Seattle In The ’70s by Phil Burgess

Posted on Friday, June 30, 2017 by Roger

Seattle in the ’70s, Part 1 by Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor

The Great Northwest had some great car and great races, and some great photographers, too, as evidenced by the work of Herman Marchetti, who shares some of his images from the Seattle area in the 1970s.

Seattle in the ’70s, Part 2 by Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor

The NHRA Northwest Nationals take center stage on the NHRA Mello Yello tour in early August. Its venue, Pacific Raceways, has been a hotbed of nitro racing since the 1970s, Here’s a look back at some great photos and memories from that era.

Posted in Links To Feature Stories, NHRA National News | 6 Comments

What Does the Future Bring?

Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2017 by Roger

Our first post on this Edwards & Young blog was on February 10, 2009 and the subject was; “What Was Your First ride?” And I started our original racing website in 1999, which is still in archive format here.

Since the beginning I have attempted to keep our readers informed and have featured photos and videos I have assembled to promote our racing program, our sport and sponsor by including Winter Progress Reports, Tech Tips to help the novice racer, and I’ve recently added photo galleries/slideshows to make our blog more entertaining. And unlike many teams, we not only report our successes but also when we have stumbled!

Now being over 8 years posting here and the trend going totally to social media — which not everyone can visit or see for long as posts get quickly buried — I question the value of me keeping this site open in the future. And frankly, I truly wish my family would be more involved with our blog.

Have a great 4th of July and be safe!

Roger Young

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HMS Photography Wicked Wagon Launch Sequence

Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 by Roger

Wicked Wagon sequence captured by Tony Hutchison of HMS Photography on June 25th 2017! THANKS TONY!!

Watch this video on YouTube

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates, Videos | Comments Off

Division 6 Race at Pacific Raceways – June 2017

Posted on Sunday, June 25, 2017 by Roger

This weekend was the race Chris & Paul were looking forward to, being a divisional race in “The Land of The Leaders” where you face the very best competing for a Wally. Both were entered in Pro Bracket.

It was also a new milestone for Joe Loch of JML Motorsports in his new Camaro Top Sportsman ride. With every hit the crew gently tweaked the tune-up and the chassis took the power even in the 90-degree heat with track surfaces at 134-degrees and above! On Saturday in Q4 Joe ran a personal best to date, qualified #1, and they also were honored with Best Appearing Crew! Getting the new car put together, the MSD Grid, Bigstuff & Laptop software cross-talking properly and working out the bugs has been a real labor of love by his volunteer crew which include Barry Hobson, Kirk Hobson, Mike Lucas, “Boss Lady” Emma Loch, Driver Joe Loch, Allen Macham, Chris Young, Edmund Woody Hloshyk II & Paul Young. GREAT JOB GUYS! Joe purchased the Jerry Haas chassis from the Goforth Racing Team where it was used in IHRA Pro Stock. It was designed to handle big power!

It was also the first runs with the new engine in Barry Hobson’s Top Dragster which was also running well in the heat!

On Saturday Pam and I went out to support the guys and take some video which we have here:

Watch this video on YouTube

Sunday began eliminations for most of the categories with temperature predictions in Kent, WA. going to the mid-90’s.

Round 1:

Paul in his ’85 Mustang broke out by .003, (11.987 on a 11.99 with a .020 reaction time) against Brian McGinnis in his ’56 Chevy who ran his number (10.325 on a 10.32 dial). This was racing at its best as both cut nearly identical reaction times! Paul got to the stripe first but Brian didn’t give him any margin for error.

Chris ran his ’71 Chevelle through for the win when his opponent turned the tree red advancing Chris with a 10.628 pass to the 2nd round.

Joe Loch ran another strong 6.68 in a bye run in his first round being the #1 qualifier in Top Sportsman.

Round 2:

Chris won with an outstanding .001 light and ran a 10.677 on a 10.66 pedaling on the top end. Corrected altitude was a terrible 3300 feet and 97 degrees. The track temps had to be out of sight! I’m glad this old man isn’t driving today!

Chris taking the stripe in Round 2

Joe went out being tardy on the starting line which leaves only Chris in the hunt. On to round 3 for the big, blue Edwards & Young Wagon!

Sunday eliminations – Tony Hutchison photo

Round 3:

Chris cut a solid .021 light and ran a 10.73 on the brakes at the stripe to take the win. On to the 4th round!

Round 4:

Chris cut another solid .029 light only needing a 10.782 on the brakes to earn a win into the semi-finals. The kid has it going today!

