Laguna Seca: Newman Wachs Racing qualifying report

EDWARDS SCORES POLE DURING NAIL-BITING QUALIFYING SESSION AT MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA

Mundelein, IL (October 10, 2009) - In an epic battle for the championship, Newman Wachs Racing driver John Edwards scored his third pole position of the year in the 2009 Atlantic Championship on his way to setting a new track record at Mazda Raceway earlier this morning. In addition to the premiere starting position, Edwards also wins a valuable bonus point, which brings him even closer to teammate Jonathan Summerton and points leader Simona De Silvestro. Edwards edged his teammate Summerton by a mere five-hundredths of a second in the closing laps to make it the fourth time this season the NWR pair starts 1-2. De Silvestro starts 5th in tomorrow's season finale.

John Edwards, #36 MAZDASPEED/ Nuclear Clean Air Energy/ Entergy/ NEI/ Newman Wachs Racing: (1.15.444; 106.792 mph)

"I think qualifying here at Laguna was more exciting than any of the races we've had so far. I crossed the line and I knew was a couple of hundredths (of a second) ahead of Jonathan (Summerton), and on my last lap, I had a mistake in ‘The Corkscrew' so it wasn't quicker. The team took forever to tell me if I got pole or not. Actually, it was only a matter of five seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime to me, waiting to hear if I got it. It was a really happy celebration on the cool-down lap, but now we're going back to business, because that's only part of the race. We only got one point for this and there are 20 available for a win. We're looking forward to the race and we might have a chance at this championship after all with Simona where she's starting."

Jonathan Summerton, #34 Nuclear Clean Air Energy/ Entergy/ NEI/ Newman Wachs Racing: (1.15.495; 106.720 mph)

"Definitely, starting on the front row should be good. Hopefully, we'll have a good start and we can pull away. I know we had the time, but the car was a little bit off. It was not quite where we wanted it to be, but it's great to be up front. The way things are, it's looking pretty good."

-credit: nwr