There was a reason that most every drag racing fan wanted a Lee Edwards t-shirt
in the 1970s – he was the driver to beat. Edwards dominated the class with an
iron fist in the formative years of the mountain motor
program.
Edwards
was considered one of the more prolific runners in those formative days of the
movement. He earned a living Pro Stock racing under both the NHRA and IHRA
banners throughout the 1970s.
“It
suited me well because I already had some big motors,” Edwards said. “I just
kind of fell into running the new style. Most of us had those big motors sitting
around for match races and it played right into our hands.”
The
new format fell into Edwards’ hands more than any other driver. He claimed the
first two world championships in convincing fashion, winning the 1977 title by
905 points and following up the next year winning by a whopping 3,111 points.
Edwards
is credited with 17 career finals, fourteen of which came after the mountain
motors were implemented. He only ran three years in the mountain motor
competition.
There was a reason that most every drag racing fan wanted a Lee Edwards t-shirt
in the 1970s – he was the driver to beat. Edwards dominated the class with an
iron fist in the formative years of the mountain motor
program.
Edwards
was considered one of the more prolific runners in those formative days of the
movement. He earned a living Pro Stock racing under both the NHRA and IHRA
banners throughout the 1970s.
“It
suited me well because I already had some big motors,” Edwards said. “I just
kind of fell into running the new style. Most of us had those big motors sitting
around for match races and it played right into our hands.”
The
new format fell into Edwards’ hands more than any other driver. He claimed the
first two world championships in convincing fashion, winning the 1977 title by
905 points and following up the next year winning by a whopping 3,111 points.
Edwards
is credited with 17 career finals, fourteen of which came after the mountain
motors were implemented. He only ran three years in the mountain motor
competition.
Edwards
was all about having a large displacement engine and he said it didn’t matter
one arrived at that point.
Edwards
said his initial engine was a 490-incher but that was only a stepping-stone.
Within two years the average size had grown to 570-inches and was heading well
into the upper 600-inch range, thanks to the implementation the Rodeck block,
and later a new version from the P&S foundry.
In
that first year of competition, the majority of the engines were nothing more
than the standard factory casts. There were creative ways to get more cubic
inches, though, and guys like Edwards found a way to get them.
The
universal theme for the Mountain Motor Pro Stock division was a common weight
with unlimited engine size, but there were some variations in weight depending
on the block used.
“There
was nothing out there to buy, we had to make it all,” Edwards said. “We used
stock blocks and made the best out of what we had to work with. Things got
pretty innovative. But I didn’t mess around. I just made them as big as I could
make them. That was one of the keys to my success.”
Edwards
said he took advantage of a rule that enabled teams to run at 2,350 if a racer
used the car-height block. The option was there to run at 2,400 pounds if they
used a truck-height block.
“One
of my tricks is that I would take a car-height block and stuff a big crankshaft
in it,” Edwards said. “I’d put a bunch of head gaskets on it and get by at 2,350
pounds. I had to have a big motor.”
