Rookie Carlson tests car changes en route to Columbus

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 8 of 23
Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals
National Trail Raceway
Columbus, Ohio
Race Date: May 19-21, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

ROOKIE CARLSON TESTS CAR CHANGES EN ROUTE TO COLUMBUS

HEBRON, Ohio (May 17, 2006) - Shaun Carlson re-familiarized himself with the
Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus R/T this week after the Pro Stock car he drives
for Don Schumacher Racing returned from Jerry Haas' chassis shop, where work
was done to custom fit it to him.

Pro Stock rookie Carlson is testing on the dragstrip at Gateway
International Raceway in Madison, Ill., to get more runs under his belt
before heading to National Trail Raceway this weekend for round 8 of the
23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

"Moving the pedals forward (nearly four inches) really helped out," he said,
"as well as moving the steering wheel back in the right position. It's much
more comfortable in the car. It feels like I'm riding on the couch now,
instead of the floor."

Also, new assistant crew chief Terry Adams made an immediate impact on
Carlson: "Terry is awesome at working with the four-link (suspension) setup.
That is what we worked on yesterday, and the car went really straight on the
last pass (6.756-second elapsed time at 203.50 mph).

"The four-link rear suspension controls everything the car does, from
turning left to turning right, lifting the front tires more or pushing them
down quicker, everything; it's very important. I think the changes are going
to be noticeable this weekend, and we'll get this car qualified, so we can
race on Sunday."

Carlson spent most of Tuesday breaking in new tires. "The weather didn't
really cooperate, so we went ahead and broke in some new tires. I wasn't
focusing on full passes. Today (Wednesday), the weather is supposed to be
perfect, so we all can't wait to get out to the track and see what we can
do.

"We were light on the clutch and didn't have a race motor in and still ran a
6.75, but today we're gonna put race motors in and see what it can do. We're
all really excited to get to the track and then head down the road
(Interstate 70) to Columbus for this weekend's NHRA event."

SHAUN CARLSON QUICK FACTS:
* Qualified for his first event of 2006 in Las Vegas (No. 12)
* Rookie season in Pro Stock class
* First year with Don Schumacher Racing
* Was named second DSR Pro Stock driver after February '06 test session at
LVMS
* Quickest elapsed time to date: 6.740 seconds (Gainesville, Fla.)
* Fastest speed to date: 205.60 mph (Pomona 1)
* Owned and drove his Team Mopar SRT4 in the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Racing
Series in 2005, grabbing one win and finishing fourth in points.
* Finished fourth in 2004 Sport Compact points standings
* Is a two-time Sport Compact event winner
* Subbed for an injured Darrell Alderman in the 2004 NHRA Winternationals
Pro Stock event at Pomona, grabbing an early round win and nearly advancing
to the semifinals in his Pro Stock debut
* Finished third in '03 Pro FWD points
* 2002 Xbox Cup champion in the Pro Outlaw class
* A famous engine builder and FWD performance guru, Carlson has worked
on projects such as the world record-holding import drag car driven by
Stephan Papadakis.
* First FWD builder to run in the 9s and 8s.
* Built the first Sport Compact drag car with a tube chassis
* Has been drag racing professionally since 1999
* President and founder of NuFormz, an 11-year-old company that builds
aftermarket components in Ontario, Calif.

SCHEDULE:
Professional qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4:30 and 7 p.m. on
May 19, and noon and 2:30 p.m. on May 20. Pre-race ceremonies will
begin at 10 a.m. on May 21, followed by the first session of professional
eliminations at 11 a.m.

ON TV:
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying at 10 p.m.
(ET) on May 20. ESPN2 will telecast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news
magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET) and televise three hours of eliminations
at 8 p.m. (ET) on May 21.

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