Semi-Finals Pro Bracket:

Chris lost in the semi’s cutting another excellent .019 light but broke out running a 10.70 on a 10.72 dial. An outstanding job by Chris this weekend in the Handan Semi-Trailer Repair backed Chevelle. Mom & Dad are VERY proud of our sons this weekend and are always in the hunt!

As we close with this report and a long, brutally hot weekend of NHRA racing, here’s a final look at Joe Loch’s record run to date! Our thanks to the track crew from Division 6 and Pacific Raceways and the brutal heat they had to contend with this weekend keeping everyone safe! – Roger

Watch this video on YouTube

Launching the Camaro. Photo by Tony Hutchison

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

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BC Super Shifters Race – June 10th – June 11th – Pacific Raceways

Posted on Monday, June 12, 2017 by Roger

2016 Winners!

This weekend we had the ’57 out for the annual BC Super Shifters race at Pacific which was a double-header event.

On Saturday the car was running very well and we cut a perfect light in round 1 to take the win running a 10.523 @ 126.62 MPH. In round 2, I was early and went -.003 red to end our first day of racing.

On Sunday we headed into the lanes with high expectations and on the first qualifying hit broke the left 35-spline axle. After getting home Chris pulled the axles out of the car and it almost looks like a spiral fracture. We had the axles out last season when we changed the rear gears and they looked fine, but they have HUNDREDS of hits on them, likely just metal fatigue. I ordered new Mark Williams axles to replace the Strange axles.

My thanks to Chris, Paul & Pam for all their love, hard work and support. It was still a great weekend and we had the chance to visit with many friends. The weather held and the crew at Pacific Raceways did an outstanding job of getting both races done. And my thanks to all that helped to push the old buggy off the track on Sunday, much appreciated!

Video of the broken axle hit and runs of the BC Super Shifters below which tell the story and I have posted the final round results for the weekend. Our profound thanks to all the guys that came down from Canada to make it happen and it’s fun racing with such a group of class act people!

At the bottom of this page, I’ve added the video Pam took of Joe Loch sorting out his new Top Sportsman Camaro. His new chassis is showing great potential and the horsepower is there! – Roger

Update June 19th 2017:

My buddy Misty kept me company this morning while I ran the valves and inspected the upper end on the ’57 after we hit the high-side chip, 8800, when we broke the axle. All looks good, no adjustments required. – Roger

Watch this video on YouTube

BC Super Shifters Final Round Results

Saturday Finals:

4167 Rich Graves (W) Puyallup WA ’67 El Camino 0.000 12.04 12.035 112.21

6520 Jamie Roth (R/Up) Langley BC ’64 Comet -0.056 10.05 10.063 133.24

Sunday Finals:

205 Paul Morgan (W) Victoria BC ’65 Valiant 0.022 10.47 10.465 129.14

735 John Depoucq (R/Up) Langley BC ’77 Camaro -0.001 10.25 10.238 130.12

Jim Doyle picture on Saturday

Robert Fedyk close-up on Saturday!

Gary Wells photo, June 10th 2017

Thanks to Tony Hutchison – 2nd Round at BC Super Shifters race on June 10th

Update July 12th, 2017:

The new Mark Williams 35-spline, 5/8″ stud axles have arrived and all the dimensions are perfect! We’ll get the ’57 back together this weekend and hope to have it back out in August at Pacific Raceways with a new Ram clutch. My thanks to Chris & Pam for purchasing the new axles for the old buggy! – Roger

Left axle is 23″ Right is 27″ Splines machined for our Strange spools.

Update – July 15, 2017:

Thanks to Chris & Paul, we got the new axles in the car today. Clean it up and it’s ready to go again!

New MW axles in the ’57. Axle hubs fit brake drums perfectly!

Update July 19, 2017:

After speaking at length to Cale Aronson at Black Magic Clutches I have decided to update our clutch to the new Ram single disc sintered iron clutch system. This clutch features the thick, segmented ring on the pressure plate, single sintered iron disc on a steel insert 18# aluminum wheel and is fully adjustable, both static and centrifugal. We won’t install this new clutch until August of 2017 for operational use in 2018. For more details and a video on the clutch, please see our post here. – Roger

New Ram Sintered-iron fully adjustable clutch for 2018 with aluminum wheel

Watch this video on YouTube

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Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

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Posted in BC Super Shifters Racing, Edwards & Young Updates, Joe Loch - JML Motorsports | 5 Comments

Edwards & Young – June 3rd 2017 – Pacific Raceways

Posted on Monday, June 5, 2017 by Roger

This evening Chris was racing in Pro Bracket and Torri was going at it in Sportsman at Pacific Raceways with Paul providing valuable assistance for both through the evening!

