco-backed dragster to a pass of 4.858 seconds at 317.05 mph. That positioned the Bend, Ore. resident second in the 16-car order. Bazemore, who has one pole this season (Houston), also qualified second at the Bristol, Tenn. race in July. The first run was canceled due to a lengthy rain shower on Friday afternoon.

"The track was slick in the middle and we skated around as did a lot of cars," Bazemore said. "To finish second is good. We have to win the race to have any hopes of racing for a championship this season. That's what we're focused on doing and nothing else. That's all that matters. This is a first good step for our team"

-credit: dpm