EDWARDS CATCHES COUGHLIN
On one weekend in Concord, NC, Pro Stock racer Mike Edwards did what he couldn’t do in six months of the regular season. The veteran Pro Stock racer caught and passed Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Full Throttle Championship Drag Racing Series point standings.
Save for one qualifying session, Edwards completely dominated the Pro Stock division from qualifying No. 1 to establishing low elapsed time and top speed on race day with a 6.594 at 209.52 mph.
He did it.
On one weekend in Concord, NC, Pro Stock racer Mike Edwards did what he
couldn’t do in six months of the regular season. The veteran Pro Stock
racer caught and passed Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Full Throttle
Championship Drag Racing Series point standings.
Save for one qualifying session, Edwards completely dominated the Pro
Stock division from qualifying No. 1 to establishing low elapsed time
and top speed on race day with a 6.594 at 209.52 mph.
He defeated an upset-minded Greg Stanfield in the final round and made the most of a first round exit by Jeg Coughlin Jr.
As excited as the cartoon character Wiley E. Coyote would be if he was
able to catch the elusive Road Runner, Edwards isn’t about to celebrate
his victory.
“Jeg Coughlin has that No. 1 on the window for a reason,” Edwards said.
“That’s a talented team and a talented driver. We’re battling every
round and every run. The new points system, a few points here and
there, might win this thing.”
How dominant was Edwards? If he would have secured a new national
record, his performance would have collected 128 of the maximum 130
points available at an event.
The dominant victory marked his second since winning the NHRA Northwest
Nationals in Seattle back in July. Concord marked his fourth 2009
victory in nine final rounds.
With the win, Edwards expanded to 25 an elusive club of drivers who
have led the NHRA Pro Stock points since the inception of the class in
1971.
“It doesn’t get much better than that,” Edwards said of the win. “It’s
hard to leave on Greg Stanfield. I told him at the finish line that I
must had the caution lights come on my side before they did on his.
“This was a phenomenal weekend and the car was flawless.”
So flawless for Edwards that he left the post race press conference to
supervise a tear down of his engine by the NHRA tech department.
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