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SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) -- Richie Stevens Jr. entered today's Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals looking for his first Pro Stock win since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2005, but an opening-round foul-out at the starting line against Mike Edwards nixed any chances of his visiting the winner's circle at Infineon Raceway.
Stevens was more than disappointed with the -.060-reaction time (.000 is perfect). "I don't know what happened. It's not something that I anticipated," said the driver of the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T. "I was ready, and I just can't believe it happened."
It was Stevens' second red-light start of the season. "I'm totally frustrated. You hate to do that to the crew guys. They are here early in the morning and they stay here late at night working on the car, so it's hard to swallow.
"I think the fact that we are running so good lately only makes it worse," he noted of the team's recent streak of three quarterfinal and two semifinal finishes dating back to Englishtown, N.J. (five events ago).
"I'm going to keep my head up and go to Brainerd (Minn.) and try for the win there. We have the car, the people, and the equipment." Stevens is currently10th in the Pro Stock point standings with 675 points.
He has one weekend off before heading to Brainerd, Minn., for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Aug. 10-13.
STEVENS OUT EARLY IN SONOMA
SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) -- Richie Stevens Jr. entered today's Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals looking for his first Pro Stock win since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2005, but an opening-round foul-out at the starting line against Mike Edwards nixed any chances of his visiting the winner's circle at Infineon Raceway.
Stevens was more than disappointed with the -.060-reaction time (.000 is perfect). "I don't know what happened. It's not something that I anticipated," said the driver of the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T. "I was ready, and I just can't believe it happened."
It was Stevens' second red-light start of the season. "I'm totally frustrated. You hate to do that to the crew guys. They are here early in the morning and they stay here late at night working on the car, so it's hard to swallow.
"I think the fact that we are running so good lately only makes it worse," he noted of the team's recent streak of three quarterfinal and two semifinal finishes dating back to Englishtown, N.J. (five events ago).
"I'm going to keep my head up and go to Brainerd (Minn.) and try for the win there. We have the car, the people, and the equipment." Stevens is currently10th in the Pro Stock point standings with 675 points.
He has one weekend off before heading to Brainerd, Minn., for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Aug. 10-13.
