Stevens collects No. 8 in Atlanta qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 7 of 23
NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS
ATLANTA DRAGWAY
COMMERCE, GA.
Race dates: May 13-15, 2005


COMMERCE, GA. (May 14, 2005) - Richie Stevens Jr. got his wish today and
qualified the Team Mopar/Valspar HEMI-powered Dodge Stratus R/T once again
in the top half of the Pro Stock field, in eighth, just as he did two weeks
at at Bristol Dragway. He was runner-up there, enjoying lane choice all the
way.

With rain threatening, Pro Stock qualifying for the NHRA Southern Nationals
was almost cut short, but a break in the weather allowed two full rounds of
qualifying to be completed. At one point, it looked like Stevens would have
to face his teammate Jeg Coughlin in the first round of eliminations, but
that soon changed, and Stevens instead faces Larry Morgan, while Coughlin is
matched against Rickie Smith.

Stevens' 6.781/203.89 pass in the last session was his quickest lap of the
weekend. "It got us in the top half," said the New Orleans native. "We get
to run Larry Morgan in the first round instead of Jeg. I wanted lane choice
again. That's where we started in Bristol, maybe it's a good-luck slot.

"We had a problem with the line lock (a device that keeps the car from
rolling forward on the starting line) yesterday, It wasn't holding pressure
on the starting line and the car kept wanting to roll through the beams. We
found the problem this morning and fixed it. We went out there in the first
round and everything was fine (6.800/203.89), and luckily we got that little
bit of rain, which I think helped the track out for this last session. It
cooled it down a little bit, had a little cloud cover, which helped us out.
We improved.

"I'm glad we're in the top half and hopefully tomorrow will be a good day."