Long Layoff Leaves Allen Johnson and Richie Stevens Jr. Ready to Roll at O=?ISO-8859-1?B?uQ==?=Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals
May 30, 2007 Contact: Darren Jacobs, (248) 553-4566 E-mail: djacobs@jrthompson.com LONG LAYOFF LEAVES ALLEN JOHNSON AND RICHIE STEVENS JR. READY TO ROLL AT O¹REILLY NHRA SUMMER NATIONALS € Stevens is pumped to get back on track, make run at qualifying for King Demon Crown € Veteran experience has Allen Johnson confident heading into Topeka € Richie Stevens Jr. stats € Allen Johnson stats € O¹Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals event details Center Line, Mich. ‹ Three consecutive weekends off have provided Team Mopar® NHRA POWERade Pro Stock drivers Richie Stevens Jr. and Allen Johnson time to recharge their batteries for the long 2007 campaign. All the testing and tweaking that can be done has been done, and now Stevens and Johnson are chomping at the bit to do what they do best‹get out on the drag strip and go racing. That¹s exactly what the Team Mopar Pro Stock duo will do this weekend at the O¹Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, at Heartland Park Topeka (Kansas). Johnson is seventh in the NHRA Pro Stock points standings while Stevens is 10th. Both drivers will be looking to move up the points ladder this weekend. Stevens is pumped to get back on track, make run at qualifying for King Demon Crown The old saying goes, ³Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.² No doubt most drivers on the NHRA POWERade circuit daydream about an extra weekend off during the grueling 23-event schedule. But give a race car driver like Stevens a little bit of down time, and it¹s not too long before he¹s itching to get back to his home‹the quarter-mile drag strip. ³I like this time off, but as soon as you¹ve been home for a couple of days you want to get back out there. You¹re so used to racing all the time,² said Stevens, driver of the Don Schumacher Racing-owned and J & J Racing-tuned Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T. ³We¹ve done some testing. We tested in Chicago last week and did some runs out there, and we went out to Denver earlier this week to do some testing at the track before we come back out for the race in July. I¹m anxious to get back out there [at Topeka].² The Topeka event is Stevens¹ last chance to qualify for the NHRA King Demon Crown bonus race, scheduled to be run during the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago next weekend. Drivers earn points throughout the year based on their qualifying position, with the top eight drivers making the bonus race for a chance to win $50,000. Stevens¹ teammate Johnson, currently third in the King Demon standings, is sure to make the top eight, but Stevens remains on the bubble. ³It kind of hurt me a little bit [with the decision by the NHRA to postpone the Bristol event due to issues with the track], because now I only have one race before the King Demon shootout,² said Stevens. ³We¹re going to have to tough it out and hopefully at Topeka we can pull one out. I think we need to qualify fifth or better and have the person ahead of us DNQ to get that last spot. We¹ll try to do what we can.² With the postponement of the Bristol event, Stevens and his J & J Racing teammate Johnson will now race eight out of the next nine weekends. According to Stevens, the consecutive races have both pros and cons. ³It¹s a struggle on the team to get the cars to the races. They only have a few days to get there and they need to pack everything up,² observed Stevens. ³But it keeps me in sync with driving. It keeps you in a competitive mode when you go back-to-back like that. I¹d say the only tough part about it is if you go to all these races and you hurt a motor, you¹ve got to struggle to fix it between races. Hopefully we won¹t run into that problem, and we will rack up a few wins.² VETERAN EXPERIENCE HAS ALLEN JOHNSON CONFIDENT HEADING INTO TOPEKA As an 11-year NHRA Pro Stock veteran, Allen Johnson, driver of the Team Mopar\J & J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T, has seen quite a bit of drag racing. There isn¹t a lot that can faze him, least of all a few back-to-back events. ³We¹ve got a professional, long-term relationship team that has done it forever,² said Johnson. ³It¹s going to be a little bit of a mess, [racing] eight out of the next nine weeks. But we can do whatever it takes.² The Topeka venue is one Johnson has had success with in the past, giving him much-needed confidence entering the event. ³I¹ve always done well there, to be honest,² remarked Johnson about the Topeka stop on the NHRA circuit. ³I¹ve made a few semis in the past. I¹ve always liked the track. It sets up real good. I feel confident for both Richie and I heading into Topeka.² RICHIE STEVENS JR. STATS € Currently 10th in the Pro Stock points standings, just two spots out of the 8th and final spot in the new NHRA POWERade Countdown to 4 points playoff system the new system cuts the field down to the top eight drivers after the 17th race, and to the top four drivers for the Countdown to 1 after the 21st event € Has five career Pro Stock wins and 11 career final round appearances € Captured his first No. 1 qualifying spot at the 1999 Topeka race € Had two wins (Dallas, Las Vegas) in the final five events of 2006 € Finished 9th in the 2006 NHRA Pro Stock points standings ALLEN JOHNSON STATS € Has a 6-6 round record in 2007 € Has two career No. 1 qualifier awards € Currently 7th in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings € Finished 6th in the 2006 NHRA Pro Stock points standings € Qualified 7th and advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2006 O¹Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals O¹REILLY NHRA SUMMER NATIONALS EVENT DETAILS The O¹Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals is scheduled for June 13 at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka. Qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, June 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2. Eliminations coverage will be broadcast on Sunday, June 3 from 4 to 7 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2. For more info on the NHRA, log on to www.nhra.com. 70 YEARS OF MOPAR When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929. Originally used in the 1920s, Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It was also widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth ³package cars² equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of ³Special Parts² for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use. Today, the Chrysler Group¹s Global Service & Parts division is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of nearly 250,000 authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles sold around the world. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to DaimlerChrysler engineering standards. # # # ON THE INTERNET Visit DaimlerChrysler¹s Media Services Web site at http://cgmedia.daimlerchrysler.com for additional DaimlerChrysler news. For additional information about Mopar, log on to http://www.mopar.com or http://www.moparspeed.com. If you wish to be removed from future emailings, please reply to this email with "Remove from list" in the subject line. 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