RICHIE STEVENS, JR. -- NHRA PRO STOCK -- RICHMOND PREVIEW
(http://www.moparspeed.com/) RICHIE STEVENS, JR. DON SCHUMACHER RACING J&J RACING TEAM MOPAR/VALSPAR DODGE STRATUS R/T _WWW.RICHIESTEVENSJR.COM_ (http://www.richiestevensjr.com/) _WWW.SHOERACING.COM_ (http://www.shoeracing.com/) (http://www.moparspeed.com/) TRACK STATS… Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals/Virginia Motorsports Park * Enters this weekend’s event ranked 11th in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Series points race. * Made a final round appearance at Virginia Motorsports Park in 1999. Was defeated by event winner Allen Johnson to finish as the runner-up. PRE-EVENT QUOTES… “I think we’re going to be in good shape for this weekend, as long as it doesn’t rain. We tested at Richmond a few weeks ago in similar temperatures. We had some good numbers during the test; and I think the weather will allow some similar numbers to what we saw in Reading. The track is also very smooth; the new pavement will also help to boost the speeds. I think the fans might see some new records this weekend if the weather cooperates.�?? “We’re looking forward to heading back to Richmond this weekend. In 1999, I lost in the finals to Allen Johnson to earn the runner-up position. I’m only a round or two out of the Top-10 in points right now, and we’re just looking to go rounds and work our way back into the Top-10. It would be great to have a rematch in the finals between Allen and me, depending on how you look at it, it could be either of us that get the win. I won in Dallas after beating him in the first round, he got me in ’99 at Richmond. Winning would be nice, but I’d love to go rounds and finish out the season in California in the Top-10 in points.�?? “In Reading we just blew the tires off in the first round. It was something that was unexpected and Mark Ingersoll and the J&J Racing team have worked really hard to figure out what happened so we can avoid that again this week. We tested in Richmond a few weeks ago; it was my first time with Roy Johnson built Mopar power under the hood. Allen [Johnson] took my car out the first day and ran a 6.66. I ran it the second day of the test and ran a 6.66 too. We were right there with the teams that were testing and having all of that data from the test will definitely be a bonus in Richmond this weekend. We’ve got great horsepower, we ran well in Reading and I believe we’ll be in the top half of the field this weekend in qualifying.�?? 2006 STAT TRACKS… * Won Dallas event to earn first series victory of 2006. * Has made two semi-final round appearances in 2006. * Has made six quarterfinal and nine first round appearances. * Earned No. 1 qualifier honors at Route 66 Raceway in June. * Won/Loss Record for 2006 stands at 14/17. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS… * Has earned five career victories in NHRA POWERade Pro Stock competition. * Has made 12 semi-finals, 38 quarterfinal and 50 first round appearances to date. * Stevens, Jr., Has earned three No. 1 qualifier positions in his career. * Won/Loss record stands at 97/105 entering this weekend’s event. TV SCHEDULE… ESPN2 Schedule Oct. 15 7 – 9:30 p.m. EST Qualifying & Eliminations Coverage POST-EVENT RECAP… * Post event information can be found at _www.moparspeed.com_ (http://www.moparspeed.com/) after each event. The weekly e-zine is updated each Monday with all the latest news about Team Mopar and Richie Stevens, Jr. MEDIA CONTACT… Misha Geisert J.R. Thompson Company/Mopar 317-432-4110 Cellular _MoparPR@aol.com_ (mailto:MoparPR@aol.com) AT-TRACK CONTACT… Will Truitt Don Schumacher Racing 317-340-8866 Cellular _willtruitt@earthlink.net_ (mailto:willtruitt@earthlink.net) PHOTO REQUESTS… Darren Jacobs J.R. Thompson Company/Mopar 248-553-4566 Phone _djacobs@jrthompson.com_ (mailto:djacobs@jrthompson.com)