Bristol: Rick Stiver final report

Stivers nets quarterfinal finish at Thunder Valley

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 20, 2010) - Rick Stivers, driver of the Trane 2006 Dodge Stratus Pro Mod, advanced to the quarterfinals of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series and earned valuable championship points, moving him into 12th place overall, just seven points out of the top ten.

After defeating local racer Rickie Smith Saturday evening, Stivers was paired with current points leader Von Smith for the second time this season. In their first meeting, Smith came out ahead but had to dig deep to beat the Kentucky entrepreneur and horse farmer. In today's action, Stivers again fell to the eventual event champion but was pleased with the advancement of his team and car in the process. At the stripe, Smith delivered a 6.014-second, 242.28 mph performance to defeat Stivers' 6.156 at 236.51.

"When I took off from the line, things got a little out of hand again, but I was able to keep it going and get to the finish line, the only problem was that I was watching him the whole way. Not a good sign if you're trying to go rounds.

"We made some really good advancements this weekend over last weekend - especially given that we didn't even qualify in Englishtown," Stivers said.

"Brad [Anderson, crew chief] and the team have struggled with my car recently, but it's starting to show improvements, and that's a good sign. It's also a good sign that my teammate, Jay Payne, was able to get all the way to the finals. We've got the knowledge and the equipment, and now we're getting things dialed in.

"We've got another race next weekend in Norwalk, so we'll take the things we learned here and put them into practice next weekend, and keep moving forward," Stivers said.

Next up on the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series schedule is the Fourth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, next weekend, June 24-27.

-source: rick stivers racing