BAZEMORE: THE PIT REPORTER
As a teenager, he was appointed the high profile position of official photographer for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Bazemore became accustomed to the stressful challenges of delivering on time high quality photos for various publications.
Bazemore then moved into the 300 mile per hour grind of driving nitro cars and in that time he’s been in championship battles and been on fire. He’s been on both ends of the driver’s emotional spectrum on more than one occasion. He caught on fire so many times early in his career that his fellow racers nicknamed him Blazemore.
If it’s drag racing, he’s been there done that and has the t-shirt to prove it.
Could this be the Next Chapter in Bazemore’s Career?
Whit Bazemore has performed a lot of tasks in his drag racing career.
As a teenager, he was appointed the high profile position of official photographer for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Bazemore became accustomed to the stressful challenges of delivering on time high quality photos for various publications.
Bazemore then moved into the 300 mile per hour grind of driving nitro cars and in that time he’s been in championship battles and been on fire. He’s been on both ends of the driver’s emotional spectrum on more than one occasion. He caught on fire so many times early in his career that his fellow racers nicknamed him Blazemore.
If it’s drag racing, he’s been there done that and has the t-shirt to prove it.
Last weekend Bazemore added another t-shirt to his wardrobe. However, the Bend, Ore., resident will tell you that getting that proverbial shirt wasn’t as easy as it looks.
Bazemore was a pit reporter for ESPN at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas.
“It was definitely nerve-racking,” Bazemore admitted. “It was harder for me doing that than it was driving a 300-mile per hour Funny Car. Part of that was because it was the first time and I didn’t have any experience. I have a lot of appreciation now for what it takes to properly interview somebody.
“It’s a lot easier to be on the other side and answer questions, and that’s obviously something I’ve done for a long time. That’s a lot easier than asking intelligent questions.”
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“We talked and they told me to pick a race,” Bazemore said. “They would try me out.”
Bazemore isn’t sure when his next race will be but believes there will be another opportunity to report from the pits this season. The amount of footage used with Bazemore could be a good sign.
“I’m hopeful,” Bazemore said.
Bazemore isn’t looking to walk away from his day job of trading stock and there’s still a rush from working the market, but drag racing has been a part of his life for almost three decades.
“I really enjoy being a trader,” Bazemore said. “It’s been hard and a challenge this year but it would also be good to have a real job where there’s steady income. I’ve been around drag racing for my entire adult life. It was really great to go back [to Vegas] and see everybody. I have missed a lot of people.”
Bazemore said he interacted with a lot of former crew members and one crew chief greeted him.
“Austin Coil even came out of his trailer to see me,” Bazemore said. “Stuff like that means a lot to me. In coming back out there and doing this I realized I still have a lot of friends out here.”
The oft-times critical Bazemore was his worst critic early in the weekend but softened his stance after watching the broadcast.
“While I was doing it, I thought I graded maybe a D or an F in delivery,” Bazemore confided. “I thought maybe my questions or my ideas were pretty good but my delivery was a D … probably.”
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“When I came home and watched the broadcasts, what I felt was bad initially wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Bazemore admitted. “I learned a helluva lot. It was a lot easier on Sunday than it was Saturday. Coming home and watching it I realized there were ways I could improve.”
Bazemore’s mantra over the course of his professional drag racing career has been his straight-up way of calling situations as he sees them and for those who believe he will become politically correct as an ESPN pit reporter ought to think again.
Being politically correct is not part of his job description.
“I don’t have to be politically correct and that’s a beautiful thing,” Bazemore said. “It’s like Don Schumacher said a long time ago. A tiger doesn’t change its stripes.”
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