Rick Stivers has been racing in one form or fashion since he was a child. If you ask him, he'll laugh and say, "I got 18 stitches in my eye when I was six because I fell off my bike doing a burnout in the gravel - so I guess racing is just in my blood." For the past 20 years, the 50-year-old Lexington, Ky. resident has been mesmerized by the thrills of drag racing, working his way through a variety of classes owning several cars, settling on a 2,500-horse power Pro Modified door-slammer that runs the quarter-mile at more than 240 mph in six seconds.
 
Last year was a season of change for Stivers, joining forces halfway through the NHRA Pro Mod Challenge season with then series-presenting sponsor Tim Tindle. With the addition of a teammate and under direction of world championship-tuner Chuck Ford, Stivers won his first NHRA event ever in Richmond, Va. Calling that win "the hardest one to get," Stivers said it was something he would never forget.
 
"I remember being just flooded with emotions when we won that first race in Richmond," he said. "It took us so long to get to that point, and with my wife Jill and son Rick Jr. by my side, it was an amazing moment." Rick Stivers has been racing in one form or fashion since he was a child. If you ask him, he'll laugh and say, "I got 18 stitches in my eye when I was six because I fell off my bike doing a burnout in the gravel - so I guess racing is just in my blood." For the past 20 years, the 50-year-old Lexington, Ky. resident has been mesmerized by the thrills of drag racing, working his way through a variety of classes owning several cars, settling on a 2,500-horse power Pro Modified door-slammer that runs the quarter-mile at more than 240 mph in six seconds.
 
Last year was a season of change for Stivers, joining forces halfway through the NHRA Pro Mod Challenge season with then series-presenting sponsor Tim Tindle. With the addition of a teammate and under direction of world championship-tuner Chuck Ford, Stivers won his first NHRA event ever in Richmond, Va. Calling that win "the hardest one to get," Stivers said it was something he would never forget.
 
"I remember being just flooded with emotions when we won that first race in Richmond," he said. "It took us so long to get to that point, and with my wife Jill and son Rick Jr. by my side, it was an amazing moment."
 
Finishing the season with that one win and earning the No. 9 position over all, Stivers was again faced with change in the off season.  "After the season was over, I was approached by a gentleman who wanted to purchase my entire operation, and, the price was right, so I took it, thinking I could get another car if I wanted to keep racing in 2008," he said.
 
Torn between getting another car or taking a year off to focus on his successful HVAC business and a blossoming horse ranch in the suburbs of Lexington, Stivers said he held out as long as he could to make a decision about racing the 2008 season.
 
"When we weren't even sure there was going to be a series in the NHRA this year, I felt as if my decision had been made for me, but Tim Tindle called me and said Jegs had picked up the title rights to the NHRA Challenge and that he had a car for me to drive --  I got pulled back into the driver's seat.
 
"Tim had made an agreement with Mike Janis to provide the horsepower and tune the cars, and he said all I'd have to do was just show up and drive, and he'd do all the rest -- so, it was just a deal I couldn't pass up," Stivers said.
 
At the Jegs Pro Mod Challenge season opener in Gainesville last weekend, Stivers qualified  No. 13 and faced off against Californian Kirk Kuhns in the first round of eliminations. Stivers said, "I was on a pass, that's for sure. It just hooked up and went like it was on a rail, straight down the track, and I knew it was going to be fast - but then it blew a burst panel and just lost power, and Kuhns slipped by me right before the finish line. 
 
"He ran a 6.10 at 233 under full power, and I coasted across the line with a 6.13 at 211. It was a low six-second pass or a high 5.90 for sure, but, it just wasn't meant to be for that race," he said.
 
"I know that we've got the power to run the numbers, and I think we got some kinks worked out now, so I'm really excited about the rest of the season. Working with Tim and Mike Janis is great. It's a relaxed, fun atmosphere in our pits, not a lot of stress, just a lot of success - and that's just how I like it," he said.