Both Chris & Torri made it to the semi-finals in their respective brackets before being eliminated and were forced to hot-lap the cars due to three oil downs this night cutting the final eliminations short as they hit the 11PM track curfew. In the semi-finals Chris left a little early and Torri’s Tempest decided to put down a number in the night air and broke out but it was a GREAT JOB BY THE TEAM and the crew at Pacific Raceways!! The cars were running well and both Chris & Torri did well on the tree!

Next weekend we plan on having the ’57 out at Pacific for a BC Super Shifters
double-header weekend, weather permitting. – Roger

Chris breaking in new slicks on his Chevelle

Torri behind the wheel of her ’66 Tempest

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

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Edwards & Young – May 6th 2017- Pacific Raceways

Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 by Roger

Jim Doyle pic

This was another day of challenges for the great crew at Pacific Raceways dealing with water coming up through the track on the top end after heavy showers on Friday evening, but they managed to pull it off! They are the best!

While waiting for the track to dry, Chris invited a Scout Troop from JBLM to have a seat in the Wagon which made their day! Thanks son for your hospitality to the young men from JBLM!

This was the first time out for the Chevelle in 2017, and it was also the first outing for Torri in her ’66 Tempest, and the 2nd time out for Paul in his Mustang this season. The cars were running well and Paul set a new personal best in his Mustang running a 11.782 @ 113.87 MPH in Q1 in the great air!

Paul was eliminated in round one of Pro Bracket in a close race to Dennis McGinnis in his hard charging Mustang. Paul ran a solid 11.819 on a 11.80 dial but Dennis had a slightly better reaction time to get the win light.

HMS Photo

Chris won his first round in Pro Bracket running a solid 10.482 on a 10.48 dial to face Martin Lambert in his Monza “Taz” in the 2nd round. This was a double break-out race with Martin taking the win by a narrow margin. Chris ran an excellent 10.452 on a 10.46 dial. Chris is happy with the new merge collectors as he was running excellent 1.39 60-foot times with the heavy Chevelle.

Torri lost in the first round of Sportsman when she got a poor burnout and spun the tires hard on the starting line running a 12.339 on a 12.19 dial ending her day.

Our thanks to the crew at Pacific Raceways for never giving up on resolving the percolation issues on the top end to make the race possible! – Roger

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

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Edwards & Young – April 15 2017 at Pacific Raceways

Posted on Sunday, April 16, 2017 by Roger

April 15, 2017:

The crew at PR busted their rears all day fighting water coming up through the track on the top end and made it possible for us to get a couple time-only runs on the ’57 and Paul’s Mustang, both cars with fresh transmissions and both cars are shifting well.

Off the trailer the ’57 ran a strong 10.482 @ 127.09 MPH only a tick slower than our best ever 10.473 last July in the old buggy, and I cut a .008 reaction time on this pass today. The car reacted well to the lower static clutch pressure we put into the car while we had the transmission out this winter.

Roger on his 1st hit for 2017 – Jim Doyle pic

After this initial hit we had a little surprise in store and we put Chris behind the wheel and he did a great job of hitting all the shifts in the ’57 and ran a 10.687 @ 126.27 MPH. Damn proud of him it has been 13-years since he last drove the ’57 which is NOT an easy transition from his Chevelle! If he got some more hits in the car he’d would be putting dad out of a job!

Chris driving the ’57! – Jim Doyle pic

And Paul set a new personal best ET in his Mustang on Saturday, running a 11.857 @ 112.82 MPH. We’re pleased with that performance also as Paul has elected to make the switch to Pro Bracket this year!

Paul having fun! – Jim Doyle pic

My thanks to my sons Chris & Paul, and my wife Pam for all their love and support. And it was great seeing our friends again at the track! So our 2017 racing season is underway! – Roger

April 17, 2017:

I ran the valves today on the ’57 after the two passes, the valve lash was perfect and the upper end looks very happy! Plus the Long shifter is still in perfect adjustment, love that when it happens! – Roger

Watch this video on YouTube

Another father/son MP 5-speed tradition lives on:

Son Carries On Dad’s Stick-Shifting Tradition – CompetitionPlus – April 16, 2017

Thanks to Our Great Sponsor…

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

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Posted in Edwards & Young Updates | 2 Comments

Edwards & Young Off Season Progress Reports

Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 by Roger

I’ll be posting progress reports here throughout the off-season to keep all informed of what the team is doing for 2017. – Roger

Saturday, September 17, 2016:

