Las Vegas 2008
Racers Join Together To Raise More Than $50,000 For Young Life
Only a few things can bring all sides of drag racing together to support a great cause. Rarely do bitter rivals on the track become team members, such as Dodge, Chevy, Pontiac drivers joining together or business competitors such as Jeg's Mail Order and Applied Racing Technology. But in 2008, these racers and businesses put that competitive nature toward a good cause as they combined efforts in the "Team on a Mission" program that is led by Mike Edwards, as a group has raised more than $50,000 that will be donated to the Young Life's "Sending A Kid To Camp."
"Right now, I could not be more proud of the racing family in what they have done for this program," said Edwards. "Each weekend, we battle so hard to make sure we get to the finish line first, but so many understand the
bigger pictures and helping the kids is something so easy to get behind."My team races to help these kids and we know what we do every weekend is only a small contribution,"
he continued. "But with the racing community getting involved as they did in such a worthwhile endeavor, it will make a lasting impact on a larger group of kids in not only building a better tomorrow, but an even stronger connection to motorsports."
Edwards presented a check in the amount of $50,000, to Young Life President Denny Rydberg, prior to the start of the ACDelco NHRA Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas, Nev., the amount totaled for the first 22 events of the season. 
II am thankful for the effort the Mike and Lisa Edwards, his entire team, and all the other drivers and companies that have stepped up with this program," added Rydberg. "We have 50,000 kids each year who go to our camps all over the country and Canada and for many of them it is hard for them to get enough money to pay for the trip. So this gift is amazing as it allows 140 kids the chance to go be part of one our camps. Things like this are just a huge boost to what we are trying to do at Young Life and are really grateful for Mike and Lisa and everybody that helps. These kinds of things you cannot put a figure on how much it will mean to our future."
As part of "A Team on a Mission," an individual can make a single donation, a set amount per event, or for every round of competition that each individual driver wins during the NHRA POWERade schedule donate in the amount needed to send a kid to a Young Life camp, or match what Edwards accomplishes on the track.
In 2008, Edwards is joined by a group from the racing public who made a contribution to the "A Team on a Mission" program, which includes NHRA Pro Stock drivers Jeg Coughlin, V. Gaines, and Johnny Gray, as well as corporate support from Jeg's Mail Order, Applied Racing Technologies (A.R.T.), Burns Stainless, and Roger and Ann Stull.
Mike Edwards Blog Memphis
I thought I would try this blogging thing. October 2008
I'm not even sure I know what that really means. But, I will give it a try.
Looking back over the last weekend, it all started on Thursday night with our Young Life "Giving Kids Hope" program. We had about 80 kids from the Memphis urban area join us for an exciting evening of games and food. What a great group of kids! This is the way we start each of our race weekends, with Young Life kids meeting us at the track for an evening of fun and fellowship. And we did have some FUN!
On Friday we started our normal qualifying. Our friends Eddie and Josh Thornhill of Marengo Forest Products joined us for the weekend. It was great to have them with us for the win. They have not been able to attend as many races as previously, so to have them there for the win was extra special.
Qualifying didn't go as well as I had hoped. We qualified in the No. 7 spot, which is a tough place because if you get by the first round then you have the No. 2 qualifier in the second round, as we did in Dave Connolly. That was a big round win for us. After that I thought maybe we can win this thing. Thankfully with a lot of help from the Lord we did!
In my post race interviews I was asked several questions about the championship ... Do you think you have a chance now? Who do think will win the championship? And on and on. Another thing that I was asked was, to what do you attribute your turnaround from last season to this season? There is more than just one reason, but the main reason for our big turnaround would have to be our engine program.
Roger Stull made the commitment at the end of last year that we were going to "Make a run for IT." Roger and I were able to bring together two of the best engine builders around, Nick Ferri and Paul Hoskins. They along with the incredible help that we get from Carl Foltz have brought our program to where we are today. With this group of guys, I believe that we can only get better. All these guys are working countless hours to find us the power that we need to win more races. They have all won championships before so they know what it takes.
Another thing that has contributed to our success this year is the continued support of our incredible sponsors. Penhall stepped up its sponsorship this year and that has been a tremendous blessing. With their help we are able to be more competitive with the "Big Boys." Derek and Kathy Steinbach of Applied Racing Technology have been with me during the good, bad and the ugly years. Mac Tools' Tony Merritt continues to remind me of the "Important things in Life" something much greater than winning races. Fred Simmonds and Dan Engle with GM Racing daily remind me we need to beat those "Dodges" and are always ready with a word of encouragement, round by round. Our friends Mark and Kim Elliott, KME, Inc., not only support financially, they also take care of our website. Lots of drivers believe that they have the best support team but, I will have to disagree with them. I know I have the best group of sponsors in all motorsports. Thanks.
Not only do I have a great group of sponsors but WOW what a team, Roger, Josh, Al, Jon, Terry, Marilyn, and my wife, Lisa, make my job look easy. They get the job done week in and week out. They are fantastic!
Well they tell me that you are supposed to keep the blogs fairly short. But, since this is my first one (hopefully not the last) I have a lot to talk about. I can't say it enough to our sponsors, my team and our partners at Young Life...Thank You; I'm a very blessed man.
Check us out next week as we head to Richmond, Va. We only have three more races left so now is the time "to step up to the plate and make something happen." God Bless!
