Indy ORP: Rick Stivers final report

Stivers struggles for words after first-round exit at Indy

CLEREMONT, Ind. (September 6, 2010) - Rick Stivers struggled to find the right words to express how he felt after losing first round in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series at the U.S. Nationals. His Trane '06 Stratus qualified No. 15 which paired him with turbo-powered Brad Personett in the opening stanza, but he never got to see how his car would match up against the car that eventually won the event: Stivers' parachutes deployed before the run and he was forced to watch as Personett took the freebie.

"I don't think the words I was thinking would have looked good in print," Stivers said. "I had to take a little time to cool off, because I knew we had the car to beat on Sunday. We finally had it going straight, and we had it tuned to run at least a low 5.90. But then, it all just ended.

"I don't know what happened - whether they just fell out, or whether I pushed the button accidentally - but the result was the same. We lost, and that's a terrible way to go down. It just sucks.

"It's no secret we have struggled all season. At the end of last season, we had an incredible car - she was going rounds and winning races. I figured that over the summer we'd just leave everything the way it was and pick up right where we left off - but that just didn't happen. I don't know what happened, really.

"Brad [Anderson, team owner and crew chief] is going to come down to my house in Kentucky and spend some time with me before our next race in Charlotte. We'll spend some time fishing and trying to figure out what's gone wrong this year. I'm not happy, and I'm sure he isn't either, and I just want to get things fixed. I want that championship-caliber car again.

"We'll re-group and then head to Charlotte with the vision of winning there like we did last year. We've done it, we've got good data, and hopefully the good, straight car will show up for me to drive," Stivers said.

The NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series stops next in Concord, North Carolina when the NHRA visits Z-Max Dragway Sept. 16-19 for the 3rd annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals.

-source: rick stivers PR