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Stamford's 'Queen Bee' Gets Behind The Wheel Of Her Dream Dragster

STAMFORD, Conn. — When Sarah Edwards went to her first dragster race at age 12, she was instantly hooked.

Stamford resident Sarah Edwards recently made her debut as a professional dragster racer.

Stamford resident Sarah Edwards recently made her debut as a professional dragster racer.

Photo Credit: Contributed

“When I left, I said, ‘That’s what I want to do one day’,” Edwards, a Stamford resident and Trinity Catholic High School graduate, told Daily Voice.

One car, in particular, grabbed her attention — the Queen of Diamonds dragster. It could race at a whopping 300 mph.

After graduating from high school, Edwards followed her own racing dreams with the Queen Bee. But, now in her 20s, she has brought the dream full-circle — and back to that first race.

In October 2015, Al Hanna asked Edwards whether she wanted to race the second iteration of the dream car she saw at that first race — the Queen of Diamonds II. As team owner of the car, he wanted to put her in the driver's seat. She happily accepted.

Edwards tested the car from October to November 2015 — and one month in 2016. On May 21, she took to the track in Norwalk, Ohio, for the first time as a professional racer of the ‘Queen of Diamonds II’ dragster.

The race was also a first in other ways — a new track, a new experience of racing against a dragster in another lane and her first night pass. But despite the unknowns, Edwards went into the experience with an open mind.

“I have to say I wasn’t nervous or sacred,” she said. “I was very curious as to how everything was going to play out.”

But the race didn’t go off without a hitch. Just as Edwards approached her shutdown, however, the lights went off. Still, she managed to stop and end the race safely.

“My team had joked that the training wheels were officially off, and I had what is called baptism under fire with my jet car,” Edwards said.

Just six races into her professional career, she has won two races — while looking forward to her next and many more. And, when asked what she would like to race next, Edwards said she's happy living her dream in the moment.

“My whole dream has come full circle,” Edwards said. “I don’t know how it gets better than that.”

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