John Edwards scored his first career Atlantic victory and a $50,000 winner’s paycheck in Friday’s season opener at Sebring International Raceway. Driving the No. 36 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development/Nuclear Clean Air Energy/NEI/Entergy machine for Newman Wachs Racing, Edwards started second and charged into the lead on the race’s standing start ahead of polesitter Jonathan Summerton. From there, the 18 year old Cincinnati, Ohio resident never looked back, cruising to a 4.7-second victory over rookie Frederic Vervisch. Edwards’ victory eclipsed a previous best result of second, which he achieved at Toronto in his rookie Atlantic season of 2007. Last year, Edwards competed in Star Mazda and took the series championship. “It was an incredible feeling just pulling into pit lane and seeing all of the cameras coming to me,” said Edwards. “It was a great race. I have to thank my engineer, Nick Harvey, and the team for putting the car together, because it was really easy to drive, I just kept looking forward and pulling a gap.”

John Goes Quickest in Qualy 2 for P2 Start

The fastest driver in qualifying today was John Edwards from Newman Wachs Racing. Edwards’ best lap in final qualifying was 1:54.100 (116.740 mph), which guaranteed him second on the starting grid. However, his fastest qualifying lap overall was actually the third-quickest time on Wednesday at 1:53.715 (117.135 mph).“We’re starting P2, but we made big improvements from yesterday and I got it together on track,” Edwards said. “I was a whole lot more consistent and I think we were P1 most of the session today. I ended first, but unfortunately the track was slower today. That’s just how it goes in the two-session format. Jonathan’s on pole, but we’re here at Sebring and there’s a couple of long straightaways, so hopefully we can stay with him and maybe see if we can draft by him and win tomorrow.”
Starting Lineup for Round 1 of 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda:
1. Jonathan Summerton, No. 19 Genoa Racing, 1:53.571, 117.283 mph.

2. John Edwards, No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing, 1:53.715, 117.135 mph.

3. Frederic Vervisch (R), No. 17 Genoa Racing, 1:53.625, 117.228 mph.

4. Harald Schlegelmilch (R), No. 21 Conquest Racing, 1:53.810, 117.037 mph.

5. Borja Garcia (R), No. 6 Condor Motorsports, 1:53.984, 116.859 mph.

6. Markus Niemela, No. 1 Newman Wachs Racing, 1:54.083, 116.757 mph.

7. Jonathan Bomarito, No. 26 Mathiasen Motorsports, 1:54.206, 116.631 mph.

8. Simona De Silvestro, No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds, 1:54.525, 116.306 mph.

9. Frankie Muniz, No. 77 Team Stargate Worlds, 1:54.846, 115.981 mph.

10. Matt Lee, No. 2 Jensen MotorSport, 1:54.955, 115.871 mph.

11. Tonis Kasemets, No. 35 Polestar Motor Racing, 1:55.036, 115.790 mph.

12. Max Lefevre (R), No. 7 Condor Motorsports, 1:56.130, 114.699 mph.

13. James Winslow (R), No. 12 Conquest Racing, 1:56.531, 114.304 mph.

14. Mirl Swan (R), No. 88 Swan Racing, 1:58.965, 111.966 mph.

15. Sadat Yelkin (R), No. 75 Swan Racing, 1:59.275, 111.675 mph.

16. Ahsen Yelkin (R), No. 29 Swan Racing, 2:00.304, 110.720 mph.

17. Chris Lee (R), No. 68 Swan Racing, 2:01.561, 109.575 mph.

18. Michael Nacol (R), No. 3 Jensen MotorSport, 2:01.619, 109.522 mph.

19. Michael Mallinen, No. 71 Swan Racing, 2:04.026, 107.397 mph.

Results from Qualy 1 Sebring: John is P3

Summerton gets pole in qualy 1. Teammate is second. John is the first "non-Genoa" car in P3.

“Third is not the worst thing that could happen, but it’s not what we wanted after being quickest in the first two sessions,” Edwards said. “I got in a little traffic in the beginning and should have found a better gap. That got me a little unfocused and I started taking too many mistakes. I sort of found my way there at the end but ran out of time. It’s too bad, but hopefully the track will be better tomorrow once more rubber gets laid down, and then we can go for the real pole instead of just the early pole.”