EDWARDS: ENGINE PROGRAM KEY
Written by Bobby Bennett; Photo by Roger Richards
Monday, 29 September 2008
If hindsight measures 20/20 then Mike Edwards’ foresight measures a little better.
Edwards and team owner Roger Stull made the gamble to invest in an in-house engine program following the 2007 NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. The result has been two national event wins in 2008.
Prior to this season Edwards hadn’t won a race since 2006.
“I can’t express how good this has been,” Edwards said clutching his 15th career Pro Stock trophy in Memphis. “It’s phenomenal. I mean our program last year, I think we had six or seven DNQs. We have none so far this year and we’ve won two races so we’re in the Countdown. That just doesn’t happen in Pro Stock. You just don’t turn your season around from one year to another, I got the same guys I always have so it’s not like our guys or anything. It’s just our engine program just stepped us up to the next level and they got us better and better.”
The meek-spirited former world champion has a feeling he’s on the cusp of a breakout but is careful to not go beyond what he describes as a fortunate win in Memphis.
“Hopefully we’re just scratching the surface, we’ve got a long way to go and we’ve got a lot of things we need to get better at,” Edwards said. “I’m really excited about our chances to get better.”
The victory moved Edwards from eighth to fifth in the championship standings, just 69 points out of first place. Each round win represents 20 points.
Such a deficit could easily be made up in three races but Edwards admits that’s a huge number when one considers the talent in this class. Add in the fact a lot of wacky circumstances faced a lot of drivers who had made winning a work of art.
“I really didn’t think we had any chance of coming close at all to winning the championship,” Edwards admitted. “It seems like ever since the Countdown has started strange things are happening in Pro Stock. We have a lot of people that are better than our team and they’re just having problems just like everyone else and we’re just fortunate today making two nice runs in the first two rounds and boy the track got totally different and we lost the handle on it and those other cars lost the handle on it too.
“I’m just very blessed and very thankful and I want to give the Lord all of the glory, our team is all about Him.”
The Memphis final marked the second time this season the veteran gun-slingers have met in the finals, both times Edwards emerging victorious. This time Line crossed the center-line in the final round.
Edwards drives a car that wasn’t number one, wasn’t top speed, wasn’t low elapsed time, and hasn’t been dominant all year long and is still right in the thick of this thing.
“We’re having an exceptional year,” Edwards said. “It’s not just me, it’s my entire team. Al Lindsey, Josh Robinson, John Phillips, Terry Adams, the guys at the shop. We’re not the upper class of the teams but we aren’t short of effort by any stretch, either.”
From a Race Fan's Perspective
Blog posted by Alex Blankenship on the Marion Community Church website-http://thirst4righteousness.blogspot.com/
What Matters Most?
It never ceases to amaze me how God shows up in the strangest places. Yesterday, I went to the 21st annual O'Reilly NHRA MidSouth Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park in Millington, TN with my Christian Brother Mickey and son Trace.
I guess I'd always been taught growing up that "church" was somewhere that you went on Sunday mornings, where there was a steeple, pews and a pulpit set-up to hear about and worship God. You kinda felt like you were expected to dress up a bit, be quiet/well mannered, and follow the prescribed methods of expressing yourself according to that particular churches' traditions.
Yesterday morning reminded me that God is present in any setting where He is sought with an open heart. Here we were in a tent, at a drag strip in Memphis, TN, surrounded by crews of mechanical technicians in a frenzy to get their cars ready for the races that afternoon. The air was filled with sounds of loud air guns, engines idling, radios buzzing and tools clanging. The smells were of gas, nitro, oil and smoke. It was anything but a traditional church setting. Could God possibly show up here?
But amongst all the commotion of race day, there was a worship service being held by "Racers for Christ." There were about 125 people crammed into this tent where Chaplain Larry Smiley delivered a message about "What Matters Most". Larry spoke a message in which he detailed 3 central truths:
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Life without love is really worthless (Matthew 22:37-40)
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Love will last forever (1 Corinthians 13:1-7, 13)
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We will be evalutated on our love (Matthew 25:40, Galatians 5:6)
Ahhh, how refreshing to hear the Word about how important love is in our lives. And beyond the tenants of his message, I couldn't help but think of how this setting, this crazy un-churchlike environment had absolutely nothing to do with connecting with God. What matters most is not what we think matters most. What matters most is that we seek God with all our hearts, and that we put Him first and then love others in that same way. It's then that we'll fulfill the greatest command and have a motivation to uphold the great commission.
f that morning wasn't enough, we ran into Mike Edwards' race team later that afternoon. Mike is a Pro Stock racer who uses his platform to spread the message of Jesus to youth through YoungLife (http://www.younglife.org/). For those of you who know me, we've been training for a few months to bring a YoungLife chapter to Marion/West Memphis and it was great to see a Brother who as a professional racer has chosen to use his resources to spread the message.
At the end of a hot, tiring day of watching 8000+ horsepower cars rumble down 1/4 mile track, it was a blessing to come into contact with Brothers and Sisters who are reaching out in their community with the Good News. Praise God for His wonderful mercies!
What matters most to you?
