Stevens qualifies 10th in first drive for Schumacher

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 1 of 23
CARQUEST AUTO PARTS WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA (CALIF.) RACEWAY
FEB. 10-13, 2005


POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 12, 2005) - Richie Stevens Jr. fell comfortably back
into place in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series' Pro Stock class today,
by qualifying No. 10 in the Team Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge Stratus. The
season-opening CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals this weekend is his first
official event as a new member of Don Schumacher Racing and his first Pro
Stock outing since 2003.

His 6.740-second elapsed time at 204.66 mph topped a 7.125/192.22 from the
first session (as a result of an engine problem), and was quicker than the
6.762/204.82 he registered in the last of only three sessions (Friday's was
rained out).

The final round saw Stevens and his teammate Jeg Coughlin, in the Jeg's Mail
Order/Mopar Dodge, post identical 6.762-second laps in a side-by-side
match-up "won" by Stevens. Stevens edged out Coughlin with a faster speed of
204.82 mph to Coughlin's 204.14 - a testament to the tuning of Bob Glidden,
in charge of both cars.

"It feels good," said the New Orleans native. "The expectations were high
here for everybody, to see how we would do. It feels good to qualify. We
ended up No. 10 and Jeg is No. 13. We're going to be here on Sunday and we
get to race and show off our colors tomorrow and hopefully we can go some
rounds and get into the money round.

"On that last run Jeg and I were two thousandths (of a second) apart the
whole way down the track. It's amazing that two cars can be so close
together but yet qualified so far apart. We both ran pretty decent - not as
well as we wanted to in the last hit - but we're still in the field and
we'll do some damage tomorrow."

Stevens will face reigning Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson, who qualified
seventh, in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. "That's a nice
welcome-back present," he laughed. "I'll take anybody I can. I'm just glad
to be here.

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