John on Top Again in second Practice

Sebring International Raceway / 3.7 miles
March 18-21, 2009 / Sebring, Florida
Atlantic Championship Practice 1
1 1 Atl 36 John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing 1:54.023 116.819 13 -.--- 15
2 2 Atl 26 Jonathan Bomarito Mathiasen Motorsports 1:54.114 116.725 15 0.091 15
3 3 Atl 1 Markus Niemela Newman Wachs Racing 1:54.543 116.288 13 0.520 15
4 4 Atl 6 Borja Garcia(R) Condor Motorsports 1:54.573 116.258 16 0.550 17
5 5 Atl 78 Simona De Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds 1:54.969 115.857 8 0.946 14
6 6 Atl 17 Frederic Vervisch(R) Genoa Racing 1:55.012 115.814 7 0.989 13
7 7 Atl 19 Jonathan Summerton Genoa Racing 1:55.082 115.744 12 1.059 14
8 8 Atl 77 Frankie Muniz Team Stargate Worlds 1:55.082 115.744 15 1.059 17
9 9 Atl 21 Harald Schlegelmilch(R) Conquest Racing 1:55.382 115.443 9 1.359 16
10 10 Atl 2 Matt Lee Jensen MotorSport 1:55.460 115.365 14 1.437 14
11 11 Atl 12 James Winslow(R) Conquest Racing 1:56.412 114.421 13 2.389 13
12 12 Atl 7 Max Lefevre(R) Condor Motorsports 1:57.007 113.839 5 2.984 12
13 13 Atl 35 Tonis Kasemets Polestar Motor Racing 1:57.758 113.113 3 3.735 11
14 1 C2 75 Sadat Yelkin(R) Swan Racing 1:59.333 111.620 12 5.310 12
15 2 C2 88 Mirl Swan(R) Swan Racing 2:00.362 110.666 9 6.339 11
16 14 Atl 3 Michael Nacol Jensen MotorSport 2:01.444 109.680 6 7.421 15
17 3 C2 71 Mike Mallinen(R) Swan Racing 2:02.496 108.738 15 8.473 15
18 4 C2 68 Chris Lee(R) Swan Racing 2:04.854 106.685 8 10.831 10
19 5 C2 29 Ahsen Yelkin(R) Swan Motorsports

Sebring Press Release: John on Top in First Practice

The 36th anniversary season of the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda gets underway on Friday at Sebring International Raceway as part of the American Le Mans Series 12 Hours of Sebring.

This weekend’s race is the first of 12 for the Atlantic Championship in 2009, with a $1 million payday awaiting the series champion at season’s end and a $50,000 prize for this weekend’s race winner.

If times from Tuesday’s promoter test day at Sebring are any indication, 2008 Star Mazda champion John Edwards may be the man to beat on Friday afternoon. Edwards topped the Tuesday time charts with a best lap at 1:53.957 in the No. 36 for Newman Wachs Racing. The 18-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio returns to the Atlantic Championship this season after a one-year absence during which he claimed the Star Mazda title. Two years ago, Edwards became the youngest driver in Atlantic history at the age of 16 and scored a career-best result of second at Toronto.

Edwards is joined on the two-car NWR team by defending Atlantic champion Markus Niemela. Niemela posted the sixth-quickest time in Tuesday testing, but the Finnish racer will undoubtedly be heard from frequently throughout the weekend and the entire season.

The driver who finished just behind Niemela in the 2008 championship standings, Jonathan Bomarito will once again pilot the familiar black and yellow No. 26 machine for Mathiasen Motorsports. Bomarito led the series last year with three victories and looks to be back on pace for the season opener with a second-quickest lap at 1:54.255 in Tuesday’s test.

