"On New Year's Eve we Toast 2009 - Another Great Racing Year!"

There is no time like New Year's Eve for a time of reflection.  The racing year 2009 was incredible for Edwards Motorsports and John Edwards. Perhaps, at this time of merriment and celebration, it is appropriate to quote Tony DiZinno -

              "John Edwards is still three years away from legally being able to drink champagne on the podium.  A pity then because he spends so much time there ! "

eformulacarnews.com interviews Atlantic Champion John Edwards

EFORMULACARNEWS.COM: Before we begin, I just want to congratulate you on your championship-winning season. You must feel pretty proud of your accomplishments.

JOHN EDWARDS Thanks, it was a very intense season, and I'm very thankful that I was able to come out on top.

John Edwards’ Nurburgring Adventure, by John Dagys (SpeedTV.com)

Just one week before claiming the 2009 Atlantic Series championship, John Edwards turned his first-ever laps in a closed-top race car. It wasn’t any ordinary race or at any ordinary track, though. The 18-year-old strapped behind the wheel of a GT4-spec BMW M3 on the Nurburgring Nordschleife for what would be a baptism by fire.

Edwards' BMW M3 GT4 he piloted at the 41st annual ADAC Barbarossapreis at the Nurburgring. (Sören Herweg)

Gordon Kirby Tells the Story of Team Orders - The "Inside Story"

This year's Cooper Tires/Mazda Atlantic champion is John Edwards, an eighteen-year old from Cincinnati. In fact, Edwards and Newman/Wachs teammate Jonathan Summerton, 21, finished one-two in the championship, both young men winning four races. Edwards took the title because he finished second in four other races, one more than Summerton.

John Wins Laguna and becomes the 2009 Mazda Atlantic Champion!

Winning is never easy. To have a chance at the championship he had to deliver.  He had to qualify on pole in the finale at Laguna.  And he had to win.  He did both.  That's what champions do. This is the story.

Winning the Championship at Laguna !MONTEREY, Calif. (October 11, 2009) –John Edwards picked up his fourth Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda victory of the season  to become the youngest champion in the 36-year history of the series with a dominating performance at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday afternoon.

John and Michael Auriemma Win Class in VLN Nurburgring Race

In the midst of the Atlantic Championship John was privileged to drive with Michael Auriemma in the October VLN at the Nurburgring. It was the vacation of a lifetime for John's dad who also, with Jim Norman of Tampa (Mr Parathyroid - see www.parathyroid.com), raced in the 4 hour enduro as well. A good time was had by all and John and Michael won their class and finished 29 of more than 180 cars, inspite of their car not being as fully race prepped as many others.

John Edwards - Step by Step, a Telling Bio, by Jamie Longmuir

(August 16, 2009) —Throughout John Edwards career, he has rewritten several youngest records – while most drivers aim to race at the highest possible level as soon as possible, as Edwards has discovered, advancing too quickly can be folly.

John Drives a Great Race At Mosport to Finish Second

The second-place result at Mosport for John was also his seventh top-three performance of the season. He also earned the valuable “Hard Charger” bonus championship point and an extra $2,000 for improving the most positions in the race.  “Today was a great race,” Edwards said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t qualify well. I was hoping that we could lock out the front row with Newman Wachs, but Jonathan got pole and I didn’t have a great qualifying, so I knew I had to make up for it in the race.

John finishes second at Trois Rivieres

John finished second at Trois Rivieres and rebounded nicely from a disappointing race last weekend at Mid-Ohio. “It was a bit of a weird race,” said John. “In the first half, Simona was flying and I think the closest I ever got to her was within a couple tenths on one lap, but every other lap she was between two and five tenths quicker on each lap. I think she pulled out to, I don’t know, between a five- and seven-second gap. Then, in the middle of the race, I started to speed up and she started to slow down, and Jonathan made a mistake, so I had no pressure from behind.

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