NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series

Whit Bazemore
MATCO TOOLS

"That's wanting to be the best and not wanting to see myself as a failure."

Questions and story by Dwight Drum
Photos by Gary Larsen and Dwight Drum
Web work by Gary Larsen

Whit Bazemore is a straight track racer with a straightforward attitude. Drag racing fans don't have to wait for his assessment or opinions and I won't keep you waiting for his words. Bazemore is solid when he defines his competitive spirit and more for fans.

"The track!"

"I realized I could race when I first attended driving school and I really enjoyed it. I thought OK when one of the instructors said…If I really worked hard I could be one of the race people that could actually do this as a career. That made me feel pretty good. The confidence did it."

"I think a lot of desire more than anything else. It's my refusal to quit."

"It comes back to having a lot of desire and not really taking no for an answer or accepting defeat. It's always trying to get better and go to the next level."

"It came from insecurity of felling like a failure unless I was successful. That's wanting to be the best and not wanting to see myself as a failure."

"That we work really hard to get to this level and it's a lot of competition. You do what you do to win. You are a certain way. It's not a popularity contest. It's a competition. It's a game and you get to play the game."

"No. I can't say that I have, maybe in a metamorphic way, possibly but not actually."

"I think I do, but that would be implying that I'm a great driver so maybe I don't. I think a really good driver is obviously very mentally tough. They don't accept defeat well. The better drivers are more physical that's for sure. They want to fight and stand up for themselves, but their more fit also."

"People don't really know the early years of racing....Savannah Georgia, Valhalla, Mississippi and Atmore, Alabama. They don't remember that stuff, because people weren't really there, but it's all a part of it. You pay your dues. You learn that's were you learned about driving and getting down fast tracks, and car control and racing a alcohol Funny Car at a track with no fire trucks or ambulance, and no guard rail. Really you make a decision. I'm going to do this or I'm not, and when you do it, you commit to it 100 percent. People don't remember that stuff. It's what so many people did. I hate to say I'm from the older generation, but a lot of the new guys(and I'm still one of the young guys) that I was fortunate to start early enough and have that part of my career which took a lot of years off. I think it was worth it. Some of these guys never did that. They're kind of spoiled."