On The Run with Whit Bazemore driver of the Matco Tools Dodge Stratus Funny Car

National Dragster, Oct 29, 2004 by Bazemore, Whit

As I write this, our Matco Tools Dodge team is in fourth place in the Funny Car standings, which is a somewhat humbling and disappointing surprise to all of us.

After our strong finish last year, it goes without saying that we had every reason to expect to be in the middle of a fierce championship battle this season. That it hasn't happened shows a couple of things: First, how truly difficult it is at the top of this sport, and, second, how quickly fortunes can change.

It's not that we've had a bad year by most standards, what with leading the championship midyear and scoring twice in five final rounds. In fact, it's a record most Funny Car teams would be proud to have.

In sports, you are only satisfied when you achieve your own goals, whatever they may be; others' expectations really don't mean that much. It's all about achieving what you set out to achieve and what you believe you're capable of. Falling short of your own expectations is one of the hardest things to deal with in this business.

All of us on the Matco Tools team are pretty much on the same page. The off-season will be spent refining our program in many key areas so we will be more competitive and have a more consistent Matco Tools Dodge next season.

Don Schumacher does a tremendous job of raising money to fund the team. He provides the team with the resources it needs to. be successful. That's the best kind of car owner to have: one who shares your passion for winning and success and plays an integral role in making it happen; however, like anyone else with high expectations, he gets disappointed when we fail to meet our goals. It's to be expected.

Next year will be my fifth season driving for Don, Lee Beard, and Matco Tools, my fourth year with Oakley, and my third with Dodge. These relationships are the foundation of our team and are what will drive it forward.

Matco Tools is a great company to work for, and I've become good friends with many people there. From Matco Tools President Tom Willis to the company's more than 1,600 distributors nationwide, the support we get is tremendous. It's hard to believe you can luck out and become associated with a company that lives and breathes racing the same way you do. I've been labeled an intense individual, and when it comes to the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge team, most of its employees are pretty intense as well. That kind of relationship is crucial on both sides of the fence. The team is obviously stronger because of it, and I hope the job we do for Matco Tools makes the company stronger.

The feedback from fans this year has been a revelation. I've always appreciated the passion some fans have displayed, but I never let it affect me one way or the other. This year, though, has been different. From the fans on the racetrack who stand beside us through thick and thin to the avid ones on the Internet, the unflinching support has come to mean something special to me.

Since midsummer, I have wanted to put faces with the names of some of our staunchest Internet supporters, and I've been fortunate enough to have met a couple of my biggest fans face to face - most recently Roger from Kentucky and Kurt from Pennsylvania. When people constantly say good things about me and my team, I feel a personal thank-you is in order.

As our visibility has increased over the last several seasons, seemingly so has our fan base. You wouldn't believe the number of die-hard John Force fans who come up to us in all of their Force garb and tell us to beat him. It seems weird to me that someone would want a Whit Bazemore autograph on one of those John Force jackets that looks like a firesuit, but it happens many times at every race. I'm not sure what it means, but it's pretty cool.

Larry and AIi Dixon have organized a benefit auction to honor Darrell Russell and to raise support for his wife Julie that will be held Saturday night at Pomona Raceway following .Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals qualifying. Many cool items will be up for auction. I'm donating a Smokin' Joe's replica helmet from my 1996 season as well as some other goodies. You don't want to miss it.