BAZEMORE QUALIFIES NO. 2 IN GAINESVILLE, QUESTIONS REV LIMITER RULE
DON SCHUMACHER RACING
Contact: Judy Stropus
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 18, 2006) - Whit Bazemore and the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge team debuted the new Charger body this weekend at the NHRA Gatornationals and saw a strong improvement in performance, as Bazemore qualified No. 2, with a 4.769-second pass at 321.88 mph.
The defending Gatornationals event champion clocked that time in the second qualifying session and was headed towards a potentially pole-setting run in the final round until a late-lap encounter with the NHRA-mandated rev limiter. Despite posting a respectable 4.782-second run, his top speed of only 295.85 mph told the disappointing tale.
"The Matco Tools Dodge team has done an outstanding job of addressing some of the issues that we had earlier in the year and as a result of that we're running much better and we're a much better team," said Bazemore.
"Quite honestly, we're very nervous about the rev limiter and the effect that it has on the engine. We saw a Don Schumacher Racing teammate absolutely explode her car at the last race into a big fireball, and in a Funny Car that could be devastating.
"Twice now we've hit the rev limiter. As a driver, you can't drive these cars without knowing what's happening to the engine at the finish line. And when the thing takes out that much power all at once you don't know if it's got a rod out. It feels like it drops three cylinders. That time (last session) it dropped so much timing out of it I had to shut it off. And then it came back on. It's too dangerous right now, and something needs to be done about it."
Bazemore faces Cruz Pedregon in first round of eliminations on Sunday, as he aims for a repeat win at Gainesville Raceway.
Contact: Judy Stropus
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 18, 2006) - Whit Bazemore and the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge team debuted the new Charger body this weekend at the NHRA Gatornationals and saw a strong improvement in performance, as Bazemore qualified No. 2, with a 4.769-second pass at 321.88 mph.
The defending Gatornationals event champion clocked that time in the second qualifying session and was headed towards a potentially pole-setting run in the final round until a late-lap encounter with the NHRA-mandated rev limiter. Despite posting a respectable 4.782-second run, his top speed of only 295.85 mph told the disappointing tale.
"The Matco Tools Dodge team has done an outstanding job of addressing some of the issues that we had earlier in the year and as a result of that we're running much better and we're a much better team," said Bazemore.
"Quite honestly, we're very nervous about the rev limiter and the effect that it has on the engine. We saw a Don Schumacher Racing teammate absolutely explode her car at the last race into a big fireball, and in a Funny Car that could be devastating.
"Twice now we've hit the rev limiter. As a driver, you can't drive these cars without knowing what's happening to the engine at the finish line. And when the thing takes out that much power all at once you don't know if it's got a rod out. It feels like it drops three cylinders. That time (last session) it dropped so much timing out of it I had to shut it off. And then it came back on. It's too dangerous right now, and something needs to be done about it."
Bazemore faces Cruz Pedregon in first round of eliminations on Sunday, as he aims for a repeat win at Gainesville Raceway.
posted by David @ 2:06 AM
<< Home