Fri, 5 Feb 2010, 08:24 PM

Full Throttle Champ Edwards Tops Qualifying in Las Vegas
Courtesy of NHRA.com
Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.





LAS VEGAS --
Picking up where he left off last year, NHRA Full Throttle champ Mike Edwards drove to the top spot during qualifying for the annual Pro Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Through four rounds of qualifying, Edwards was the quickest with a 6.681 to pace the 13-car field He also set top speed of the event with a 206.99-mph blast. Edwards is the current LVMS track record holder with a run of 6.623 seconds at 207.27 recorded last November.

"It remains to be seen where we stand compared to the rest of the field but it's good to get back in the car and make a few runs," said Edwards. "This winter, we did a little R&D but for the most part, everything is basically the same as the last time we ran it in Pomona. Most of the runs we made today, including that 6.68, were pretty good so I'm happy."
Edwards' Pontiac GXP arrived in Las Vegas sporting a new paint scheme that prominently features a variety of sponsors including Penhall, A.R.T. Interstate Batteries and K&N Filters. "For a while, we were a little uncertain about our future, but it was a big blessing to have everything come together with Penhall and Interstate Batteries joining us."
Allen Johnson is just a few thousandths behind Edwards with a 6.684 in his Mopar Avenger and Ron Krisher, who uses engines supplied by Edwards, is third with a 6.685 while Vinnie Deceglie turned in a 6.709 best in the new Mountain View Tires Avenger for the fourth spot.
One of the busiest drivers in Las Vegas was former national champ Jeg Coughlin Jr., who spent the day shuttling between his Jegs.com Pro Stock Cobalt and the new Dodge Drag Pak Challenger that he will be racing in Stock Eliminator. In Pro Stock, Coughlin is fifth-quickest with a 6.712.
"Three of the four runs I made today were nice and straight," said Coughlin. "The car feels a little loose but it's running straight and I'm not at all unhappy with our performance. I'm also having a lot of fun with the Challenger. It's a really nice car."
The Pro Stock field also includes the father-son combination of Johnny and Shane Gray. Johnny struggled with his blue GXP, running just a 6.89 for the 13th spot in the field. Shane, who is one of the early favorite for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future award, posted a pair of 6.7-second runs including a 6.774 while completing his license upgrade. The former Comp eliminator driver is qualified 11th and will take on Deceglie in tomorrow's opening round.
While the primary focus of Saturday's activities was on Pro Stock qualifying, there was plenty of other action on track. Pro Stock Motorcycle riders Mike Berry and David Hope were testing their Buell V-twins, with Hope riding John Hammock's Mohegan Sun Buell to a best of 7.10.
Melanie Troxel also made a practice run in her new In-N-Out Burger nitro Funny Car but smoked the tires right at the start.


Final order after 4 rounds of qualifying in Pro Stock at the LasVegas Pro Stock Showdown:

Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd

1. 1 Mike Edwards, Coweta OK, '09 GXP 6.681 206.95 206.99
2. 7 Allen Johnson, Greeneville TN, '10 Avenger 6.684 206.73 206.73
3. 6 Ron Krisher, Warren OH, '09 Cobalt 6.685 206.32 206.32
4. 7406 Vinnie Deceglie, Rancho Cucamonga CA, '10 Aven 6.709 205.47 205.47
5. 50 Jeg Coughlin, Delaware OH, '09 Cobalt 6.712 206.70 206.70
6. 4 Greg Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '09 GXP 6.715 205.66 205.79
7. 41 Rodger Brogdon, Houston TX, '10 GXP 6.742 204.60 204.82
8. 406 Bob Yonke, Burleson TX, '08 GXP 6.758 204.54 204.54
9. 55 V. Gaines, Lakewood CO, '10 Avenger 6.769 203.74 204.08
10. 10 Rickie Jones, Galesburg IL, '10 GXP 6.771 203.86 204.17
11. 730 Shane Gray, Artesia NM, '10 GXP 6.774 204.39 204.39
12. 32 Justin Humphreys, Monrovia MD, '09 GXP 6.786 204.11 204.11
13. 9 Johnny Gray, Artesia NM, '10 GXP 6.897 201.70 201.70