Tue, May 12, 09:34 AM Whit Bazemore Team Winston Funny Car

Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Sports Marketing Enterprises Mopar Parts Nationals

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -

Whit Bazemore was the No. 14 qualifier at Dallas. He covered the quarter-mile in 5.10 seconds at 301.70 mph.

In eliminations, Bazemore ran his quickest pass of the weekend but still lost to Tim Wilkerson in the first round.

One year ago at Englishtown, Bazemore was the No. 6 qualifier recording an e.t. of 5.09 seconds. In eliminations, he defeated Gary Densham before losing to Kenji Okazaki in the second round.

Bazemore is currently 10th in the NHRA Winston Funny Car standings.

Bazemore prior to Englishtown:

"It's been a difficult year so far to say the least. There's a lot of pressure on our entire team. As for me, there are a couple of different types of pressure. As a driver, I relish the situation we're in because it forces me to dig deeper and rise to the occasion. As a team owner, it's a lot more frustrating because you're faced with decisions that must be made.

"Even though we're in a slump, the good news is that we have the tools, personnel, attitude, desire and commitment necessary to get out of it.

"I'm looking forward to Englishtown because it's such a good track. It offers us an opportunity to enhance our strengths. We're up against extremely tough competition every week. For example, Chuck Etchells went into Dallas leading the Winston standings and missed the race. So you have to have your game every week. This sport is one of peaks and valleys. I hope we have a peak sometime soon."