NORWALK, Ohio – Richie Stevens had to wait almost four months to go drag racing this year and then he had to sit and wait more than five hours after his first qualifying run at NHRA’s Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Racing Motorsports Park before learning he was the No. 1 qualifier.
Stevens made his first competitive lap in Kenny Koretsky’s Nitro Fish/Indicom Electric Pontiac GXP, turning in an elapsed time of 6.833 seconds at 202.64 mph that made him the quickest of the seven Pro Stocks that got down the track before water seeping through the track surface stopped action for everyone.
This time, however, the five-hour delay for Stevens wasn’t anything compared to almost five months of driving inactivity.
That wait was excruciating, he said. The telephone did ring, but it wasn’t the right person on the other end and the NHRA Pro Stock season was slowly disappearing.
Finally, the right call came early this week from Koretsky, who wasn’t ready to get back in the seat after an accident three weeks ago in Topeka, Kansas. And Richie Stevens Jr. was his choice to fill in.
“I was thrilled, ” recalled Stevens as a large grin spread across his face. “Being a spectator was not the first option” of sitting on the sidelines. “ I went to a couple of races but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. ”
Stevens has been a regular on the POWERade Series tour for six years – 1998-2000 and 2004-2007 – and partial seasons in 2001-2003. He finished ninth in the past two campaigns and eighth in ’04. His best year was 1999 when he was fifth. He has six wins in 11 finals.
“I’m definitely excited to be back, ” added Stevens. “We were able to get in two test runs (in Joliet, Ill. earlier in the week). ”
The test runs were imperative because crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia needed to make sure the car, which had its front end completely replaced, went straight down the track.
“This is a fresh car, ” said Stevens, who was 18 when he won his first Pro Stock race in October 1998 at Pomona, Calif. “I’m still learning and adapting. We were only able to make two test runs. ”
Stevens and the rest of the Pro Stock field will have two more qualifying attempts to set the field for eliminations.
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