Stevens Jr. races to quarterfinals at Gateway, moves into 11th

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 12 of 23
O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals
Gateway International Raceway
Madison, Ill.
Race Date: June 23-25, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

STEVENS JR. RACES TO QUARTERFINALS AT GATEWAY, MAKES MOVE IN STANDINGS

MADISON, Ill. (June 25, 2006) - Richie Stevens Jr., driver of the Team
Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T, made some moves today in the Pro Stock
class by reaching the quarterfinals at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals
at Gateway International Raceway.

He gained two spots in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock
standings, is now in 11th, and has made it to at least the quarterfinal
round in three straight races (first time since Topeka, Kan., Joliet, Ill.,
Englishtown, N.J., in 2005).

No. 14 qualifier Stevens matched up against No. 3 qualifier Jim Yates in the
first round of eliminations and grabbed the victory with an elapsed time of
6.771-seconds at 204.11 mph to Yates' 6.777/204.05. The strong run gave
Stevens lane choice for the quarterfinal against eventual winner Mike
Edwards, but the New Orleans native was beat off the line (.042 reaction
time for Stevens, .024 for Edwards), giving up a holeshot win to Edwards, as
he crossed the finish stripe in 6.754 seconds at 204.70 mph to Edwards'
winning but slower 6.761/204.70. The margin of victory was .011 of a second.

"I wanted that win right there," said Stevens, "but I was a little slow on
the tree and he nailed his light. We should have won that race, and I feel
like I let David (Nickens, crew chief) down because he gave me a car to
win."

Despite the holeshot loss, Stevens is very encouraged by the recent
round wins. "It's getting us closer to the top 10, and had we gone
another round we would have gotten in there, but we are definitely
making big improvements here in the Team Mopar/Valspar pits," he said.
"David and Terry (Adams, assistant crew chief) are getting this thing
turned around. We made two good runs today and it feels good."

Stevens is just 17 points out of the top 10.

Next up for Stevens is the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere
Speedway (Denver), July 14-16.

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