Johnson Returns Home, Stevens Looks to Return to Form at O =?ISO-8859-1?B?uQ==?=Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
July 5, 2007 Contact: Darren Jacobs, (248) 553-4566 E-mail: djacobs@jrthompson.com Johnson Returns Home, Stevens Looks to Return to Form at OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals € Allen Johnson heads to OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals with momentum € Richie Stevens Jr. seeks to capitalize on strong qualifying runs at OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals € Allen Johnson stats € Richie Stevens Jr. stats € OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals event details Center Line, Mich. ‹ Allen Johnson and Richie Stevens Jr., Team Moparšs NHRA POWERade Pro Stock duo, will compete in the third event in a string of six consecutive races this weekend at the OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. Johnson, a Tennessee native, returns to his home track fresh off a semifinals appearance at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, last week. Stevens, the No. 2 qualifier at Norwalk, will look to turn the momentum from his recent run of strong qualifying efforts into round wins at Bristol Dragway. Allen Johnson heads to OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals with momentum Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson, pilot of the Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T, has been qualifying in the top half of the Pro Stock field and going rounds on a consistent basis. His strong outings have placed him in the fifth spot in the NHRA Pro Stock standings and on his opponentsš radar as a driver to watch. The Greeneville, Tenn., native would like for nothing better than to break through for his first 2007 win at his home track of Bristol Dragway. ŗThis week is a huge week, of course,˛ Johnson remarked. ŗWešre in stride right now, so maybe we can go down there and get that first win of the year there at our home track. Išll have a lot of friends and family around. Maybe we can get that win next week.˛ The Bristol Dragway track might be a challenge, but Johnson is confident in the abilities of his J&J Racing team, led by crew chief Mark Ingersoll and Johnsonšs father, engine builder and co-owner, Roy Johnson. ŗThe track down there is going to be green and marginal,˛ said Johnson. ŗAgain, that plays into our hands, because wešve got some of the best people. We should come out swinging. Richie Stevens Jr. seeks to capitalize on strong qualifying runs at OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Don Schumacher Racing driver Richie Stevens Jr. knows his Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T has what it takes to go rounds in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Series. His excellent track record in qualifying this year has proved it. Heading into the OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals this weekend, Stevens is content with his car and isnšt looking to change much‹except maybe the final result. ŗI donšt see the need to change anything. The cars are working real good. We have a real good set-up,˛ said Stevens. His Dodge Stratus R/T is also maintained by J&J Racing. ŗMark [Ingersoll] has been doing a good job. Wešve got good power. Allen and I just need to get up on the wheel a little more. ŗYou try to get everything working together. You try to get the car right, you try to get the power right and you try to get the driver right. When you get all three right, thatšs when you win races.˛ Entering the third event in a key six-race stretch, Stevens is in ninth-place, one spot out of the final position to qualify for the NHRAšs new Countdown to the Championship playoff system. He knows there is no time like the present to translate those stellar qualifying runs into round wins. ŗWe started off real well at Englishtown and went to the semis,˛ Stevens said. ŗIt looked good last week at Norwalk, but we would have liked to go a few more rounds. Hopefully, we will turn it around this weekend at Bristol. Išve done well here in the past [a runner-up finish in 2005], and Išd like to do the same. Hopefully, Allen and I can get on opposite sides [of the eliminations bracket] and go some rounds and have two cars in the finals.˛ Allen Johnson stats € Has a 11-10 round record in 2007 € Made the semifinals at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals last week, losing to another HEMI-powered Dodge Stratus R/T driven by Larry Morgan € Qualified No. 3 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals € Has seven quarterfinals, three semifinals, and one finals appearance in 2007 (to date) € Currently 5th in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings € Earned four wins, six career runner-up finishes and 25 semifinals appearances in his 11-year career as an NHRA Pro Stock driver Richie Stevens Jr. stats € Has two semifinals finishes in 2007 € Qualified No. 2 at last weekšs Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals € Was runner-up to Warren Johnson at the 2005 Bristol race € Recorded a career best ET and speed of 6.598/209.20 in qualifying second at Englishtown in June € Listed at ninth in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock points standings € Had two wins (Dallas, Las Vegas) in the final five events of 2006 OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Event Details The OšReilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals is scheduled for July 68 at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway. Two hours of qualifying coverage will air on Saturday, July 7 starting at 4 p.m. (EDT) on ESPN2. Three hours of eliminations coverage will be broadcast on Sunday, July 8 starting at 9:30 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 ŗpackage cars˛ equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of ŗSpecial Parts˛ 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 Groupšs Global Service & Parts division is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of nearly 250,000 authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, JeepŽ 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 DaimlerChrysleršs 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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