Posted by Alex Blankenship at 9:20 AM
Edwards Wins At Memphis
Edwards was triumphant for the second time this season. The driver of the Penhall/YoungLife Pontiac GXP hoisted the trophy at the end of the day after running a 6.702 at 207.27 mph in the final round against Jason Line, whose Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP spun the tires hard after garnering a small holeshot advantage. Edwards leaped from ninth to fifth in the points standings.
"Since this Countdown started, crazy things have happened in Pro Stock," said Edwards. "Teams that are better than our team have had problems like everybody else. We were fortunate to make two nice runs in the early rounds. We lost a handle on the track after that, but other cars lost a handle on it, too. It was a big win for us, and we give all our glory to the Lord because that's what our team is all about."
Edwards took a big gamble by setting up his own engine building program in the offseason, and it has paid dividends with two wins this year. Edwards was consistent throughout qualifying and found ways to win in eliminations, outrunning Johnny Gray in the first round, out-leaving proclaimed holeshot artist Dave Connolly in the second, and catching a break against tire-spinning Warren Johnson in the semi's.
"We're inching up," said Edwards, who maintains a long-term focus. "I never even thought about championship hopes; I'm just trying to win a round. The championship is out there, but we just want to try to improve. We're having an exceptional year. We're not in the upper-class of the Pro Stock teams, but our efforts are short of nobody's efforts."
Edwards To Fly Joe Gibbs Driven Colors During
First Playoff Event In Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. -- Mike Edwards will have a just a slightly different look for the first stop on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Countdown to 1 playoff, as the team will fly the logo of Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil on the hood of the team's Pontiac GXP for the inaugural NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway at Concord outside of Charlotte, N.C.
The move is a goodwill gesture toward Gibbs himself and his company for the longtime support of the team and the Young Life program.
"We thought this stop in Charlotte - NASCAR country - which is the event closest to Gibbs' racing operations and his many other business endeavors including Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil, would be a perfect time to salute what they have done," Edwards said. "Joe Gibbs and his organization have given amazing support to my race team and more importantly the Young Life program."
Edwards heads into the event holding down the seventh spot in the Countdown to 1 playoff and hopes the momentum the team built with a semifinal finish at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, will carry the Penhall-backed team higher in the points chase beginning in Charlotte.
"Now that the regular season has ended, my team has done what it set out to do and that is be in the playoff portion of the POWERade series," Edwards added. "We have six races to make up the small points difference we have, and if we perform like we did in Indy, we are confident we will be in the running down to the end of the season.
"Maybe we can start by not only honoring Joe Gibbs and his group with the logo on the car, but putting it in the first winner's circle at the facility his NASCAR teams have had huge success in the past."
MIKE EDWARDS – HIS PLACE IN HISTORY
Written by Bobby Bennett; Photos by National DRAGSTER, Roger Richards
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Mike Edwards remembers his Modified world championship and the end of the class …
Whether or not Mike Edwards ever wins another national event, or sets a world record, his name will be forever etched in the history books of drag racing. His accolades come not as a professional drag racer but as a dedicated sportsman racer.
In the class Edwards competed, dedication is an understatement for those who chased the titles throughout the United States and Canada.
One week a racer could be at the cutting edge of domination and the next week, with a swift stroke of the pencil, could be battling for their mere existence.
Edwards raced in the legendary Modified eliminator category, a division filled with a plethora of screaming small-blocks, four-speed mid-1960s Corvettes and first-generation Camaros. Running a close third were the Novas and Chevy IIs.
Since coming to the professional ranks in the early 1980s, Edwards has been a dyed-in-the-wool GM racer. That’s why it’s ironic that his inclusion into drag racing history is with a small-block Ford Maverick.
Edwards cherishes those old Modified memories and while he doesn’t dwell on his success in those days, he smiles when reminded he was the last driver to win a world championship in the class.
Mike Edwards – the last man to win an NHRA Modified eliminator world championship.
“Yeah it’s pretty cool, I guess,” said the soft-spoken Edwards, when the aforementioned line was uttered in his presence. “I never thought of it that way but I cherish those days. That’s my roots. I really came up through the ranks there. I’m still missing that class. I know we have Comp now too but I can’t help but miss it. It just seemed like back in the days that Modified class, everyone enjoyed it. I really cherish the time that I had to run that class.”
Edwards ran the Modified division with authority and a humble nature. His personality was non-confrontational, but the car he drove was anything but a pushover.
He competed in the B/Super Modified, a pounds-per-inch division, which ran on a mid-to-low ten-second index. The former Arlen Fadely Super Stock & Drag Illustrated project car did battle with a 302-inch engine shifting a Doug Nash 5-speed transmission on a ten-and-a-half inch tire with a Maverick body.
Edwards said the Modified eliminator heavy-hitters hung out in the Super Modified division.
“If you showed up for Indy in C/Super Modified you better have a lot of gas because you’re going to go a lot of rounds,” Edwards said. “When they first came out with that class, they would let the canted valve Ford run C. We started dominating and they took it out and made us run A or B. I switched over to B and ran real good there but it seemed like the Super Modified were the best. That’s a ten inch tire and a 750-cfm carburetor. They weight over 3400 or 3500 pounds so it’s hard to hook those little things up.”
For Edwards, the moderately inexpensive class was a purists division that carried a lesser price tag than Comp eliminator and an opportunity to race against other stick shift cers since Super Stock was largely comprised of automatic cars.
