NHRA

Seattle: Bazemore is #1 in Seattle qualifying

Whit Bazemore and the Kendall Motor Oil/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 Racing Team extended their string of strong performances by claiming the top qualifying position at this weekend's Prolong Super Lubricants Northwest Nationals. Just as he had done at ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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Whit Bazemore and the Kendall Motor Oil/Matco Tools Camaro Z28 Racing Team extended their string of strong performances by claiming the top qualifying position at this weekend's Prolong Super Lubricants Northwest Nationals. Just as he had done at the last event in Denver, Bazemore's 4.875-second, 306.81 mph effort reset the Seattle International Raceway elapsed time track record. This was Bazemore's second "pole" position of the 2000 season, and eighth of his career.

When clear skies and warmer temperatures made it apparent that Bazemore's Friday night run would not be challenged for the top qualifying position, the Etchells Racing crew turned their attention to developing a consistent tune-up for Sunday's eliminations, and responded by posting two of the quickest passes of the day in Funny Car, logging a pair of 5.01-second passes.

"Arriving at the track this morning under bright sunshine, we thought our run would be safe if the sun stayed out. Personally, I almost hoped the cloud cover would return and some guys would make a run at us, because if someone else bettered it, so could we, because our set-up was still pretty soft. Today, we backed up Friday night's run by having low E.T. of the morning session, and just a couple hundredths off the quickest pass this afternoon. The bottom line was that we were consistent and competitive in the heat, which will be a key to success tomorrow.

"We run Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round, and we'll have to concentrate on not making mistakes from the starting line through the finish. This entire Kendall/Matco Camaro team wants this win really badly. They're hard to come by, and it's not often that you have a car capable of dominating as we have in these last two races. I believe that puts more pressure on you because you have to take advantage of it. It's one thing to win as an underdog, but it's different when you have the car, the tools and the team at your disposal to get you in the winner's circle. You have to make it happen, which is what this Etchells Racing team is looking to do tomorrow."

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