The store will not work correctly when cookies are disabled.
We use cookies to make your experience better.To comply with the new e-Privacy directive, we need to ask for your consent to set the cookies. Learn more.
Mike Edwards Rewarded Top Spot at Gateway International Raceway
In a sport that is dominated by wins and losses that are determined by mere thousandths of seconds, K&N Pro Stock competitor Mike Edwards has certainly set the mark for other teams in the class to strive for over the last year.
K&N Pro Stock competitor Mike Edwards' Penhall/K&N Pontiac GXP
With only one blemish in an otherwise perfect number one qualifying record that stretches all the way back into the middle of last season, Edwards' Penhall/K&N Pontiac GXP continued to look as if it would stay almost unstoppable for the near future coming as the teams rolled into the most recent stop on the 2010 NHRA tour at Gateway International Raceway, just outside St. Louis, Missouri.
An event that, according to the forecast looked as if it could have shortened qualifying sessions, had teams tightening their belts during each session treating them all as they could be their last for the race.
Qualifying for the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals started off with Edwards in his familiar top spot, posting a 6.644, almost a full two-hundredths of a second on the closest team in the field.
That run would be the only hit Edwards and his team would get to make on Friday. During the second session of Pro Stock qualifying, the skies opened and all activities for the remainder of the day were cancelled and teams that did not get to make their scheduled run were not allowed the time to make them up.
When the classes got back on the track Saturday, Edwards was bumped from the number one spot by Rodger Brogdon, a fairly new comer to the class, when Rodger laid down an identical 6.644 ET and a 208.01 MPH, which because of the higher MPH, trumped Edwards' first session effort.
After not making it through the quarter-mile under power during the third session, Edwards struck back during the final qualifying shot to deny Brogdon his first number one for a little while longer, just edging him out by a mere four-thousandths of a second, by posting a 6.640.
Qualifying position is extremely important to every team in all NHRA professional categories. Not only for placement on the ladder for race day and the extra championship points that are available for the top three, but for the Pro Stock category there is an extra incentive to come out on top, The K&N Horsepower Challenge.
As the largest single payday in all of NHRA Pro Stock competition, teams work diligently from June to June to garner every qualifying point they can to achieve one of the eight spots in the elite race-within-a-race, held during the NHRA National Event at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Edwards securely holds down the number one seed as well as several other drivers to their spots. The top seven points earning drivers with the eighth selected by fan vote, will square off for the $50,000 payday June 24-27.
The Challenge is not just for the racers, but again in 2010 K&N has the added bonus for eight special fans by continuing the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes. There is still time to enter for your chance to win and vote for your favorite NHRA Pro Stock competitor.
For all the details on the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes and to enter visit - K&N Sweepstakes
"I have always had a big love for motorbikes from a very young age and I have always followed all types of motorcycle racing," says Lee Hardy, 33 year old championship motorcycle racer from RAF Marham, UK. "The sensation you get from riding bikes is unbelievable! It is such an adrenaline rush when you are racing." Hardy started participating in local motorcycle track days in 2004. He then competed in the Honda Hornet Cup for the first time in 2007.
Lee Hardy races Thundersport GB and has progressed to the Streetfighter A Championship
"I finished in the top fifteen of the championship," says Hardy. During that first year of racing, Hardy had seven top 10 finishes and was awarded Rider of the Meeting twice, as well as Novice of the Meeting. In 2008, he competed in the Honda Hornet Cup again, finishing the season in second place with two race wins and eight podiums throughout the season. "After that, I moved up in class and raced with Thundersport GB in the Streetfighter B Championship, where I finished in fifth place with regular top five finishes but unfortunately, never stepped onto the podium," says Hardy.
This year, Hardy is still with Thundersport GB but has progressed to the Streetfighter A Championship onboard an Aprilia Tuono 1000cc. bike. "I am currently third in the championship and my best places this year are a third and second place finish," says Hardy. "I am looking forward to more wins this year as I am gaining more and more experience."
Hardy's title sponsor is the Royal Air Force Reserves, and he will be kept busy promoting their recruiting campaign throughout 2010. "I will be attending many air shows and events throughout the year where I will be promoting all my sponsors and suppliers, including K&N. I choose K&N filters because I want the best in performance and reliability for my race bike," says Hardy. "I have found significant gains in power and performance when my race bike was set up on the dyno. I am proud to use K&N products and recommend them for any racer looking for serious results."
