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FOR RELEASE: January 10, 2003 CONTACT(S):
Mike Edwards Hopes Switch To Grand Am Brings Added Success
TULSA, Okla., - Like most drag racers who hope to be competitive this season, Mike Edwards didn't waste any time after last November's NHRA Finals to start preparing for 2003. Edwards used the brief respite from competition to trade in his '02 Pro Stock Chevy Cavalier for a Pontiac SC/T Grand Am, and to team up with Alan and Todd Patterson to produce GM DRCE powerplants for his new Pontiac. "I'm ready to go racing," said Edwards. "When you're in the thick of the season you're always ready for that last race to get over with, but you're always ready to start up again too. Everyone's done all they can over the winter, so it's time to get started and see where you stack up with the rest of the field. Everyone's back on the same page, it's a clean slate and we're excited, especially with some of the things we're doing this year. "We know the new Grand Am will be a good race car because there are guys out there already winning with it, so we don't think making the transition over from the Cavalier will be that that difficult." Although slightly anxious about the off-season moves, Edwards is confident that the changes, along with continued support from Young Life and GM, will help move his race program to the next level. "As far as the engine program," explained Edwards, "I'm involved, but the work is being done at Alan and Todd's (Patterson) in Kansas. We ran the engine for the first time testing in Bradenton (Fla.), and although there were a lot of cars that ran faster than I did, it ran respectable for the first time out. "They've been building Comp engines forever and have a lot of good customers. They're more than capable of building a good engine for my race car. They wanted to get into Pro Stock, so we put some pieces together and here we are. It's going to be interesting." It's a big step for Edwards who's come a long way since he began bracket racing in the mid-1970s at local strips in his home state of Oklahoma. In 1981, he won a pair of national events in Modified at Pomona and Denver as well as the NHRA championship. In '82 Edwards competed in Pro Stock for the first time entering two national events, and then climbed back into the factory hot rods in 1995 when he raced in three events for car-owner John Kight. The next season saw Edwards capturing his first Pro Stock national-event victory at Houston, the first of three wins in 1996 en route to a third-place finish in the NHRA points standings (his best career finish to date) and a share of the NHRA Rookie of the Year honors with Matt Hines. Last season, Edwards drove the Young Life Chevrolet to a win at the O'Reilly Nationals in Houston after qualifying a season-best fifth. He captured his second victory of the year in July at Denver, scored a runner-up result at Reading and won 21 rounds of eliminations. Edwards' seventh-place showing in the POWERade Pro Stock standings was his fifth top-10 finish (he did not race in 2000) since '96. "Any time you can win a couple of races and finish in the top 10 is a good season," said Edwards. "There is always room for improvement, but overall I was pretty pleased with what we were able to accomplish." Heading into the new season, the '98 U.S. Nationals champion will be looking to add to his 11 career victories in 22 final rounds. Edwards will also try to keep a streak alive in which he's won a national event every year since he began racing full time in 1996. "It's getting tougher and tougher every year to win in this category," said Edwards. "Having enough power to put our Pontiac up front is going to be very important, and the driver that's the most consistent and the most focused every week will be successful. If you get qualified, you can win the race. Then it all comes down to who wants it more on Sunday, and who does the best job. I used to think you had to qualify for every race to win the championship, but Jeg (Coughlin) proved that to be wrong last year. You have to be good, but you also have to be able to catch a few breaks here and there too."
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