It was an early birthday present for BAE/Stivers HVAC-driver Rick Stivers as he won the AMS Pro Mod Challenge event title at the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Richmond, Va.

As Stivers’ son, Rick Jr., and wife, Jill, raced to congratulate the newly crowned event champion, tears of joy flowed as the family celebrated the win. Stivers defeated Raymond Commisso in the final, with Commisso handing Stivers the win before the round even started by leaving the line early and forfeiting the match.

"It's been a long road getting here and no one knows how hard we've worked and what we have been through to get here," Stivers said. "What an awesome thing - I'm almost speechless, which, for anyone who knows me, is nothing short of a miracle in itself.

"Chuck Ford really got this car running well this weekend. It's been such a long season, and we just couldn't buy a break, but, today it all came together, and thanks to Tim Tindle and Brad Anderson, we finally earned our Eagle," he said.

Stivers, who turns 50 on Thursday, Oct. 11, was given a surprise birthday party Saturday night by his family and team. His wife Jill said, "Hey, what better way to celebrate than to start the party early," and her husband said he couldn't have asked for a better gift than to win his first major event.

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Stivers defeated teammate Tim Tindle (shown right) in the semifinals to earn his first-ever finals berth. Tindle had advanced from the second round after narrowly avoiding a collision with veteran driver Shelly Payne, who crossed the centerline from the right line, swung back and hit the right retaining wall, and crossed over in front of him, slamming into the left wall and sliding to a stop past the finish line.

Shelly, who walked away from the crash, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for tests and was later taken to another facility for further testing. Current reports say she is alert and active, and that the additional testing is to assure she sustained no internal injuries.

Tindle said, "I hate that Shelly hit the walls so hard; you never, ever want to see that happen to a driver. I was never more happy that I shook the tires than on that run, because I was just a bit behind her when she crossed over in front of me, and I took my foot off the gas and put on the brake to avoid hitting her."

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