Rookie Carlson completes tests, is ready for Mopar Mile-Highs
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 13 of 23 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Bandimere Speedway Morrison, Colo. Race Date: July 14-16, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net ROOKIE SHAUN CARLSON COMPLETES TESTING, IS READY FOR MOPAR MILE-HIGH NATIONALS MORRISON, Colo. (July 12, 2006) - Pro Stock Rookie Shaun Carlson has been busy during the past few weeks testing a new Jerry Haas-built Dodge Stratus R/T that he will campaign for the remainder of the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series for Don Schumacher Racing, beginning at this weekend's Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Carlson and his Mopar team took full advantage of the two-week mid-season break and tested at Bandimere Speedway immediately following the Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill. They also tested yesterday for one day back at St. Gateway International Raceway (Madison, Ill.) before heading west on I-70 towards Denver. The California native is pleased with the test results and his new Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus R/T. "The testing at Bandimere went well. All of the DSR team drivers tested great, and we continue to find things out about our cars," said Carlson. "My new car is 35 pounds lighter than my old car, and one of the problems we have figured out is that we didn't have the weight located the best way possible on the old car. Jerry (Haas) put a lot more carbon-fiber pieces on this new car, so we can arrange the weight similar to Richie's (Stevens Jr., teammate). We think that is really going to help us with our 60-ft. time, which has been a constant problem for us all season." As for the July 11 Gateway test session, "Yesterday we worked with the small things. With a new car there are so many things that can go wrong, and the last thing we would want is to have something like brake lines go bad, or have the car turn left or turn right real hard, or something weird. Terry (Adams, co-crew chief) worked with the four-link suspension as well, " he said. Carlson is eager to do well for Mopar this weekend, "Not only do you have a lot of true racing fans with Mopar, but you have a lot of casual fans at this event because of what Mopar has done to promote it and themselves," he added. "I'm going to be down at the Mopar Big-Block Party in Golden tomorrow night hanging out and having a good time with the fans. We'll have several of the DSR team cars down there, Dodge concept vehicles, and I'm actually going to have my new Dodge Charger Formula Drift car and the Dodge Viper Drift car there. "Then on Friday the racing starts, and we can concentrate on getting into the show and doing a good job for Mopar. It's their race and one of their cars should win it." 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 The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway * Born 5/17/74 * Born, raised, and currently lives in Alta Loma, Calif. * Quickest Pro Stock elapsed time to date: 6.708 seconds (Chicago 6/10/06) * 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. WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Friday, July 14, professional qualifying sessions are at 4:15 and 7:15 p.m. Saturday, July 15, pro qualifying sessions continue at 3:30 and 6 p.m. (Saturday¹s Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle sessions are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.) Sunday, July 16, final eliminationns begin at noon. TELEVISION: Saturday, July 14, ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 10 p.m. (ET). Sunday, July 16, ESPN2 will televise three hours of eliminations at 9 p.m. (ET). Sunday, July 16, ESPN2 will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11:30 a.m. (ET). SATELLITE: Friday, July 14, 11-11:30 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / Transponder 17k (Downlink frequency: 12117 MHz, horizontal) Saturday, July 15, 8:30 - 9 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / Transponder 17k (Downlink frequency: 12117 MHz, horizontal) Sunday, July 16, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / Transponder 17k (Downlink frequency: 12117 MHz, horizontal) ***