CLEREMONT, Ind. (September 4, 2009) - There are 23 cars competing in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge at the NHRA U.S. Nationals this weekend, and despite the fact that today's pass was the first full complete lap his new car has made, Trane Air Conditioning-sponsored Rick Stivers was able to pilot the '06 Stratus to a 6.647 at 162.10 mph and the 18th spot.
"It felt good leaving the line, but then it got a little lose on me and I short shifted it going into second gear," Stivers said. "At that point, I knew the run was over, I knew I couldn't go any farther, so I lifted before I hurt anything.
"That's the first full pass on the car, and even though we were testing, we had computer problems so we didn't get any data. Today, we got the data we needed, and we're ready for tomorrow.
"Brad's happy (Brad Anderson, car owner and team crew chief), I'm happy - and tomorrow look out. My teammate Jay (Payne) is No. 2, there's no reason I won't be in the top four or five tomorrow night," he said.
"I really needed to run straight today, and it did just that. It wasn't anything pretty, but it got us a baseline, which is what we were going for," Stivers said.
Qualifying continues tomorrow with rounds scheduled at 2:45 pm and 5:15 p.m., and one final qualifier is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Eliminations begin Sunday evening and conclude Monday.
"It felt good leaving the line, but then it got a little lose on me and I short shifted it going into second gear," Stivers said. "At that point, I knew the run was over, I knew I couldn't go any farther, so I lifted before I hurt anything.
"That's the first full pass on the car, and even though we were testing, we had computer problems so we didn't get any data. Today, we got the data we needed, and we're ready for tomorrow.
"Brad's happy (Brad Anderson, car owner and team crew chief), I'm happy - and tomorrow look out. My teammate Jay (Payne) is No. 2, there's no reason I won't be in the top four or five tomorrow night," he said.
"I really needed to run straight today, and it did just that. It wasn't anything pretty, but it got us a baseline, which is what we were going for," Stivers said.
Qualifying continues tomorrow with rounds scheduled at 2:45 pm and 5:15 p.m., and one final qualifier is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Eliminations begin Sunday evening and conclude Monday.