“You could race pretty heavily, go to 8 or 10 races a year and it wouldn’t cost a whole lot,” Edwards recalled. “The whole class was just fun, the indexes were able to let you be real competitive back then. I just enjoyed running that class. There were a lot of good cars in [NHRA] Division Four, that’s the division I ran in.”
Edwards raced against the best of the best Modified had to offer and didn’t even have to go to the nationals to gain the experience.
“If you could win Modified in Division Four you were pretty hateful,” Edwards beamed. “I was fortunate to do that a couple times. That’s back when Bear Barrilleaux ran the old Volkswagen, he was so hard to beat.
“Then you had others like Dick Maris, David Nickens, you could go to Houston and just about fill a Modified eliminator event, there were that many cars there. I mean good cars, I miss those times. I’m just blessed and fortunate I had a chance to race back then.”
The rules makers in Modified eliminator could be downright brutal in maintaining parity as Edwards recalled. There was no formula in place such as the Competition Index Committee utilizes today. A good day on Sunday could obsolete a combination on Monday. Or on the spot, you were adjusted.
“If NHRA thought you had an advantage they would adjust you,” Edwards recalled. “I know Buddy Ingersoll, when he was running that turbo Pinto he got hit .15 in the staging lanes at Pomona. They didn’t know how fast the car would run. He just smoked everybody and they adjusted him right there on the line. Buddy had a turbo he would just turn it right back up. They took it to a point that he had the thing running on the edge and breaking the little old four-cylinder. He won a lot of races, though.
“That’s the fun part about Modified back then is you could build an off the wall car that could do something like that. That’s what made it fun.”
Modified provided the right setting for Edwards. This class was similar to Competition eliminator where drivers would qualify against their index and battle their way into the top thirty-two positions. The NHRA U.S. Nationals provided a unique challenge with class eliminations and an expanded 64-car field.
“It just seemed like in Modified everybody was competitive, I don’t know if it was just the way it was back then,” Edwards said. “There just weren’t any easy runs. That’s what made it such a good class I think. It was a bad day when they took that class away from us and for a lot of people. A lot of people, actually - I guess, quit racing. You know their cars wouldn’t be competitive in Comp; they had the opportunity to run Super Stock, that’s a great class, but when you build a car to run a class. You put all your time and effort into a class. It’s tough to move into another class so I regret it for me and everyone who was in that class. I cherished that class.”
Those who raced Modified didn’t take the elimination of their class in passing. In fact, in the midst of Top Fuel eliminations, the Modified fraternity staged a parade on the return road in front of the spectators.
“I was in the parade,” Edwards admitted. “If I wasn’t in the front, I was close to it.”
Modified was absorbed into Comp and Super Stock to make room for a then up-and-coming tend of Pro Gas, later renamed to Super Gas. This new style of indexed bracket racing signaled a changing of the guard in sportsman racing.
There were no tears or lamenting over what would no longer be, just a signal to Edwards the time had come to move up the ladder into the professional ranks.
“I was just disappointed,” Edwards said, recalling the slow ride down the return road. “I wasn’t sad, just disappointed more than anything. But I guess you look back and it was something they felt like they had to do. I don’t know the reasoning. I never got the reasoning. But hey it’s over and done with. It was tough for all of us.”
Edwards admitted that something had to go to make room for the index bracket racing crazy, but added Modified was the wrong place to cut.
“I would’ve looked another way because I’m telling you the blue collar fans loved Modified. Period.”
Edwards Qualifies Number #1 At Sonoma
In Pro Stock, Edwards’ 6.609 from Friday evening held up as the best pass in qualifying. Kurt Johnson moved up to the No. 2 position with a nice 6.618 that got him around No. 3 Jason Line’s 6.619 in those two drivers’ ongoing battle for the second-place spot in the Countdown points standings. Rounding out the top five were Allen Johnson (6.620) and Warren Johnson (6.629). Points leader Greg Anderson, who is already qualified for the Countdown to 1, wound up No. 7 with a top run of 6.638.
“It’s a great position to be in, but tomorrow’s a different day; you pull up there, and it’s like you’re the No. 16 qualifier. I’m going to race like I always race and go up there like I’m the underdog. I feel like at the last two races I’ve let some points slip away from me. I had mechanical failure in Denver and then driver error in Seattle, so I feel like we should be in a better position, points-wise. But it is what it is and tomorrow’s another chance to get 118 points.”
Edwards, driving the YoungLife Penhall Pontiac GXP, ended up on top of the Pro Stock qualifying sheet after a spectacular second session saw a number of drivers make much-improved runs. A total of 10 drivers ended up running quicker than Warren Johnson’s class-leading 6.659 from the first session.
Edwards’ 6.609 was a full hundredth in front of Seattle winner and No. 2 qualifier Jason Line’s 6.619. The next three in the order all share the surname of Johnson, with Allen grabbing the No. 3 spot (6.620), Kurt coming in at No. 4 (6.626), and Warren falling to fifth (6.629), but managing to break the Infineon Raceway track speed record with his 209.33 mph pass.
If he can hang on to the top spot following Saturday’s pair of qualifying sessions, Edwards will claim his first Pro Stock pole since the fall of 2001 in Dallas, a streak of 146 events. One way or another, he plans to savor what he described as a stunning, and a bit unexpected, pass.
