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. First off, I want to thank everyone who participated in our on-line chat at Dragraceresults.com last month. I had a blast and was really impressed by the number and the quality of the questions. I’m already looking forward to doing it again. By now, I know I’m not going to win the Federal-Mogul championship in either Stock or Super Comp, but even though I fell a little short of my ultimate goal for 1999, I wouldn’t trade my year for anybody’s, even if I don’t get to go to the NHRA banquet in Pomona. The way the points are structured in NHRA racing, how many races you win isn’t as important as when you win them, and we simply didn’t do what we needed to do at the right times. My BorgWarner Automotive teammate, Jason Lynch, and I have had a fantastic season, and with several big bracket races coming up before the end of the year, it can only get better. I was pretty torn up after the U.S. Nationals at Indy. For as long as I can remember. I’ve wanted to win the U.S. Nationals, and this year, I thought I had my best shot to do it. I did get down to the final eight cars in Stock, but a red-light ended my dream. Right now, I expect to finish second or third in Super Comp and possibly fourth in Stock, but depending on what happens at the last couple of races this season, I could be as low as seventh or eighth with the Stocker. At the Division 2 race in Bristol, Bill Howell got to the final round and nearly passed me. If he had won the race, he would be the Division 2 champ. To be honest, I didn’t even know who he was and the next thing I know, I’m back in the pits loading my car, the Stock final is pulling into the water box and I hear the announcer say, if Bill Howell can win this race, he’ll pass Edmond Richardson for the Division 2 title. Say what? I guess that’s what I get for winning seven national events and only two division races. A lot of people don’t realize this, but in some ways, a division race is harder to win than a national event because usually, everyone gets a time trial run on Sunday morning at a divisional, and they’re ready for eliminations. Realistically, by the time I ran my fifth Federal-Mogul Series race, I knew I wasn’t going to win either championship. I believe in playing the odds, and to me, the odds said that if you don’t have a real good divisional score early in the year, you’re in trouble. On a happier note, Jason has appeared to turn the corner lately. He’s on top of his game right now, especially in Super Comp. He got down to the semifinals in Memphis before an oil pump pickup problem took him out and a couple of weeks later, he was runner-up to Gary Stinnett at the O’Reilly Nationals in Dallas. Jason won one of the first national events he ever went to last year in Memphis, but even now, he’s learning the difference between national events and bracket races. The biggest difference isn’t the competition; it’s tough everywhere, but rather the big crowds and the whole atmosphere at a national event. It’s a whole different feeling to be racing in front of 50,000 people with television cameras going and flashbulbs as soon as you leave the starting line. The first race I took Jason to, I took him up to the starting line, and let him look at the stands. I said, "See this, I don’t want you to let it affect you." We realize that all those fans help keep our sponsors names on the side of our cars, so we appreciate them, but we can’t let it distract from our program. Jason is the type of racer who respects my opinion and he’s been willing to learn from my mistakes, which has made him one of the best young drivers in the sport. Jason also has a lot to look forward to this off-season as he and his wife, Tina, just found out that they’re going to have their second child in March 2000. News like that makes me think less of winning the championship. Don’t get me wrong, I want to win it, but the good Lord has a plan and as long as I can make a good living and have a happy healthy family, I’m a content man. With the NHRA season winding down, Jason and I, are just about to go full-tilt into the bracket racing mode. In fact, we even skipped the Matco Tools Nationals in Houston to run the B&M Million Dollar Race in Montgomery, Ala. I’ve always said that I want to win the Million Dollar race to make my kids’ future secure, and I mean that. If I ever do win that race, I know my kids will have a better start in life than I had. Unfortunately, my kids will have to wait at least another year as I had one of the worst weekends of my career in Montgomery. How bad was it. Racing two cars in four races over four days; I didn’t win a round. That’s right, counting buy-backs, I was a perfect 0-for-8. Jason didn’t fare much better and neither did Todd Burks, who was driving my other Ben Worthy-built dragster in Montgomery. I don’t think we did anything wrong, but we just didn’t have the luck. In a race like this, a .015-second package is practically worthless. You walk through the pits all weekend long and see guys staring at time slips, scratching their heads. Hopefully, we left all of our bad luck behind us in Montgomery. Our plan now is to take a week off, and prepare everything for the trip to Florida for the winter series in Orlando, West Palm Beach and Bradenton. We have 14 races in a little over two weeks so I want everything to be fresh, so we can put the BorgWarner team into the winner’s circle again. We are also in the process of getting the other Super Stock and Stock cars ready for 2000. My I/SA ’69 Camaro is getting a new convertible top and dash, and I’m also getting ready to take delivery of a new Ed Quay-built Pontiac for Super Stock. I’m also planning on getting a couple of new dragsters for next season, so like most other teams, there really is no off season anymore. Stay tuned for my next report from the Sunshine State. Edmond |