This Super Comp victory gave Bob Fuller his fourth NHRA National Event win
With a tremendous closing rate on NHRA National final round appearances, K&N competitor Bob Fuller is not exactly the person you want to see in the other lane, should you be fortunate enough to make it to the final yourself.
Bob Fuller says he loves racing at the Gateway International Raceway at night because the track is lit up very well
Of his NHRA national final rounds appearances, "I've only lost one final and that was last year on a red-light," according to the Rodger, Arkansas resident.
The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, held at Gateway International Raceway, was Fuller's first NHRA National event for the 2010 season. Fuller, who competes in both Super Gas and Super Comp, was on an immediate dash in both entries, until his Super Gas entry broke on the line during third round.
While his day came to an end in one class, the rounds he was putting together in his 638 cubic inch, Chevy-powered Undercover dragster, were ones any racer would love to be able to claim the time slips for. Not only for staying on the winning side, but also the very consistent reaction times. During the seven rounds of Super Comp he averaged .010, helping him put quite a few tough customers on the trailer.
Something Fuller considers being somewhat of a special race day advantage, is his mindset going into each and every round.
"Every round is the last round, that's just the way I look at it," said Fuller. "If you don't get past the round you are about to be in, well that's your last round. So, I don't look ahead. I give everything to this round and treat them all as finals."
With yet another event plagued by weather, many of the sportsman class elimination rounds were held during the nighttime hours, just to catch the schedule up from the earlier delays.
"I love racing at night," commented Fuller. "The track is lit up very well and I've had a lot of experience running this track at night. What some may not realize is that when you would normally roll ten into your delay, at this track you can actually take some out. A lot of people don't know that."
Fuller made it to the Super Comp final round via a single he earned by first defeating Kara Roedel in the quarter-finals, coming out on the good side of a double breakout, 8.889 to Roedel's 8.846.
During Fuller's bye-run, he decided to take the other lane in case he didn't get lane choice in final.
"I told my son Tony, that I'm going to roll ten on top of my delay and see what happens," said Fuller. "It was a seventeen, so that would have been a seven light. That told me we were seeing the tree the same on both sides of the track. So if we got tossed back into that lane in the final, we were going to roll the ten back out."
Fuller got the right lane that he had competed in so much during the weekend's events and in the left lane was fellow K&N racer Tommy Phillips, who had already been to the winner's circle in Super Gas earlier this year at the NHRA event in Houston.
Always studying other racers, Fuller felt he knew what to expect during his final with Phillips.
"He was dropping everybody and we kind of figured he was going to do that to us, too," explained Fuller of his final round prep.
"Just about the time we pull around and the excitement is getting pretty hot and we are about to run the final and it starts to drizzle again," he continued. "So we all huddling under the tunnel, no sooner do I get out of the car, everything was ready to go again. So I get back in the car and by that time the adrenaline had changed a little. I decided to roll four more in and four more thou showed up on the tree. I was just really seeing the tree the same all weekend."
And seeing in this case, is winning.
Fuller doubled Phillips on the starting line and by running his car honest, easily took the stripe by about eight feet when Phillips decided to dump too soon.
The Super Comp victory gave Fuller his fourth NHRA National Event win and started off his National Event season on the right foot, right out of the gate.
"I couldn't do it without all the great companies that I have worked with for all these years, K&N being one of them," noted Fuller. "K&N oil filters and K&N air filters can be found on my cars and what I don't think a lot of people realize are all of the reasons that K&N air filters work so well. One, being that I feel the air filter actually cools the air going into the engine because of the metal in the filter. I just know it cools the air down by a few degrees, plus not to mention all the protection their filters give."
Team newcomer David Haagsma topped the Pro-Am podium in round four at Adelanto
Mike Cafro is a portrait of a "natural," not just because of his vast ATV racing skills and experience, but more acutely because of his smooth approach to life. He's a polished professional team owner/manager, humble, generous and soft-spoken, with members of his team taking as much pleasure in winning for him, as for themselves. He is the eye of a perfect race storm - a racer that's empathetic to other racers - and seasoned enough to get out of the way and allow them to do their thing.
Last Season MCR rider Beau Baron brought the team the WORCS Championship, and he's clearly on track to repeat
Asked why he believes his team continues to win, he simply says "Guess it's just because I've been doing it a long time. And I try and look for riders that are self-sufficient and seem to have a knack to them."