“ ‘Provisional’ is the big word; tomorrow will be another day, but for right now we’re No. 1,” Edwards said. “We made a great run, and I’m proud of my team. I knew we could run better, but I didn’t think we were going to run a .60, by any means. I really felt we could run at least a .63, but I’m stunned over that .60 myself. When I let go of the chutes at the other end, I thought ‘Whatever that was, we can’t go any faster.’ That’s how good it felt to me.”
Edwards Grabs Best Start Position Of Season
Mike Edwards powered his Penhall/Young Life Pontiac GXP to the No. 2 qualifying position, with a 7.021, to earn his best starting position of the season.
"This is a great way to start the Western Swing, coming out and making a couple solid runs and being close to the top of the class,” said Edwards. “We came here right after Norwalk and tested heavily for two days, and I believe that time really paid off.”
Edwards run, which was only bettered by Greg Anderson’s 7.010, nearly made history at the mile-high facility, as the first car to dip into the six-second zone on the mountain. “The Bandimere crew has done an awesome job with this facility,” he added. “That starting-line cooling system does its job and always all of us to be aggressive enough to produce this awesome runs. I think this is the wave of the future for all tracks. I tip my hat to everyone involved with this huge endeavor.”
Edwards, who won in Denver in 2002, will open against Johnny Gray, the 65th different racer he will face in his Pro Stock career. “Racing someone for the first time is always a big challenge because you don’t know exactly how they race nor do certain thing. Unlike when you race someone nearly every week, you know how long of burnout, if they like to stage first, and all that stuff, so you can prepare.
“I’m just going to go out there, let the clutch out and do everything we can to get the win light.”
Mike Edwards has the Young Life/Penhall Pontiac
Prepared for Western Swing
Pro Stock Veteran Fifth in Points with One Win on Season
DENVER, July 9, 2008 - The grueling three-race NHRA Western Swing, a series of events contested on consecutive weekends in Denver, Seattle and Sonoma (Calif.), gets underway on Friday at Bandimere Speedway. Just the very nature of this midseason, summer racing tradition, and the way it separates a majority of the teams from their racing and engine shops back east, makes it imperative to be fully prepared for any contingency that may pop up along the way. It's a challenge that Mike Edwards feels his Young Life/Penhall Pontiac GXP team is ready for as they begin the first leg of the stretch this weekend at the 29th annual NHRA Mile-High Nationals.
"The Western Swing is going to be tough on everybody - personnel and equipment," Edwards said. "You have to be fully prepared for anything that can happen. For us, considering that our engine shop is all the way back in North Carolina and our race shop is in Oklahoma, going out on the Western Swing is like going into no man's land. If you don't have a part, or you're missing something on the transporter, you just can't go into the other room and pick one up. All of our engines have been fully freshened and the transporter is stocked with all the parts and pieces we'll need. Hopefully we can put some good runs together and maybe win a race or two."
Edwards, a 14-time Pro Stock national-event winner, has earned three of his career victories during the midseason swing including the 2002 Mile-High Nationals, back-to-back victories at Seattle in 1996-97 and a runner-up at Sonoma in 2001. Along with a large group of other Pro Stock competitors looking to do well at this year's Mile-High Nationals, last week Edwards spent a pair of days leading up to the Independence Day holiday testing his Young Life/Penhall Pontiac GXP at Bandimere Speedway.
"The Denver race is so unique in that's it is so much different than any other place we go," Edwards said. "You never know for certain what everyone else is going to do. But it's a fun race for everybody and I enjoy going up there. You never know how you're going to end up because of all the changes you have to make. Everyone on this Young Life/Penhall team is giving 100 percent and we'll continue racing as hard as we can."
As the 2008 NHRA POWERade campaign blows past the halfway point in what has already been an extremely tight season in Pro Stock, the 50-year-old Oklahoma native will admit to being quite pleased with his team's performance, and rightfully so. Toward the end of 2007, the team set out on the ambitious task of developing their own in-house engine program, and it continues to show even more promise as the year progresses.
"Roger (Stull) got it going and made the commitment to get it done," Edwards said. "He sat down, had a plan and knew what he wanted to do. We brought in Nick Ferry and Paul Hoskins, and those two guys are running the engine program in Denver, N.C. Of course, I'm down there, Terry's (Adams) down there, Al's (Lindsey) down there, we're down there quite a bit to help out, but those two guys are taking the engine program and making it what it is. He sat down, had a plan, knew what he wanted to do, is giving it his best shot and is seeing if he can compete with the rest of these guys.
"We thought we would be a little bit further behind by the time we got to this point of the year, but we're really excited with the way that has gone and it looks like the endeavor is going to pay off. It's been a learning curve that's for sure, but the overall picture, and with where we are right now, the whole team, and Roger, we're pretty excited."
With 12 races completed and only six contests remaining before the final 10 spots for the Countdown to One are determined (following the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis), Edwards 2008 scorecard is already looking very impressive. The Young Life Pontiac GXP driver has one win (Atlanta), advanced to no less than the semifinal round at four races and qualified in the top half of the field eight times. He's currently in fifth place in the POWERade standings heading into this crucial three-race swing.
