Mike Edwards Claims Pro Stock Pole at Infineon Raceway
Young Life Pontiac Driver Posts First No. 1 Qualifier Since 2001
SONOMA, Calif., July 26, 2008 - Mike Edwards now has a No. 1 qualifier to go along with his win earlier this season at Atlanta. Edwards drove his Young Life/Penhall Pontiac GXP to the top spot in Pro Stock for tomorrow's eliminations at the 21st annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. His sparkling elapsed time of 6.609 seconds at 208.71 mph from last night's second qualifying session held up today for his first pole of the season, the sixth career No. 1 qualifier for the Oklahoma native but his first since Dallas 2001.
"We were fortunate to make a nice run last night; a couple of really, really good cars didn't make as good of runs, so we were able to hold today," Edwards said. "We made a great run, and I'm proud of my team. When I let go of the chutes at the other end (after last night's qualifying session), I thought 'Whatever that was, we can't go any faster.' That's how good it felt to me.
"We changed the car up this morning quite a bit just to see if that was the right direction to go, and we ran okay for what we thought it was going to do. If we can do that again, we should be okay for tomorrow. It's a great position to be in, but tomorrow's a different day; you pull up there, and it's like you're the No. 16 qualifier. I'm going to race like I always race and go up there like I'm the underdog. I feel like at the last two races I've let some points slip away from me. I had a mechanical failure in Denver and then driver error in Seattle, so I feel like we should be in a better position, points-wise. But it is what it is and tomorrow's another chance to get 118 points."
Kurt Johnson in the ACDelco Chevy Cobalt led the way for Team Chevy with the quickest pass in today's second day of qualifying to move up to the No. 2 spot on the Pro Stock grid. Johnson had an elapsed time of 6.618 seconds at 208.55 mph and will face the Dodge of V. Gaines in tomorrow's first round of eliminations.
Last week's Pro Stock winner at Seattle, Jason Line, continues to run strong as he drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to the No. 3 qualifying position with an elapsed time of 6.619 seconds at 207.94 mph. Line also showed he may have one of the cars to be reckoned with in tomorrow's eliminations with the quickest pass in today's fourth and final qualifying session in the heat of the day.
Another strong-running Pontiac belongs to six-time POWERade Pro Stock champ Warren Johnson. He qualified the GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP fifth with an elapsed time of 6.629 seconds at a track-record speed of 209.33 mph and will face the Dodge of Johnny Gray in tomorrow's first round.
In Funny Car, Tony Pedregon in his Q Horsepower Impala SS showed the way for Team Chevy by qualifying in the No. 2 position with an elapsed time 4.101 seconds at 299.80 mph and will face off against the Ford of Mike Neff in tomorrow's first round. Pedregon was edged out of the top spot in Funny Car by just five thousandths of a second by Ashley Force in her Force Racing Ford.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.
Young Life Pontiac Driver Posts First No. 1 Qualifier Since 2001
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/GMLogo_99390.jpg" alt="GMLogo_99390" />
SONOMA, Calif., July 26, 2008 - Mike Edwards now has a No. 1 qualifier to go along with his win earlier this season at Atlanta. Edwards drove his Young Life/Penhall Pontiac GXP to the top spot in Pro Stock for tomorrow's eliminations at the 21st annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. His sparkling elapsed time of 6.609 seconds at 208.71 mph from last night's second qualifying session held up today for his first pole of the season, the sixth career No. 1 qualifier for the Oklahoma native but his first since Dallas 2001.
"We were fortunate to make a nice run last night; a couple of really, really good cars didn't make as good of runs, so we were able to hold today," Edwards said. "We made a great run, and I'm proud of my team. When I let go of the chutes at the other end (after last night's qualifying session), I thought 'Whatever that was, we can't go any faster.' That's how good it felt to me.
"We changed the car up this morning quite a bit just to see if that was the right direction to go, and we ran okay for what we thought it was going to do. If we can do that again, we should be okay for tomorrow. It's a great position to be in, but tomorrow's a different day; you pull up there, and it's like you're the No. 16 qualifier. I'm going to race like I always race and go up there like I'm the underdog. I feel like at the last two races I've let some points slip away from me. I had a mechanical failure in Denver and then driver error in Seattle, so I feel like we should be in a better position, points-wise. But it is what it is and tomorrow's another chance to get 118 points."
Kurt Johnson in the ACDelco Chevy Cobalt led the way for Team Chevy with the quickest pass in today's second day of qualifying to move up to the No. 2 spot on the Pro Stock grid. Johnson had an elapsed time of 6.618 seconds at 208.55 mph and will face the Dodge of V. Gaines in tomorrow's first round of eliminations.
Last week's Pro Stock winner at Seattle, Jason Line, continues to run strong as he drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to the No. 3 qualifying position with an elapsed time of 6.619 seconds at 207.94 mph. Line also showed he may have one of the cars to be reckoned with in tomorrow's eliminations with the quickest pass in today's fourth and final qualifying session in the heat of the day.
Another strong-running Pontiac belongs to six-time POWERade Pro Stock champ Warren Johnson. He qualified the GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP fifth with an elapsed time of 6.629 seconds at a track-record speed of 209.33 mph and will face the Dodge of Johnny Gray in tomorrow's first round.
In Funny Car, Tony Pedregon in his Q Horsepower Impala SS showed the way for Team Chevy by qualifying in the No. 2 position with an elapsed time 4.101 seconds at 299.80 mph and will face off against the Ford of Mike Neff in tomorrow's first round. Pedregon was edged out of the top spot in Funny Car by just five thousandths of a second by Ashley Force in her Force Racing Ford.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.
