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Englishtown: Shaun Carlson Saturday summary

Racing series NHRA Date 2006-06-17[SIZE=2]PRO STOCK ROOKIE CARLSON DOES NOT QUALIFY IN E'TOWN
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 17, 2006) - Don Schumacher Racing Pro Stock Rookie Shaun Carlson is making gains in the Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus R/T, but the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock class keeps raising the bar. For the second straight event the class has set a new hallmark as the quickest field in NHRA history.
The No. 16 bump for this weekend's K&N Filters SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park was set at 6.686 seconds, while Carlson's best run for the weekend was a 6.720-second pass at 206.61 mph (his fastest speed to date) Friday night.
His other three runs featured a 6.765/204.82 in the first session, a 6.735/205.60 in the third session, and a 6.765/204.94 in the final session when track conditions turned unfavorable because of the hot weather.
"Everyone is moving at the same pace out here and the field just keeps getting better," said Carlson, a Southern California native. "Unfortunately, we are just a little behind them right now and they are making it tough to catch up. But, I know everyone over here at DSR is trying their hardest to get it corrected as soon as possible."
The 6.720-pass Friday night put him in the field temporarily before being bumped out later in the same session. "I didn't want to get my hopes up at all. After the run we were like, 'good run.' But then people just started killing it and rapping off .69s. It shows how important that Friday night session is, and we knew that coming into this race."
"Now we just have to get focused for next weekend and try to get into the show for Mopar, Don (Schumacher, team owner), and everyone over here putting everything they have into this program."
Next up for Carlson is the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway (Madison, Ill.), June 23-25.
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