"I like everything that we're doing, everything we're seeing, it's coming together," Edwards said. "You never want to say more than you think you can do, but we're making steady progress with both the engine program and the racecar. But, of course, everyone else is making steady progress, too. We've made some big steps and big gains this season, and unfortunately I let us down at a couple of races with red lights. I can't do that and have to get better there, but the overall team and the overall program is going well. We have total control over everything we're doing now, and that seems to be the way to go. We're excited about it. When you can win a race every once in awhile like we did in Atlanta, that kind of makes the season a little bit better for a little while.
"The Seattle and Sonoma race are usually pretty close to where everyone usually runs. I feel that if we can come out of this Western Swing and stay fifth in the points, then we should be able to make the Countdown. But as close as Pro Stock is, you never feel safe. We're trying to put together a team that's capable of doing a lot of things well and that can compete with the best. We've already won a race this year, and for us, considering what we've done the last couple of years, that's a milestone. We're excited with where we are and the potential of this program. We're fifth in the points standings heading into Denver and if we continue building on what we've already accomplished, we just might get a little bit better."
Edwards Qualifies Top Half In Norwalk
With the shorten qualifying, Mike Edwards laid down to consistent 6.74s to grab the No. 8 spot heading into Sunday's eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Though he has lane choice for the all-important opening round, it is who is in the other lane that won't let Edwards sleep through the night.
He drew his biggest nemesis in the class, multi-time POWERade champion Greg Anderson, who qualified five-thousandths slower than Edwards. "Greg has really had my number, and I know it needs to change soon," Edwards added. "Heck, he got the best of me in the semifinals last week in Englishtown and I know our Penhall/Young Life Pontiac GXP is going to get that win light in the first round. It has to happen."
The run has been a long one since Edwards bested Anderson in NHRA eliminations. The last round victory came Sept. 15, 2002 at the Reading national event when Edwards stopped Anderson in the second round. Since that time, Anderson has collected 22 straight round wins over the course of the nearly six-year stranglehold.
"Racers always talk about you can lose in many different ways, and I think I have done every one against Greg," Edwards joked. "From red-lights, to the transmission popping out of gear, and you name it has been how I came up short. That book is full, it is time to start writing chapters about how I beat Greg."
Article posted on Prostockcars.com
MIKE EDWARDS – IT’S ALL ABOUT FOCUS
Written by Bobby Bennett, Jr.; Photos by Roger Richards
Friday, 16 May 2008
For this man of faith, there’s more to life than winning
Mike Edwards is a man who lives his life through faith. The 50-year old Pro Stock driver from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma wouldn’t even crank his Penhall-sponsored Pontiac GXP without the invisible driving force that has pushed him to levels he once dreamed as unimaginable. Such plateaus include national event victories and a sportsman world championship.
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Edwards considers himself to be no one entitled, just a person who lives his life by a standard in concordance with the Christian faith. He lives life by the golden rule and a
belief which convinces him his steps are ordered daily.
Ever wonder why Edwards hoisted his trophy higher in the air than ever before when he won his sixteenth career NHRA national event weeks ago at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga? He admitted he was reminded of larger lessons in life just days earlier and the experience of winning served as nothing more than icing on the cake.
He remembered ten months earlier how an experience of frustration nearly drove him to sidelines. Edwards readily admits a man of faith can become downtrodden.
“I felt really low,” Edwards said. “I was just devastated. We couldn't qualify, couldn't get close to qualifying for that matter. I wouldn't say the team was bad; we had just struggled. Everything I did I just struggled at.”
“I felt really low,” Edwards said. “I was just devastated. We couldn't qualify, couldn't get close to qualifying for that matter. I wouldn't say the team was bad; we had just struggled. Everything I did I just struggled at.”
So what are a beaten-down driver and a determined team owner to do in a situation like this?
If you’re Roger Stull, the team owner for the Pontiac GXP Edwards drives, you tell your driver to keep the faith because you’re going to step forward with an even larger investment. Stull asked Edwards for input and then informed him they were embarking on an in-house engine program with a new shop located in the heart of NASCAR country – Charlotte, North Carolina.
They had no other choice; Edwards said his morale had fallen on hard times.
“Once we had gotten down, I wanted to start taking it out on somebody or start feeling sorry for myself,” Edwards admitted.
Enter Lisa Edwards, Mike’s wife, who served as a voice of reason amidst a difficult time.
“She won't let me stay down for very long, she reminds me how good we do have it,” Edwards said. “It's just a drag race, that's all it is. There are more important things than drag racing out here. When you get your thoughts and priorities in the right place and I've been guilty of getting them in the wrong place, but when you think you're bigger than God, and think you can handle every situation, then you're in for a rude awakening. You'll get to your lowest point and you finally decide where you can't do it, then things will start changing for you.”
Edwards admittedly stumbled through much of early 2008, and the engine program had not yielded the kinds of successes he anticipated would end the emotional downward spiral. He was still bummed out.
Edwards was certainly headed in the right direction with the engine program though he couldn’t fathom it. The team was doing fine and while co-crew chiefs Josh Robinson and Alan Lindsey were holding down the fort admirably, Stull added veteran journeyman Terry Adams for good measure.
One race before the Atlanta triumph served as Edwards’ turning point. Constant encouragement from Lisa and Stull appeared as messages sent from above.
