Stevens Jr. seeded No. 5 for King Demon Crown at Chicago

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 10 of 23
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.
Race Date: June 9-11, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS (June 1, 2006) - Don Schumacher Racing Pro Stock pilot
Richie Stevens Jr. is the No. 5 seed for the $76,000 22nd Annual King Demon
Crown, an NHRA bonus event to be held at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA
Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., on June 10.

The big-money event features the top eight qualifying Pro Stock drivers
dating back to the last King Demon event at Route 66 in 2005. Stevens will
match the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T up against Kurt Johnson in
the opening stanza of the competition, and will need to go two rounds
further to win the three-round shootout.

Stevens is excited to have a chance at the $50,000 prize for the first
time since 2000 (first-round finisher). He also earned a spot in the 1999
contest (semifinalist). "I haven't been in the shootout for awhile, so it's
definitely exciting to be in it. Hopefully we'll have a shot at it. That
would be great for me, the DSR team and, of course, Mopar and Valspar."

As for the first-round match-up: "Kurt has had his ups and downs this year,
just like us," Stevens says. "Hopefully we can catch him on a down and we'll
be on the up. There has been so much parity this year in Pro Stock (only one
repeat winner in nine events) to a point that anything can really happen,
and I think that is the way this event will be."

The New Orleans native takes pride in his qualifying efforts. "It's a neat
event, because it's based off of qualifying, and everyone who knows me knows
that I like to qualify in the top half at each event," said the 27-year-old
who has garnered a place in the top half of the 16-car field 14 times since
the 2005 King Demon Crown event.

The King Demon Crown is part of round 10 of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series June 9-11. The winner earns $50,000, and the runner-up takes home
$10,000. The two semifinalists receive $3,000 each and the four first-round
finishers each earn $2,500.

RICHIE STEVENS JR. QUICK FACTS:
* Fourteenth in 2006 NHRA Pro Stock standings after nine events
* Last competed in King Demon Crown in 2000 (first-round finisher)
* Reached King Demon Crown semifinals in 1999
* Qualified No. 9 in 2005 CARQUEST Nationals, lost semis to Jason Line
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing after sending in a resume for 2005 season
* Eighth in 2005 Pro Stock points, reached final round twice, was No. 1
qualifier once
* Cut short driving career in 2002 to run family business while dad
Richie Sr. underwent open-heart surgery
* With dad Richie Stevens Sr. owns Stevens Collision Center in New Orleans
* Born and raised in New Orleans, is 27 years old (Sept. 27, 1978)
* His career-best ET and speed so far: 6.669 ET (Englishtown 2005) and
207.08 mph in Gainesville, Fla., 2005
* 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 and one
month, in 1998
* Has four career wins in nine 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