Eyeing a top eight position to ensure a spot in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship, 20-time NHRA Funny Car winner Whit Bazemore qualified his Matco Tools dragster ninth Saturday at Bandimere Speedway. He currently sits ninth in the Top Fuel standings.
The two-time Bandimere Speedway winner (1997, 2000) entered the final day of qualifying for the 28th annual Mile-High Nationals in the No. 13 position after posting a run of 4.766-seconds on Friday evening. Bazemore’s Matco Tools dragster dropped a cylinder on that pass. That placed the Lee Beard-led crew in the bottom half of the 16-car order.
With a bit of good fortune, clouds rolled in and the heat dissipated providing more forgiving track conditions for the drivers and tuners. Beard, a Pueblo, Colo. native, took advantage and tuned Bazemore to the second quickest pass of Saturday’s first qualifying session. The 20-time NHRA winner blasted his Matco-backed rail to a pass of 4.662 seconds at 318.99 mph to jump all the way to the No. 6 qualifying position. Only his teammate Rod Fuller’s 4.661-second elapsed time was quicker. The Matco rail dropped a cylinder on its final qualifying pass and recorded a run of 4.768 at 278.92 leaving Bazemore ninth in the 16-car order.
“We were right there within low E. T., ” Bazemore said. “We’re excited. It was a good run. We had an issue with our car all weekend, we thought we fixed it, but we didn’t. It’s a new car, so we’re going through it inch by inch, piece by piece to try and have a more perfect car for Sunday. The guys have done a great job. They’ve worked a lot of long hours this week so we can come here with an optimum setup. ”
Bazemore will do battle with No. 8 qualifier Bob Vandergriff, Jr. when Top Fuel eliminations begin at Noon (MT) on Sunday. ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage at 9 p. m. (ET).
Q1 7.040 ET, 113.37 MPH No. 14
Q2 4.766 ET, 307.86 MPH No. 13
Q3 4.662 ET, 318.99 MPH No. 6
Q4 4.768 ET, 278.92 MPH No. 9
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