“I was pretty much at that position where I decided to re-evaluate the whole situation,” Edwards said. “I put my focus back on the important things and declare the leader of this group which is Christ, just got our focus back on what's important. I'm not saying that's why we won, because that's not why we won, we won because I got back in line where I need to be. Yeah we won, but I realized what my problem was, I just lost focus, and we're all guilty of that.”
The Atlanta victory marked the first for Edwards since 2006 and the timing was perfect. The refocus for Edwars meant he didn't need to stress as much about racing and success.
“I thought racing was my number one priority, but it's not it at all, it's way down,” Edwards admitted. “We come out here and we want to do good because everybody wants to do good. It's like you do the best you can do, you accept what happened and you give the Lord thanks and all the glory for everything that's happened and you go on. You try to get better as a human being, try to be a pillar of salt, that's what I want to be. I want to be a pillar of salt.”
Edwards drove like a man inspired during the NHRA Southern Nationals and even recorded a .009 reaction time in the final round to defeat past world champion Jason Line in the final round. The victory came at the perfect time for Edwards considering his success came during the 600th Pro Stock national event contested under the NHRA sanction.
One race earlier and he’d missed fame. One race later the same result. Edwards said the timing was perfect.
Just ask Edwards and he’ll tell you God’s timing is always perfect.
“I raised that trophy high in the air because the trophy itself meant nothing to me, neither was I celebrating winning the 600th,” Edwards explained. “I raised the trophy high in the air out of praise because I had seen where I was messing up at. I just wanted God to get the glory for the win. I had learned a valuable lesson that weekend and the trophy was just a reminder.”
Edwards’s Atlanta victory marked his first since winning Houston in 2006 and before that, he’d gone four years without a win. He’s hoping his next victory won’t take as long to achieve.
“You just hope you can go out there and try to stay in the mix,” Edwards explained. “On Sunday you just never know what's going to happen, you just pull up there and do the best job you can do.
“You just never know what's going to happen. I'm proof of that.”
EDWARDS' GXP HIGHTS TULSA PONTIAC EVENT
Written by CompetitionPlus
Friday, 09 May 2008
Though it is an off-weekend on the NHRA tour, Mike Edwards and his Penhall/Young Life team will be out carrying the Pontiac banner to many of the brands faithful followers when he is scheduled to make exhibition runs in his Pontiac GXP during the Indian Nations Pontiac Club event this Mother’s day weekend in Tulsa, Okla.
The event will not only feature Edwards, but will include a car show, drag racing, and on Friday night a tech session with guest speaker Jim Wagners, who was the head of marketing for Pontiac that launched the GTO craze.
"Mike is a great ambassador for the area when it comes to drag racing and to those who just love cars," said Indian Nations Pontiac Club president Larry Crider. "It is a great benefit to us here locally to have such a great ambassador to the Pontiac brand and who is willing to bring his professional operation to the track and make exhibition runs.
“Mike is a major part of our celebration that promotes not only drag racing but the love of great Pontiacs. It is an honor to have such a great team be part of our program for not only who they are in the sport of drag racing but what they represent to this entire community."
This is the side the Edwards and the entire team love to support because as they see it, it is a great way to give back to those who support them in the local community.
"The Pontiac brand has been awfully good to me and my team over the years and by doing these exhibition runs is a small way I can give back to those in the area who love Pontiac and what it stands for and on a larger scale to corporate Pontiac for their great support of our racing," Edwards said. "It's nice to visit with the hometown fans that cheer for you all year and it gives you that extra little push to make the area of Tulsa and state of Oklahoma proud."
The Pontiac drag race and all-Pontiac GMC Oakland Car Show will be held Saturday at Tulsa Raceway Park.
Redemption Time
A little over a year ago, Mike Edwards was questioning his existence in Pro Stock competition. The former sportsman world champion was at his wit's end with the rough and tumble world of NHRA Pro Stock.
This frustration led to a serious heart-to-heart with team owner Roger Stull regarding their existence. A man of faith, Edwards supported Stull in his decision to make the leap of faith into developing an engine program.
“It’s unbelievable,” Edwards said. “Roger made the commitment last September in Indy, to do this one time the right way and see how far it takes us. I never dreamed I would be standing here this early in the season. That car has two races on it. To come here and run the way we ran today; we ran good. We ran good in both lanes.
“This might be my most “best feeling” win I have ever had because it's ours. It's all ours. It's our engine program; Nick and Paul at the engine shop. Terry Adams came on board this year. Josh Robertson, Alan Lindsey, John Phillips, the whole team worked so hard and put in such a great effort. I am so proud of them. I am just so fortunate to have the opportunity to drive this thing.”
Even Edwards couldn’t have anticipated this kind of success so early in the program.
“No way,” Edwards said. “No way. When we started this we were going to sit down later and see if we were going forward or were we going backwards. Right now it would be really easy to go backwards. I hope we can keep going forward. It's tough to get a win but hopefully we can keep this momentum going. All it takes is hard work.”
Edwards became NHRA Pro Stock’s 600th winner by defeating Jason Line in the final round at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga. Not only did he run strong, but he left the starting line in rapid fashion with a .009 reaction time.
He joined four other "milestone" Pro Stock race winners including the winner of race No. 500, three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson in the Summit Racing Pontiac; race No. 400 winner, ACDelco Chevy driver Kurt Johnson; and the winner of race No. 300, Jim Yates, driver of the WileyX Pontiac GXP. And the man who won the very first Pro Stock race 38 years ago was Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, legendary racer, engine builder and continuing motorsports innovator, more times than not in conjunction with Team Chevrolet. Jenkins was voted No. 8 on NHRA's all-time driver list, and this past Thursday his racing exploits were recognized in the form of induction into the prestigious International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala.
