Despite missing Gatornats field, rookie Carlson remains upbeat

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 3 of 23
ACDelco NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE (FLA.) RACEWAY
Race Date: March 17-19, 2006


GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 18, 2006) - Pro Stock rookie Shaun Carlson, driver
of the Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus for Don Schumacher Racing, was
optimistic heading into the NHRA Gatornationals this weekend. He had
recently completed a promising test session at South Georgia Motorsports
Park in Valdosta, Ga., and he and the team expected to qualify for their
first NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event.

Carlson's four qualifying runs, however, were not enough to make the
quickest Pro Stock field in NHRA history, but his final and best qualifying
run of 6.740 seconds at 205.38 mph was his best-yet official elapsed time
since joining DSR in February. His other runs consisted of a 6.798/204.80,
6.780/205.01, and a 6.790/204.49.

The Southern-California native is focusing on the positives from the
weekend: "I finally started to do my job a little better," he said.
"Obviously I'd like to get qualified to give back to the team. If you
look at the (final) run, it was much straighter and I hit my shift
points better.

"Bob (Glidden, crew chief) came on the radio at the end of my run and
said, 'Shaun that was a good run, probably your best run so far.' That
gave me goose-bumps as I was pulling off (the track). I was upset that
I didn't make it, but at the same time I hope I'm showing people that I
will get better.

"The Valdosta test was good for me because I started to break my passes
down and look at them individually, and work on fixing them one at a
time. I felt like we had some momentum coming out of that test, but
this is a tough class and I know it's not easy to get in."

He knows experience is his ally. "It's inevitable that I will get par
for the course as far as driving ability, but it's just passes that
will get me there."

Carlson now looks forward to the NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston
Raceway Park, March 31-April 2.