As is always the case in the Atlantic Championship, the 2009 field features a number of talented rookies looking to make names for themselves in North America’s longest-running open-wheel driver development series. Belgian Frederic Vervisch is one such driver. The former champion of ATS Formula 3 and Asian Formula 3 posted the third-quickest time of the test at 1:54.296 aboard the No. 17 Genoa Racing entry. He and Edwards have a "history" from Formula Renault having been involved in a spectacular three car high speed wreck 2 1/2 years ago as Vervisch flipped multiple times down the backstretch at the Salzburgring in Austria.


Series newcomer Borja Garcia of Valencia, Spain completed the top five in Tuesday testing with a lap at 1:54.873 in the No. 6 CJ Consulting entry from Condor Motorsports. Garcia—who previously competed in GP2, the World Series by Renault and Superleague in Europe—quickly got the attention of his fellow Atlantic competitors last week in testing at Palm Beach International Raceway, where he topped the time charts for all four sessions in the two-day test.

Just behind Niemela, who posted a time of 1:55.020, was another driver returning to the Atlantic Championship after a one-year absence, Matt Lee of Syosset, N.Y. Lee turned a best lap at 1:55.157 in the No. 2 machine for Jensen MotorSport.

Jonathan Summerton, who finished third in the 2008 Atlantic Championship standings wrapped up a deal with Genoa Racing over the weekend was eighth fastest on the day at 1:55.283.

Team Stargate Worlds teammates Simona De Silvestro and Frankie Muniz completed the top 10 in testing. British racer James Winslow, who was announced as driver of the No. 12 Conquest Racing entry on Monday, posted the 11th-fastest lap of the test at 1:56.904.

Garcia’s Condor Motorsports teammate, French rookie Max Lefevre, was 12th in testing at 1:57.395 in the No. 7 DOTMOBIL machine. Lefevre won the 2008 West European Formula Renault Challenger Cup title, as well as the 2007 French Formula Ford championship.

Atlantic Season underway with First Test

Second-quickest in the first Atlantic test session was our own 2008 Star Mazda champion John Edwards in the No. 36 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development/Nuclear Clean Air Energy/NEI/Entergy machine for Newman Wachs Racing. John posted a best lap at 1:07.556 in Wednesday’s morning session, which turned out to be the session in which every driver at the test turned in their quickest time.

"It seems like we were second all the time, almost every run, even there at the end when the track was hotter," said Edwards. "Garcia and I both put new tires on and we were timing him, and we were still about a tenth (of a second) off. It was pretty frustrating, but there at the end we were a little closer. Obviously, on the time sheets, you won’t see that because of the way the track was. It was a lot slower. I’m really happy with the test. We got a lot done and we were obviously quick the whole time. Maybe not quickest, but they’re not awarding any points here, so we’re not extremely worried about that, but it would have been nice to top the charts at least once. We’re looking forward to Sebring. It’s completely different than this, very bumpy and very fast, as opposed to sort of medium speed and extremely smooth here. It’s going to be a completely different game there and I’m looking forward to it."

Defending series champion Markus Niemela made it two Newman Wachs Racing machines in the top-three spots. The Finn logged a best lap at 1:07.881 in the No. 1 Mr. Jones/Nuclear Clean Air Energy/Entergy/NWR entry. Niemela just signed with the team last week and was still adjusting to his new surroundings in the series-sanctioned test.

1. Borja Garcia (R), No. 6 Condor Motorsports, 1:07.286.
2. John Edwards, No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing, 1:07.556.
3. Markus Niemela, No. 1 Newman Wachs Racing, 1:07.881.
4. Frankie Muniz, No. 77 Team Stargate Worlds, 1:07.919.
5. Harald Schlegelmilch (R), No. 21 Conquest Racing, 1:08.116.
6. Frederic Vervisch (R), No. 17 Genoa Racing, 1:08.155.
7. Jonathan Bomarito, No. 26 Mathiasen Motorsports, 1:08.268.
8. Matt Lee, No. 22 Jensen MotorSport, 1:08.322.
9. Simona De Silvestro, No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds, 1:08.344.
10. Alexander Rossi (R), No. 16 Genoa Racing, 1:08.366.
11. Max Lefevre (R), No. 7 Condor Motorsports, 1:08.600.
12. Michael Nacol (R), No. 2 Jensen MotorSport, 1:11.124.