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RICHIE STEVENS JR., DON SCHUMACHER RACING'S TEAM MOPAR/VALSPAR DODGE STRATUS R/T:
STEVENS MAKES EARLY EXIT IN SEATTLE
Richie Stevens Jr. made an early exit at the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals today when he fouled out against Warren Johnson in the first round of Pro Stock eliminations.
With rain sprinkles delaying the start of the event, and delaying rounds throughout the day, Stevens shot off the starting line with a minus-.005 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Johnson's .061. Johnson claimed the victory with a 6.675-second elapsed time at 206.39 mph.
"I actually thought I had a pretty good light," said Stevens. "I thought I nailed it. As I drove by and saw the red, I was kind of in shock. I couldn't believe it was red. It's unbelievable that it happened, but you can't go up there and delay yourself any, you've got to go up there and push it every time. And I thought I was on time, I thought I nailed it pretty good.
"That round was pretty crucial because we were fighting for the eighth spot in Countdown to the Championship points, and that round meant a lot. But I gave it up. All we can do is go to the next one. I can't dwell on it. It was close. It was .005 red. It was about as close as you could get to green but not be green. That's the way it falls sometimes.
"We've just been kind of in a slump lately. We've got to get through this rough time. I was hoping it would be today, but maybe we'll have to wait until Sonoma."
Stevens fell to 10th in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series point standings, and is 18 points out of eighth place.
ALLEN JOHNSON, MOPAR/J&J RACING DODGE STRATUS R/T:
SECOND STRAIGHT FINAL FOR A.J.
Allen Johnson landed in his second straight NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock final round today, his third of the season and 12th career, at the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways. This time, however, he settled for a runner-up finish to Dave Connolly.
En route to the final, Johnson enjoyed lane choice in every round of eliminations which were held between delays for rain sprinkles. He first dismissed Justin Humphreys with a 6.671-second lap at 206.04 mph, then Warren Johnson with a 6.670/206.39, although W.J. fouled out, and then disposed of Warren's son Kurt when Kurt also fouled out, posting a 6.666/206.42.
In the final, A.J. launched first off the line with a .019 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Connolly's .032, but it was Line first at the stripe with a 6.649/206.20 to Johnson's losing 6.682/206.23.
"We had a great weekend and a great day," said Johnson. "It's bad to let Dave get by us in the final. We sort of handed it to him on a platter. Everybody on the team has done such an awesome job. I was lucky to have a pretty good day driving. We kept to our plan, got to second round, and the rest of it was gravy. So, yeah, any time you go to the final it's an awesome day, for Mopar and all the team.
"We started the Western Swing off pretty good. We'll go to Sonoma and see if we can't seal the deal."
As for the slippery start in the final round, "Man, NHRA has got to be more consistent," he said. "They sprayed the starting line real, real heavy right before our run, and they hadn't done it all day. And that makes these cars a little bit upset. We didn't adjust to it as good as I guess Dave's team did, but they've got to be more consistent the way they prepare the track.
"That run right there we were ready to run. We didn't change anything from the previous run, but we just blew the tires off, it shook and we gave up three hundredths (of a second) down low. They only beat us by two. That's the difference."
Next up for the Team Mopar duo is the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., July 27-29.
PRO STOCK POINT STANDINGS:
1. Greg Anderson, 1135
2. Jeg Coughlin, 1029
3. Dave Connolly, 1003 (winner today)
4. Allen Johnson, 853 (runner-up today)
5. Jason Line, 781
6. Kurt Johnson, 702
7. Warren Johnson, 632
8. Larry Morgan, 631
9. V. Gaines, 616
10. Richie Stevens Jr., 613
Team Mopar Pro Stock Race Report - Seattle
RICHIE STEVENS JR., DON SCHUMACHER RACING'S TEAM MOPAR/VALSPAR DODGE STRATUS R/T:
STEVENS MAKES EARLY EXIT IN SEATTLE
Richie Stevens Jr. made an early exit at the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals today when he fouled out against Warren Johnson in the first round of Pro Stock eliminations.
With rain sprinkles delaying the start of the event, and delaying rounds throughout the day, Stevens shot off the starting line with a minus-.005 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Johnson's .061. Johnson claimed the victory with a 6.675-second elapsed time at 206.39 mph.
"I actually thought I had a pretty good light," said Stevens. "I thought I nailed it. As I drove by and saw the red, I was kind of in shock. I couldn't believe it was red. It's unbelievable that it happened, but you can't go up there and delay yourself any, you've got to go up there and push it every time. And I thought I was on time, I thought I nailed it pretty good.
"That round was pretty crucial because we were fighting for the eighth spot in Countdown to the Championship points, and that round meant a lot. But I gave it up. All we can do is go to the next one. I can't dwell on it. It was close. It was .005 red. It was about as close as you could get to green but not be green. That's the way it falls sometimes.
"We've just been kind of in a slump lately. We've got to get through this rough time. I was hoping it would be today, but maybe we'll have to wait until Sonoma."
Stevens fell to 10th in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series point standings, and is 18 points out of eighth place.
ALLEN JOHNSON, MOPAR/J&J RACING DODGE STRATUS R/T:
SECOND STRAIGHT FINAL FOR A.J.
Allen Johnson landed in his second straight NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock final round today, his third of the season and 12th career, at the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways. This time, however, he settled for a runner-up finish to Dave Connolly.
En route to the final, Johnson enjoyed lane choice in every round of eliminations which were held between delays for rain sprinkles. He first dismissed Justin Humphreys with a 6.671-second lap at 206.04 mph, then Warren Johnson with a 6.670/206.39, although W.J. fouled out, and then disposed of Warren's son Kurt when Kurt also fouled out, posting a 6.666/206.42.
In the final, A.J. launched first off the line with a .019 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Connolly's .032, but it was Line first at the stripe with a 6.649/206.20 to Johnson's losing 6.682/206.23.
"We had a great weekend and a great day," said Johnson. "It's bad to let Dave get by us in the final. We sort of handed it to him on a platter. Everybody on the team has done such an awesome job. I was lucky to have a pretty good day driving. We kept to our plan, got to second round, and the rest of it was gravy. So, yeah, any time you go to the final it's an awesome day, for Mopar and all the team.
"We started the Western Swing off pretty good. We'll go to Sonoma and see if we can't seal the deal."
As for the slippery start in the final round, "Man, NHRA has got to be more consistent," he said. "They sprayed the starting line real, real heavy right before our run, and they hadn't done it all day. And that makes these cars a little bit upset. We didn't adjust to it as good as I guess Dave's team did, but they've got to be more consistent the way they prepare the track.
"That run right there we were ready to run. We didn't change anything from the previous run, but we just blew the tires off, it shook and we gave up three hundredths (of a second) down low. They only beat us by two. That's the difference."
Next up for the Team Mopar duo is the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., July 27-29.
PRO STOCK POINT STANDINGS:
1. Greg Anderson, 1135
2. Jeg Coughlin, 1029
3. Dave Connolly, 1003 (winner today)
4. Allen Johnson, 853 (runner-up today)
5. Jason Line, 781
6. Kurt Johnson, 702
7. Warren Johnson, 632
8. Larry Morgan, 631
9. V. Gaines, 616
10. Richie Stevens Jr., 613
