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Welcome to DragraceResults.Com, the official website of Edmond Richardson racing. This site will feature monthly updates on the progress of two-time NHRA World Champion Edmond Richardson, Jason Lynch, championships in Super Stock, Stock, and Super Comp Eliminators, and run for big money at many of the nation's largest E.T. Bracket races. The calendar says January 2000, the holiday season is over, and here at Edmond Richardson racing, we're just about ready to go racing again. Personally, I can't wait. As we speak, I'm putting the decals on my new stocker and getting ready for my first 2000 event, which will be the Federal-Mogul Series race at Gainesville Raceway in mid-February. My teammate, Jason Lynch, and I had a long, grueling year last season and when it was over, I was a little burned out, but now I'm excited to get going again. This year, the BorgWarner Automotive team will have an all-new look to it. I bought Tommy Phillips' D/SA '94 Camaro to run in Stock and I also have a new Ed Quay-built Pontiac going together for Super Stock. Of course, I also have two new Ben Worthy Race Cars-built dragsters on the way for Super Comp and Bracket racing. I also have a new trailer in my driveway, so I guess I'm just about ready to go. The downside is that in order to make room for my new cars, the old ones had to go and I wound up doing something that I swore I'd never do; I sold my prized '69 Camaro convertible Indy Pace Car Stocker. I just about cried when the new owner, Larry Nash, loaded it up, but I have an ace in the hole. Scotty has a '69 Camaro convertible street car and I'm sure that before long, it will be in my garage. I wouldn't have sold that car, but Larry is a good guy and he wants to get into racing. I agreed to help him a little this year and I know that he will take good care of that car because he appreciates how rare it is. I'm really pumped about my new Super Stocker. It is a 2000 Grand Am which was built by Ed Quay. Jeff Stealey built the engine and it will run in GT/C, D or E. right now, the car is at Lonnie Grimm's paint and body shop in Arkansas getting the BorgWarner colors put on it. Last year, I said that I wanted to win another championship, but I came up a little short. Don't get me wrong. Jason and I had a great season but the championship eluded us. We're ready to give it another shot this year, but I'm sure it will be even tougher than it was in 1999. In Super Comp, I'd say that Scotty is the biggest threat, because he has his own team, and he's motivated to do well with it. Scotty should also be a threat in Super Stock, but the championship could just as easily go to Peter Biondo, Dan Fletcher, or a number of other tough racers. I won't speak for those in the Alcohol classes because Frank Manzo and Rick Santos are as tough as they come, but I predict that no other sportsman champions will repeat this year. The competition is just too tough. Now, just because I've been busy putting together my program for 2000, don't think that I haven't taken a little time out to enjoy myself. The family and me spend the better part of December and January on the road, chasing our favorite NFL team, the Tennessee Titans, as they made their drive towards the Superbowl. Once the playoffs started, we went to Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and then on to Atlanta for the big show, the Superbowl. If you were one of the 50-million or so Americans who watched the game, you probably saw me, my brother Scotty, and the family, right there on the fifty-yard line. Of course, you probably didn't recognize us with all that blue and white paint on our faces. Going to a Superbowl is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I've always wanted to do, and when our team made it, we decided to make the trip to Atlanta. We showed up at the Georgia Dome a little before kickoff and managed to buy our tickets just as the National Anthem was being sung. Hell, even the price wasn't bad. For three tickets, I paid less than then entry fee for the Million Dollar race and I had a whole lot more fun. (Of course if you remember, I didn't win a single round at this year's Million, so it wasn't hard to do.) Of course the downside is that the Titans came up a yard short at the end of the game and lost to the St. Louis Rams. I know how bad to give up the finish line in the final of a big race, so I think I can feel the Titan's pain. Or maybe not. Even though they, lost, we still had a blast and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world. As I've gotten older, I learned to appreciate that there's nothing more important than family and I'm thankful for every moment I get to spend with mine. One other thing. A lot of people have asked me my opinion of what went on at the 5-Day E.T. Championships at Moroso Motorsports Park. If you are one of the few who don't know, here is a little bit of what happened. My brother, Scotty, and Rich Matty in the final round and beat him. Many racers believed that Matty was using a device to compute time and distance to run right on his dial-every time. A number of racers took up a collection, raised the $600 protest fee and lodged an official protest with Moroso track manager Mike Mitchell. Matty refused to have his car torn down and left the track, even though it meant that he forfeited his points and prize money, and that he was permanently banned from Moroso Motorsports Park. Was he cheating? I don't know. I'm not the judge or jury, but I do know that what went on at Moroso didn't help the sport at all. Personally, I wish he had allowed them to check his car, just to clear this matter once and for all, but he left the track and that was his decision. Personally, I wouldn't want to race against him. Hopefully, all the negative publicity that surrounded this unfortunate incident won't give the sport of drag racing, or bracket racers, a black eye, and I'd like to think that anyone who was cheating, or has considered cheating, will think twice and realize that if you put enough time and energy into this, you can be successful within the rules. Till next time, Edmond |
