Turn the clocks back nearly a decade to 2001; Mike Edwards pulled into Route 66 Raceway and didn't
know what to expect. He was teamed up with Ron Krisher, and the tandem was finding their stride.
Edwards was running real good, and knew they he and his team were on the cusp of something special.
That weekend turned out to be owned by Edwards. In a performance that was considered "One of the
Most Dominating Performances" of the 2000 season, Edwards did everything right.
"That was one of those events that everything came together perfectly," he said. "The car worked
flawlessly and anything we did seem to turn to gold on the race track." It proved to be his best
race until 2009. Edwards grabbed the pole, his third of his career, and was two-hundredths quicker
in every round to capture the victory, defeating Jim Yates for his ninth NHRA victory.
Fast forward to 2009, Edwards has easily been the most dominant car for the season in qualifying,
and the last four events in eliminations.
In Topeka, Edwards and his ART/Young Life Pontiac grabbed his fifth pole of the season, and reached
his fourth final, falling to Allen Johnson.
"This last stretch has been nearly a dream," said Edwards, who the last four races, it would not be
a surprise to anyone in attendance. In that span, Edwards has won two events and reached the final
of a third, while qualifying No. 1 at three of those events.
"I have to take my hat off to all my guys; they just have done an awesome job and I can't express
how good that feels. We're just having a great year. I've been doing this a long time, and I
haven't had this much success. It's just fun to come out here and race."
Edwards currently sits in third place, 75 points behind leader Jeg Coughlin and a mere two points
back of Jason Line.
Mike Edwards Quick Notes
* has qualified No. 1 at five of the first 10 events. In total, he has 11 career pole
efforts.
* is the only driver in NHRA Pro Stock history to eclipse the 212-mph barrier, which he did
in Houston, earlier in the season, with a record 212.03.
* has been in 33 NHRA Pro Stock finals in his career; four of those trips in 2009. He has
captured the title 17 times with two victories this season.
* earned the 1982 NHRA Modified champion, the last year the class was contested by NHRA
* named the 1996 NHRA co-Rookie of the Year with Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Hines
TELEVISION SCHEDULE ESPN2
6/6/2009 Qualifying
10:30 p.m.-12:30p.m. (ET)
6/7/2009 Eliminations
4-7 p.m. (ET)
6/10/2009 Repeat Eliminations
2 -4 a.m. (ET)
Upcoming Events
NHRA Supernationals
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Englishtown, N.J.
June 11-14
Summit NHRA Nationals
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park Norwalk, Ohio June 25-28
Mopar Mile-High Nationals
Bandimere Speedway
Denver, Colo.
July 10-12
