Stevens on a high heading to Gainesville

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 3 of 23
36TH ANNUAL NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE (Fla.) RACEWAY
Race Dates: March 18-20, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 16, 2005) - Richie Stevens Jr. is still pinching
himself. Is this for real or is it a dream? After sitting out the majority
of two seasons of Pro Stock competition to take care of his family business
while his dad recuperated from open-heart surgery, he's back in the fold,
driving for the largest team in NHRA pro history and sitting close to the
top of the world.

The top of the world for Stevens, who drives the Team Mopar HEMI-powered
Dodge Stratus R/T that is tuned by legendary Bob Glidden, would be the
points lead in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series' Pro Stock division.
He's not greedy, however. He'll take continuing to set records and winning a
few races this season for Don Schumacher Racing.

In only his second Pro Stock race since 2003, he demolished both ends of the
class track record (6.735/205.35) at Firebird International Raceway while
snagging his second career pole position. He advanced to the second round in
a very tough category, then lost to his teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr.

The New Orleans native moved into 10th in the points, just 76 out of first,
and is ready to attack the third race of the year, this weekend's NHRA
Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

"Were coming off of a great result in Phoenix and it feels good," said
Stevens. "Jeggie had a semifinal finish, so we're definitely going in the
right direction for the team.

"Doing as well as we have so far, I feel it can only get better. We have
done a lot of testing, and results have come from that and hopefully they
will continue.

"I don't doubt there will be improvement," he continued with confidence.
"We'll be testing this week at South Georgia Motorsports Park and we'll
carry what we learn down to Gainesville. I feel that if we can get both cars
qualified in the top five and go some rounds at every race, we'll definitely
be in the winner's circle pretty soon. I don't doubt it a bit.

"Gainesville is one of my favorite places to go," added Stevens, although
there's nothing to brag about as far as results go. "I've always had a good
time here, but I haven't had the best record here. It's a fun race, a lot of
fans come out for it. Hopefully the weather is nice. It's usually pretty
good.

"The season has started off great, I couldn't be happier. Yeah, it would
have been nice to have won a race, but I don't think that it's that far out
of reach for us."

Reigning two-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson has stumbled so far this
season, along with his teammate Jason Line. But Stevens predicts they, as
well some others, will be back in the hunt as arguably one of the most
competitive Pro Stock seasons continues.

"I think you'll see Greg turn around," said Stevens, who has four
national-event Pro Stock wins to his credit. "The first two races he kind of
struggled a little bit. He had some mishaps, had some bad luck, but I think
you'll see his camp turn around. Dave Connolly is also going to be right
there the whole season, and Warren and Kurt Johnson have shown to be pretty
strong. 

"I tell you, Allen Johnson (Phoenix winner and points leader) ran really
well out there in the first two races. So, we're going to have a lot of
competition tightening up as we progress into the middle of the season.
There are not going to be many people that you can really count out. Ron
Krisher is running good. It seems like everybody's kind of gotten their acts
together. There is definitely going to a be a variety of different winners
this year as there were in the first two races."

Mopar has come on strong this season, with Allen Johnson's win and Stevens'
No. 1 qualifying record. When asked why, Stevens responded: "It's a lot of
hard work on our side. Bob (Glidden) is putting in his hours at the shop and
he continues to do that. Testing has definitely gained us some knowledge. We
are definitely moving in the right direction.

"I'm sure Allen Johnson and his team have put in a lot of research and
development on their engine program. Larry Morgan  is right in there, and so
is V. Gaines. All the Dodges seem to be on the positive side: they're all
running well. I think we'll definitely see Mopar in the winner's circle
quite a few times. They already proved they can do it when Allen Johnson won
at Phoenix."

Workaholic Glidden never ceases trying to improve the horsepower on Stevens'
and Coughlin's Mopars. "Just like money, you can never have enough
horsepower," smiled Stevens, "so Bob will still be in the shop fighting to
get every little bit he can. Hopefully that will put us over the top and
make us that much better than the competition."

SCHEDULE:
On Friday, March 18, pro qualifying sessions are at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
On Saturday, March 19, pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
and 2:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 20, final eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION:
On Sunday, March 20, ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights
at 12:30 a.m. (ET).Also, on Sunday, March 20, ESPN2 will telecast NHRA 2Day,
a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET). And, again on
Sunday, March 20, ESPN2 will televise two hours of final eliminations at 5
p.m. (ET). 

RICHIE STEVENS JR. QUICK FACTS:
* With dad Richie Stevens Sr. owns Stevens Collision Center in New Orleans
* Posted his career-best ET and speed in Phoenix this year: 6.735/205.35
* Has longtime relationship with associate sponsor Valspar
* Capped off rookie season in 1998 with a victory in his first final-round
appearance (Pomona 2)
* Is youngest Pro Stock driver to win a national event, at 20-one month, in
1998
* Has four wins in seven final rounds, two No. 1 qualifiers to his credit
* In 1999 he became the eighth member of the Speed Pro 200-mph Pro Stock
Club with a 200.08 mph run in Richmond, Va.
* Competed in Roy Hill's Pro Mod car in 2004, with a semifinal finish at the
U.S. Nationals his best result