NHRA: Stevens Aims for Big W in Big D
16 April 1999
DALLAS - Call it youthful exuberance or call it tenacity, all Pro Stock driver Richie "The Kid" Stevens knows is that he's getting hungry for another win. Believe it or not, it's been four national events and a different season since Stevens last reached the sacred ground of the National Hot Rod Association's Victory Circle when he won the Winston Finals in November of 1998. The gap between celebration parties is starting to seem as big as the State of Texas to the antsy 20-year-old pro from New Orleans."It's time to take that extra step this race," Stevens said. "Hopefully it will happen in Dallas. I sure love the track. Our sport is all about speed and you can go as fast as you want at the Motorplex. Last year, when I was a rookie, I reached my first final four at this race. I remember being so excited I could hardly sit still. Then we came back in the fall and I had one of my best qualifying sessions of the whole year (garnering the No. 3 spot) and we won another round on Sunday. This time I'd like to win it all."
Stevens and the rest of the world's fastest drivers will get their shots at the race's title April 22-25 when the entire NHRA descends on the Texas Motorplex for the weekend-long Lone Star Nationals presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts. Stevens is hopeful that his past experiences at the track, which include several memorable Junior Dragster events, will help him earn his first win of the 1999 season.
"There is a certain skill you need to do well in Dallas," Stevens said. "The track is all concrete and it has a groove right down the middle. You have to keep the car in that groove. If you get out of it, you'll either get pulled right out to the wall or over the centerline. But if you stay in the groove just right, you can just haul butt right down strip. It's an awesome feeling.
"The Valspar Refinish Pontiac Firebird is running so well right now we feel like we can win at any time. We were a tick slower in Houston so we're having the guys at Finish Line Racing Engines put the motor on the dyno to see if we can regain a little horsepower. Hopefully, they'll find something and we'll be as strong as ever by the time we start racing again. All I know is I'm ready to win a race. I hope it's this one."
Stevens is currently in 13th place in the Winston championship points standings.
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