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.
1998: The year in review
I have a lot of mixed emotions when I look back at the 1998 season. For the first time in nearly 10 years, I failed to win at least one NHRA national event. I got close, including a runner-up finish in Stock Eliminator at the Revell nationals in Dallas, but I never managed to find the luck I needed to win a national event. In fact, I didn't win a Federal-Mogul Series points meet either, which is the first time since 1984 that I've been shut out on the divisional level. I had terrible luck at times, but after a few months I realized that one of the reasons I was struggling so badly was because I was trying to do everything myself.
At mid-season I took a big step in the right direction when I hired my friend, Jason Lynch, to help me run the racing team, and to drive my John Bleakley RV Center's backed SS/IA '66 Chevy II. Jason and I have been friends for several years and I've always felt that he had the talent and the desire to be a consistent winner, and it didn't take long for him to prove me right by winning a national event in just his third race in Super Stock.
Jason's going to be a great racer, but more importantly, he's a first class person. I'm impressed with how mature he is, not just at the race track, but also at home with his wife, Tina, and their two-year-old daughter, Kayla. He's got his head on straight, and I predict that race fans will get to see a lot of him in the next few years.
Jason and I finished the 1998 season strong with a successful run through the annual Florida Winter Series bracket races. We both got to the semifinals in the first race at Orlando Speed World Dragway, and I won my fourth career title at the Moroso 5-Day E.T. Championships at Moroso Motorsports Park, a race that many, including myself, believe offers the toughest competition anywhere in sportsman drag racing.
Jason ended the season on a high note a week after the moroso race when he claimed a $10,000 victory at DeSoto Memorial Dragway in Bradenton, Fla. Since Jason joined the team in August we combined to win more than $75,000, so it's easy to see why I'm so optimistic about the 1999 season
Looking ahead: 1999
I'm happy to announce that Jason is going to be a full-time member of the Borg Warner Automotive team this year. He's going to drive the Chevy II in Super Stock and he'll be running my new Ben Worthy Race Cars-built dragster in Super Comp. Jason and I are planning to compete in 13 to 15 NHRA nationals events and most of the Division 2 Federal-Mogul Series races because they are close to home. We are also planning on running as many big bracket races as we can get to.
I have signed Borg Warner Automotive as a major sponsor of all four race cars. Borg Warner has been involved in my team for the last three years, but they've recently increased their support of my program. Along with Borg Warner we've got a number of great associate sponsors including John Bleakley RV Center, Painless Wiring, BG Fuel Systems, Brodix Cylinder Heads, TCI FP Performance, Goodyear Racing Tires, Comp Cams, Strange Engineering, and Ben Worthy Race Cars.
I've also agreed to work part-time as an instructor at Doug Foley's Drag Racing School in Gainesville, Fla. This is a great opportunity to introduce new people to drag racing, and hopefully I can share some of my experiences with them.
Off the track I expect to be equally as busy as my wife, Sue, and I anxiously await the arrival of a new baby in early March to join my daughter, Ashley, 15, and sons, Ryan,4, and Blake, 2.
Needless to say, I'm excited about the 1999 season. I think the Borg Warner Automotive team is going to have a big year, so stay tuned.
Click on a picture to view it at full scale.
|