Mike Edwards mercifully but powerfully put a period Saturday on the end of the ill-fated National Hot Rod Association's Arizona Nationals.

 

This race that spanned 20 days and 1,800 miles, survived rain delays at both Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix and Gainesville Raceway a continent away in north central Florida,  and seemingly had no winners, in one sense -- certainly no winners circle celebration -- finished during the final day of qualifying for the Tire Kingdom Winternationals.

 

Edwards, driving the Penhall/Interstate Batteries/Young Life/ART Pontiac GXP, defeated Greg Anderson, Allen Johnson, and surprising first-time finalist Bob Yonke to claim his second victory in as many events this season. He also has the distinction of leading the quickest Pro Stock field in NHRA history but also that of being in position to win two national events in one weekend.

Mike Edwards mercifully but powerfully put a period Saturday on the end of the ill-fated National Hot Rod Association's Arizona Nationals.

 

This race that spanned 20 days and 1,800 miles, survived rain delays at both Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix and Gainesville Raceway a continent away in north central Florida,  and seemingly had no winners, in one sense -- certainly no winners circle celebration -- finished during the final day of qualifying for the Tire Kingdom Winternationals.

 

Edwards, driving the Penhall/Interstate Batteries/Young Life/ART Pontiac GXP, defeated Greg Anderson, Allen Johnson, and surprising first-time finalist Bob Yonke to claim his second victory in as many events this season. He also has the distinction of leading the quickest Pro Stock field in NHRA history but also that of being in position to win two national events in one weekend.

 

Ron Krisher spoiled Edwards' streak of qualifying quickest in every session and every elimination round this season with a 6.540-second pass late Saturday that landed him No. 2 in the order behind Edwards.

 

Edwards winced at the broken string but clearly had other priorities Saturday.

 

"Especially with conditions changing so much, it kind of put a little bit of pressure on us. You're qualifying. You're racing. It's the second round and you're qualifying," Edwards said. "You just try to go as far as you can and push it and see what happens."

 

What happened along the way was particularly disappointing for Rodger Brogdon, Krisher, and Anderson.

 

Brogdon ran career-best elapsed time and speed against Yonke with his 6.561-second, 210.77-mph quarterfinal run but lost on a holeshot by eight-thousandths of a second. Greg Stanfield followed with a holeshot victory over Krisher, who posted his career-best E.T. (6.555). In the next pairing, Anderson set a track-record 211.86 mph -- close to his early-day prediction that a Pro Stock driver would hit 212 mph this weekend. But he lost to Edwards, who used a 6.537-second E.T. to top his 6.569.

 

Yonke applied his 6.590/209.98 winning performance in the "Arizona Nationals semifinal" to qualify for the Gatornationals. He had been unqualified in his Pontiac GXP, 18th in the order, going into that round/session.

 

Edwards won with a 6.552-second blast at 211.16 to Yonke's 6.604/209.36.     

 

The Pro Stock class has a year to sort out the situation at Firebird International Raceway, where drivers Gordie Rivera and Vinnie Deceglie overturned in separate qualifying accidents.

 

"I think we all know that there was something wrong with the track (at Phoenix)," Edwards said. "I'm not going to point fingers at anybody. It's over with. I hope it's behind us. We're not going back there this year."

 

The NHRA Tech Department mandated changes between the Phoenix and Gainesville races in an attempt to stabilize the Pro Stock cars. Edwards said they're rules and he will live by them. 

 

"The changes they've made, we've all accepted them. If it's better for the class, that's good," he said.

Final round-by-round results from the weather-delayed 26th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.646, 207.66 def. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 12.898, 67.04; Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.656, 206.29 def. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.649, 201.31; Bob Yonke, GXP, 6.675, 205.16 def. Rickie Jones, GXP, 14.598, 58.41; Jason Line, GXP, 6.777, 207.34 def. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.909, 183.92; Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 14.342, 58.30 def. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, broke; Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.652, 208.59 def. Vinnie Deceglie, Avenger, broke; Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.619, 208.84 def. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.697, 205.69; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.617, 209.82 def. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.706, 206.83;

QUARTERFINALS – Edwards 6.537, 211.53 def. Anderson, 6.569, 211.86; A. Johnson, 6.559, 211.16 def. Line, 9.900, 92.48; Stanfield, 6.590, 209.75 def. Krisher, 6.555, 210.44; Yonke, 6.623, 209.79 def. Brogdon, 6.561, 210.77.

SEMIFINALS – Edwards, 6.544, 211.56 def. A. Johnson, 17.110, 47.69; Yonke, 6.590, 209.98 def. Stanfield, 6.573, 210.50.

FINAL -- Edwards, 6.552, 211.16 def. Yonke, 6.604, 209.36.

 
Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the weather-delayed 26th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Pro Stock

1.  Mike Edwards, 257; 2.  Allen Johnson, 156; 3. Greg Anderson, 147;  4.  Greg Stanfield, 125;  5. Rodger Brogdon, 112;  6.  Bob Yonke, 104;  7.  Larry Morgan, 102;  8.  Ron Krisher, 99;  9.  Jason Line, 87; 10.  Ronnie Humphrey, 85.