After losing his hold on the top spot, falling back in the qualifying run order, defending NHRA Pro Stock champion Mike Edwards thundered back to claim the No. 1 position in the first of two qualifying sessions during final day qualifications at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

A track record 6.579 and 209.14 miles per hour speed propelled Edwards to his twelfth No. 1 qualifying position of 2010; 34^th of his career.

Regardless of the accolades on his lengthy resume, Edwards understands he must prove himself once again on Monday during final eliminations.

“I think tomorrow is going to be exciting for everybody, fans and competitors,” said Edwards. “It’s going to be interesting for sure. There’s a lot of fast cars all bunched together. We were real fortunate that AJ [Allen Johnson] was in the first pair out this morning. If it hadn’t have been for that, it could have been me up there. I’m real thankful that we made a good run.”

Allen Johnson, who led Friday’s first qualifying session, stumbled in Saturday’s opening session and was forced to move into the first cars to run during the final session. Edwards was faced with the same situation after Friday’s first session.

“If you get stuck in the front on a good session, even if you have an extremely fast car, you can have a tough time,” explained Edwards.

Where he begins in Monday’s eliminations are now his choice by virtue of a better qualifying position. He might need a few runs to see the trend of early competition.

“Tomorrow’s gonna be different, a little warm,” said Edwards. “We just need to be able to adjust because the track is going to be warm. The driver who best maneuvers the race track is going to be the one who comes away with the Wally. It’s anybody’s race.”

Because the road to the winner’s circle is wide open, Edwards admits he’s feeling a bit of pressure to perform. He knows the buck stops with him.

“There’s more pressure but you still have to focus and do your thing,” said Edwards. “We’ll go as far as I can go. It will depend on me.”

One championship down, Edwards understands securing a second title could require the fight of his life.

“It’s hard to get there to win the first championship and even harder to stay there,” Edwards said. “This year we started off tremendously and could do no wrong. I drove exceptionally well and we ran well. We won some races but it seemed in the last stretch we’ve struggled a bit. I know we qualified No. 1 but I feel like we are a tick off.”

FROM ONE CHAMPION TO ANOTHER - Confidence has appeared to be a struggle lately for the defending series champion Mike Edwards but a conversation earlier today with ten-time Pro Stock champion Bob Glidden, also racing this weekend, went a long way to calming the defending champion’s nerves.

He didn’t ask for the advice, but he got it in a friendly way.

“Glidden told me you just have to do it, have fun,” Edwards explained of Glidden’s advice. “You have to stop thinking about it and just go out there and do it.”

Edwards paused, smiled and then continued during a Sunday afternoon press conference at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

“That’s pretty good advice. Bob owns this place [O’Reilly Raceway Park] and I think that his being out here has been great. Pro Stock needed him this weekend. That guy is and will always be Pro Stock to me. I don’t care if he’s in a Ford, Volkswagen or whatever. He’s the king to me. I think it made Pro Stock even bigger this weekend. I think it’s awesome to have him out here.

“You have these guys out here like Glidden and Warren Johnson, how much bigger can it get than that?”

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