BAZEMORE FLIES TO NO. 4 SPOT SATURDAY AT MEMPHIS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Sept. 15, 2007) – Whit Bazemore sped to the No. 4 qualifying position behind the wheel of his David Powers-owned Matco Tools rail Saturday afternoon at Memphis Motorsports Park. The veteran racer clocked a pass of 4.568 seconds to earn the fourth starting spot at the 20th annual O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals.

After qualifying his Matco Tools rail 10th on Friday evening at the Memphis track with a 4.608-second elapsed time, Bazemore used a tune-up from champion crew chief Lee Beard to clock low elapsed time of Saturday’s first qualifying session. Bazemore cruised to a pass of 4.568 seconds at 297.61 mph to move to the third position in the 16-car order. The Matco-backed rail shook the tires on its final qualifying pass and the 20-time NHRA winner finished in the No. 4 position. It is Bazemore best qualifying position since the Brainerd, Minn. race (third) and the fifth time he has qualified fourth in 2007.

“We’re starting to make some progress with the car,” Bazemore said. “It threw us a bone this morning, but shook the tires in the afternoon for some reason. We’re still a little concerned. I know Lee’s (Beard) concerned about the consistency. We know we can be competitive. It’s (Clay) Millican’s home race, so they’ll be fired up and we’ll be fired up to race them.”

Bazemore will battle No. 13 qualifier Clay Millican when final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday at Memphis Motorsports Park . ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage from the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.

Q1 10.153 ET, 69.84 MPH No. 14
Q2 4.608 ET, 320.13 MPH No. 10
Q3 4.568 ET, 297.61 MPH No. 3
Q4 10.971 ET, 70.05 MPH No. 4