"That's kind of cool to win the 600th race," Edwards said. "Anytime you can win one of these races against these guys it's an unbelievable feeling. That's pretty good company.”
The experience was overwhelming for Edwards, who was close to tears in the post-race press conference.
“You can't describe the feeling of winning one of these races in this class. It’s so hard, so competitive. It's so tough. There are so many good teams. I tried and tried and tried. It's been 2006 since I've won and I was wondering if I was ever going to do it again to be honest.
“I tell you what; it's just an unbelievable feeling to win one of these races. When you have to race these guys like the Summit team, the Jegs team; they are the guys who have set the bar for us all. To come away with the win is amazing.
“I am so thankful for my team. First of all, I am so thankful for God. This win is for Him and I give Him all the glory. And, for all those Penhall employees and Penhall customers and all those Young Life kids that came out Thursday night. I am sending four more kids to camp this year. And, thanks to all of those who support Young Life. I tell you what, I am truly blessed.”
Mike wins 28th Annual Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Southern Nationals
Quiet and unassuming, Edwards often flies under the radar at the dragstrip, and this weekend was no exception. While much of the focus was centered on the other drivers in Pro Stock, Edwards put together a strong, consistent race-day performance that featured runs ranging from his 6.65 to 6.68. That consistency combined with Edwards’ well-known talents on the starting line earned him the 14th Pro Stock victory of his career. In the final, Edwards took a .009 to .059 reaction-time advantage, and he needed it because he and Line ran identical 6.680s. Edwards defeated Dave Northrop, Allen Johnson, and Jeg Coughlin to earn a spot in the final round.
“I just can’t describe the feeling of winning races in this class,” said Edwards. “It’s been since 2006 since I won, and I was wondering if I was ever going to do it again to be honest with you. I’ll tell you what, it’s just an unbelievable feeling to win one of these races because you have to race guys like the Summit team and the Jegs team, and those guys just set the bar so high; you really work so hard to get to where they are. To come away with a win is just amazing.
“That car has just two races on it; this is the second race on it. So to come here and win and run the way we ran here today is unbelievable. This might be my best-feeling win I’ve ever had because the whole team, from the engine shop we put together this year to the guys at the track, work so hard and put in such a great effort; I’m just so proud of them. I’m just very fortunate to get the opportunity to drive this thing.”
Mike Soars To Semifinal Showing
Based on his performances at both ends of the track, Mike Edwards locked down his best showing of the young 2008 NHRA season as he drove his Young Life/Penhall Pontiac to a semifinal showing at the NHRA event in Phoenix.
After qualifying No. 8, Mike started his march to a late-round finish by taking care of Ron Krisher in the opening round, drawing the top qualifier Allen Johnson in the next frame. "I knew he was going to be tough," Mike recalled. "He just set low e.t. of the event in the first round and put me in the other lane. I knew I had to take a shot at the tree and hope it came out right."
The gamble on the start paid off huge, as his perfect .000 light (that equalled the light of Jeg Coughlin in the first round, marking the first time in NHRA history that two perfect lights were recorded in a professional eliminator) was all Mike needed as he cruised to an easy victory when Johnson was forced to lift.
That set up a duel with the former world champ Jason Line and the vaunted KB Racing stable. Though the pair left together, Mike wasn't able to pull off the upset, falling in a close match.
"I can't be too upset with the performance," Mike said. "We improved on our Pomona showing and gave a glimpse of what all the changes we went through in the off-season has in store for us down the road. I wish I could have brought home the trophy, but it was good to see V. Gaines get back in the win column. Pro Stock is wide open this year and all you have to do is make sure you make the field and when it is your day things will happen. I know that it is getting closer for our team."
The next stop on the NHRA tour is in three weeks, when Mike heads to Gainesville, Fla., for the Gatornationals.
EDWARDS COUNTING BLESSINGS
Written by CompetitionPlus
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Mike Edwards lost in the semi-finals during the NHRA CSK Nationals but he couldn't stop smiling. Today marked the finest hour for his fledgling in-house engine program.
"I tell you what, it's a blessing to come out here and (make it to the semis) this early in the season," Edwards said. "We've got a lot of new things going on and a lot of things we don't exactly know what to do with, but we just keep working on them and see if we can pick it up. We're not where we want to be by any means, but it's a good day and hopefully we can build on this and get better.
"I want to say thanks to all of my guys; they just did an awesome job today. Our whole team, I'm just really proud of them. We brought Terry (Adams) on this year and he's just really taken a load off of me. We can bounce things off of each other and he's really helped me. And my guys have been with me, I guess, it's been about six or seven years and they're just steady as clockwork. I have no doubt whatsoever with what they are doing, so I have a lot of confidence in my team."
Edwards took the ambitious step in the off-season of developing an in-house engine program and is pleased with the progress the team is making.
"Just from the first race to here, the engine program has already made a giant leap," Edwards said. "It showed with us doing better on race day. When you don't have to fight other issues, when you can just race the track and adjust your car to the track, it makes it a whole lot easier."
