Stevens Jr. takes Mopar into quarters in Denver

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

STEVENS JR. TAKES MOPAR INTO QUARTERFINALS IN DENVER

MORRISON, Colo. (July 16, 2006) - Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T
driver Richie Stevens Jr. continued his streak of Pro Stock quarterfinal
finishes today by reaching the second round of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals
at Bandimere Speedway. It is the fourth straight NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series race in which he has advanced past the first round (Joliet, Ill.,
Englishtown, N.J., and St. Louis).

Stevens was given a free pass in the first round when Mike Edwards fouled
out at the starting line and Stevens went on to post a 7.183-second
pass at 192.82 mph. The solid quarter-mile run was not enough to give
him lane choice in the second round, however, where he faced off against No.
1 qualifier Jason Line.

Stevens ran a 7.193/192.36, while Line had the winning 7.120/193.68. "I
left on him a little bit (.031 reaction time to Line's .065 - .000 is
perfect), but Jason threw a good package up there," said the New Orleans
native. "I could have been perfect off the line and wouldn't have beaten
him.

"It was a crew chief's chore this weekend. It was a tough track to
handle. The track temperature was 142 degrees, which is just
incredible. Neither lane was that great, but the left lane was a little
better today," he said. "David (Nickens, crew chief/engine builder), the
boys, Dustin (Stricker) and Rick (Pearson), did a hell of job this weekend.
The conditions were just miserable."

Ambient temperatures hovered at the 100-degree mark all weekend, and
track temperatures soared to 140 degrees.

"I feel good about the weekend," added Stevens. "We tried to give Mopar a
good show here in Denver, but this class is tough. It's a race just to get
qualified, but it's nice to be getting out of the first round consistently.
When you work this hard all weekend, you hate to go out first round."

Stevens is currently 12th in Pro Stock points, only 10 points from the
top 10.

Next up for Stevens is the Schuck's NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways
(Seattle, July 21-23).