Edwards Readies For Run Toward Second Pro Stock Championship

At the start of the 2010 season, Mike Edwards and his Penhall/Interstate/K&N-backed team sat down and broke the season into two parts – the first 17 races and the final six races and the NHRA Countdown to One Championship – and set some goals for each.

With the first part of the journey complete, as Edwards and his team looked back on what they accomplished during that stretch it more than exceeded the groups expectations.

It is hard to fathom that Edwards scored eight victories (the most in any one season for the veteran of the Pro Stock wars), earned the No. 1 qualifying position at 11 events, and qualifying outside the top two spots only twice. And most important, he clinched his spot in the NHRA playoff with five events still remaining in the chase, earning the top seed.

“We had some really good success in the first season of the countdown and now we need to put all those behind us and focus on winning the second season that starts with the biggest race in drag racing, the U.S. Nationals.”

Edwards understands how important getting off to a fast start in the six-race chase to the championship. Last year, with the first event in Charlotte, Edwards did exactly that by qualifying No. 1, scoring the most bonuses, and winning the race. From that point, he never looked back and went on to win his first NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock championship.

“It is like any sport, if you do not get out of the gates fast and take advantage early in the points, you are fighting an uphill battle at the end and makes you get out of your game plan,” Edwards said. “Our strategy is simple, we want to come out in Indy and make this Pontiac be the best car on the property. We know if we can accomplish that we are in position to have a win at the end of the Labor Day weekend and get the momentum in our corner for the next five races.”

In the past, the U.S. Nationals stop has been a solid event on Edwards’ resume. In 1998, he walked away with an emotional title and since has reached the semifinals on four different occasions, including the last two trips to the famed facility.

“With all the spotlights on this one event, it adds pressure because you want to win this race,” Edwards said. “Everyone remembers who won Indy.

“Anything short of that will not be a satisfying weekend for me or anyone on the team. We have all the tools in place to add a second Indy trophy to the mantle and that is our goal. Now if we can execute at a high level we have the confidence to make it happen.”

Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson begins the NHRA Countdown to the Championship post-season playoffs second in the standings, only 30 points and six races separating him from his first NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock championship. The Mopar Dodge Avenger driver feels this year might represent his best chance at the title entering the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Sept. 1–6 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

“We’re excited about it, the little journey we’re about to go on,” said Johnson, who captured his eighth career Pro Stock win in July at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. “We look forward to it. We consider the title fight a real challenge, and probably for the first time I think we’ve got a really good shot at the championship.”

Johnson’s confidence is well-founded. The J&J Racing team owner and driver has had a hot hand in the recent past at Indy, claiming the No. 1 Qualifier Award at the 2008 U.S. Nationals. Johnson is also in the midst of the strongest year of his career, earning four final-round appearances and four No. 1 Qualifier Awards (both career highs) with six races still remaining in the season.

“Indy has always been a track that has been really good to us,” said Johnson. “We seem to do well there. Every time we go to Indy, it’s huge. It’s one of the classic races that everyone wants to win and get their name in the books.”