RICHIE STEVENS, JR./MOPAR -- NHRA PRO STOCK PREVIEW -- POMONA RACEWAY
(http://www.moparspeed.com/) (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… 42nd Annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals/Pomona Raceway * Enters this weekend’s event ranked 9th in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Series points race. * Is only five (5) points out of 8th place in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Series championship. * Series win at The Strip @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway on 10/29/06 was Stevens, Jr.’s second win in 2006; his second in only four events. * Is currently the second-highest ranked Mopar/Dodge NHRA Pro Stock Series team. * Best championship finish to-date is fifth in 1999; finished 8th in 2005. * Qualified seventh in the spring event at Pomona Raceway; was defeated by Mark Pawuk in the first round of eliminations. PRE-EVENT QUOTES… “Considering the way things have been going in the past few races, we don’t want to get greedy but we’d definitely like to get the win in Pomona this weekend. We’ve moved into the Top-10 in points and we’re going to Pomona with the same attitude we went to Las Vegas with; we don’t have anything to lose. Eighth in points isn’t out of the question; for that matter, seventh isn’t out of the question either. I’ve never won two races in a season; everything since Indy has been a bonus. We’re looking forward to heading to Pomona this week.�?? “I got my first win at Pomona in 1998 against Jeg Coughlin, Jr. Pomona Raceway has some sentimental value for me and I’d like to get another win there. This year has been and up and down one, and with the way things have been going for us lately, we’re hoping it’s going to be a good week for us as well as our sponsors Mopar and Valspar.�?? “Normally I would say the high point of any season is winning races, but that ’s not the case this year. The high point of this season has been having Roy and Allen Johnson, along with the entire J&J Racing team come on board with us. The addition of their group changed the entire attitude and direction of our team. We’ve had a whole new game plan since they started working with us. This year’s been a season of ups and downs, but things changed after Indy. Not qualifying for the U.S. Nationals was quite a shock; I didn’t expect to set the world on fire but not qualifying was really a blow to me. Having such a great end of the season has definitely given me a new outlook for 2007 and I’ m looking forward to moving into next season.�?? 2006 STAT TRACKS… * Won Dallas event (9/24/06) to earn first series victory of 2006; second series win of the season came in Las Vegas on 10/29/06. * Has made two semi-final round appearances in 2006. * Has made six quarterfinal and 10 first round appearances. * Earned No. 1 qualifier honors at Route 66 Raceway in June. * Won/Loss Record for 2006 stands at 18/18. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS… * Has earned six career victories in NHRA POWERade Pro Stock competition. * Has made 12 semi-finals, 38 quarterfinal and 51 first round appearances to date. * Stevens, Jr., Has earned three No. 1 qualifier positions in his career. * Won/Loss record stands at 101/106 entering this weekend’s event. TV SCHEDULE… ESPN2 Schedule Nov. 11 10:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. Qualifying Nov. 12 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Eliminations Nov. 14 3:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m. Repeat Eliminations 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)