Carlson ready, set for Seattle

Seattle, prerace: NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock rookie Shaun Carlson is ready for this weekend's Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle, after breaking in a brand-new Jerry Haas-built Dodge Stratus R/T at last weekend's Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Denver.

The Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus R/T driver loves the new car tuned by crew chief and engine builder David Nickens and co-crew chief Terry Adams.

"The car itself is awesome," he says. "To go out there without any true testing in it, and to let the clutch out and have it go straight was unbelievable. Especially as slippery as the surface was there (in Denver). Terry sure knows the four-link suspension. If it goes left or right, he gets under there and makes a couple adjustments and it's fixed. It's very comforting for me.

"All three passes we made at Bandimere (Speedway) were good and straight, and the heat there made it a really tough track to handle. Lanny (Miglizzi, Don Schumacher Racing track consultant) said it was one of the worst surfaces he'd seen because of the 140-degree track temperatures.

"The trees (at Pacific Raceways) will make the air and track surface better for these cars, so to have the momentum from Denver fresh in my mind is going to be good for me. I don't like breaks between events because I get out of my comfort zone, if you will, and it takes time to get that back," says the Southern California native.

"I am in the mindset that the car is going to go down the track straight; that I'm hitting my shift lights, and that the car is right. I want to take that attitude and get into the show early (Friday), and be able to focus on the race setup on Saturday."