Today Chris & Paul installed our refurbished Doug-Nash 5-speed transmission in the ’57. The transmission blocked out of 4th gear at the Nostalgia Race so it was time for maintenance. Liberty replaced the 3rd & 4th gear pro shift rings, and furnished new 1-2 & 3-4 sliders. I also replaced the 1st gear cluster gear with a Liberty cryo gear to strengthen the transmission. I have additional details on the ’57 posted here. – Roger

Sunday, September 18, 2016:

Chris replaced his electric water pump in his Chevelle which failed in the 4th round of the GM Nationals, with a new Meziere pump. Chris also upgraded his fuel system by installing a new, high-flow 100-micron in-line fuel filter for 2017 replacing his old canister style BG fuel filter. He also tested the valve springs on the 406 and like our ’57, the PacAloy springs are holding up well.

Next we turn our attention to getting Paul’s rebuilt C-4 transmission back in his Mustang for 2017! – Roger

Sunday, November 13, 2016:

This weekend, Chris & Paul got the C4 transmission, rebuilt by Village Transmission, back in Paul’s Mustang and fired the car. This was a challenge as clearances are TIGHT in the Fox-body Mustang. We’ve learned from other Ford owners it is easier to pull and reinstall the engine/transmission assembly as a unit.

Saturday, December 3, 2016:

Today Chris & Paul shortened the tailpipes on the Mustang, replaced the carburetor secondary needle & seat assembly, and secured the strut ball joints properly on the front end, and repaired a header gasket leak. Paul’s Mustang is race ready for 2017!

Monday, January 23, 2017:

Chris sent his old merge collectors which we ran with the 350 back to Performance Welding to have them reworked for the larger 406 SBC. In effect the new merge collectors will have a larger exit than the current conventional collectors we’ve been running on the 406. Here are the finished collectors for 2017:

Performance Welding merge collectors for the Chevelle. Smaller/shorter segments were for the 350

Thursday, March 2, 2017:

A quick update, we’ve been busy getting the valvetrains back on both the ’57 & Chevelle and working on the trailer with four new tires, winch & battery for the winch. Plus running battery load tests on all the racing & support vehicles. And our tow truck also needs a new battery. Off season required maintenance as we look forward to the upcoming test & tunes! – Roger

Saturday, March 4, 2017:

Today we fired the ’57 and I had Chris run it through the gears on stands while I checked the ignition pattern. Recheck the valve lash and drain the antifreeze and the old buggy is ready for the strip! – Roger

Monday, March 13, 2017:

This weekend Paul got the front end on the Mustang aligned which should improve the handling of the car. The left front strut virtually had NO caster prior to the alignment!

We also fired off the Chevelle and tested the ignition pattern on both the Chevelle & Torri’s Pontiac. All looked good and the Chevelle sounded good with the new merge collectors! – Roger

Need trailer repairs while at Pacific Raceways?

Call 206-391-9695 for a price quote!

Posted in Edwards & Young Updates | 3 Comments

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks!

Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 by Roger

An excellent job by John and his team in the Service Dept. of Burien Chevrolet! A week earlier we had the original battery replaced in our recently purchased Certified, Pre-owned 2013 Chevy Traverse. After the battery was replaced I noticed after driving a few miles the charging voltage would drop below 13-volts which this old, retired ASE Certified mechanic believed was a likely charging problem.

They checked the charging system and educated me that the modern charging systems which are now controlled by the PCM will lower the charging rate and voltage when the battery is fully charged, and can drop as low as 12.5 volts. I learned that normal operating voltage can vary from 12.5 to 15 volts depending on the state of battery charge. This is done to lower the battery temp and to slightly increase mileage by diminishing the demand on the alternator. So there is no need to panic unless the red battery light and “conserving battery” warning shows up on your instrument panel.

So thanks for taking good care of us and for bringing me up to speed on the newer technology! – Roger

Posted in Discussions | 1 Comment

The Edwards & Young Rumor Mill

Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 by Roger

Happy New Year racers, and during this off season we see rumors circulating in NHRA and across the racing community, and here’s a couple from us!

Will we see Paul running in Pro Bracket in 2017? Is he ready to make the step to a quicker bracket with his Mustang? Or will he continue in Sportsman where he has won two track championships? What say you Paul!

Robert Fedyk photo

Rumor is the old man is considering sharing some seat time this year with Chris in the ’57. After all the duffer is getting old (going on 68). Can the young lion convert from an automatic with an airshifter to banging gears with a 5-speed? This duffer thinks he can! 🙂 Could be interesting!