Last Season the MCR rider with the hugest amount of knack, Beau Baron, brought home the WORCS Championship to the team. This year at the season opener in Surprise, Arizona, Baron and the team picked up right where they left off, with Baron getting the win and Cafro taking his first ever WORCS Pro podium position.
Josh Row is having a good year so far, finding the podium in Primm, Nevada and finishing top-five in round four
In round two, at Primm, Nevada, Baron and Josh Row found their way to the podium again, while team newcomer David Haagsma claimed the win in the Pro-Am Production class and Julie Russell took the Women's A-Class win as well.
Although the WORCS round three dead engine start didn't agree with Baron, he still managed to hold on for a third place podium finish. Also in the Pro ranks was Cafro, whose eighth place finish moved him into seventh in points for the season at that point (he's currently in the top-five).
Julie Russell has been just plain smoking-hot, winning her fourth straight in Women's A-Class
On to Adelanto, California where Baron and Josh Row grabbed top-five finishes at round four of the 2010 WORCS series. David Haagsma topped the Pro-Am podium for the team and Julie Russell continued to steamroll, claiming her fourth straight win of the season in the Women's A-Class.
Yeah, there's a pattern here, the smart bet is that when the final checkered-flag drops on the 2010 WORCS season, members of team MCR will once again be hoisting championship hardware over their heads. And Cafro will still be understated, diverting attention away from himself with remarks like, "It's our sponsors, like K&N, that are a big part of our success. I couldn't imagine a better relationship than the one I have with K&N. Johnny Jump and I hit it off the first time we met."
In 1989, Cafro's older brother called him back in New Jersey, where he was already getting his feet wet racing ATV's. Carmen Cafro had just moved to San Diego and he said to his younger brother, "You've got to come out here. You've got to try desert racing." So that's what Mike did - all smooth and natural like.
(The Cafro brothers where one of the top desert tandems for a period of time. Mike is still SCORE's reigning overall ATV Champion and in 2006 he won his first point-to-point SCORE Baja 1000 to La Paz. Carmen Cafro is a three-time SCORE Season Champion.)
Mike Edwards takes helps to provide a little better quality of life for those less fortunate and he does it before each and every NHRA National event
Being a professional Drag Racer is more than a full-time job, it is also a way of life for many who compete on the circuit.
NHRA Pro Stock competitor, Mike Edwards takes his drag racing career one step further and helps to provide a little better quality of life for those less fortunate and he does it before each and every NHRA National event.
The Capernaum Group Children visit with their long-time friend Mike Edwards
Through several different programs, Edwards and his team take time to personally visit not only with local urban youth through the team's "Club Night", where the children get a firsthand look at Edward's Penhall/K&N Pontiac GXP along with taking photos, winning prizes and more, but also on occasion with those who are wheelchair bound.
Such was the instance during the NHRA Four-Wide event at Zmax Dragway, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, when Edwards welcomed The Capernaum Group (a division of Young Life) to the track on both the Thursday and Saturday of the race.
While the Young Life program offer activities to all children, The Capernaum Group gives young people with mental and physical disabilities the chance to experience fun and adventure, while developing fulfilling friendships and to challenging their limits through building self-esteem during club, camp and other exciting activities.
"These special young people and their leader Skeeter Powell, have been friends of Mike's and the team for many years," noted Kim Elliott of Mike Edwards Motorsports. "They look forward to coming to the races, and even more Mike and the team look forward to having them visit. Mike and each member of the team make them feel very special while they are there and try to be a blessing to each one. It always seems though that they are more of a blessing to us and definitely (offer) encouragement. As many of them face physical difficulties, their spirits are always high and they are always wearing a smile."
"They are a really special group of young people," said Edwards of his visits with The Capernaum Group. "You know they are not so much into the car stuff. I think the biggest thing they enjoy is having the one-on-one relationships and spending time with them."
"It's unfortunate that they have the disabilities that they do, but they are such great kids," he pauses. "They are just special young men and woman and they truly have a special place in my heart. That's for sure."
"I really enjoy spending time with all of them," he added. "You think you've had a bad day sometimes, and you just need to stop and look around at some of these young people stuck in that chair for the rest of their lives and then it makes your problems look kinda of small."
For more information on all of the outstanding opportunities that are offered through the Young Life Program, visit www.MikeEdwardsMotorsports.com or stop by the team's pit area at any NHRA National event.
