NMRA Coyote Stock racer Drew Lyons is a pretty humble dude. However, don’t mistake his humble disposition for a pushover. When he comes to a race, he’ll give anyone the shirt off his back, but when the tree drops, being nice is out the window. At the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing, Lyons proved that he is definitely the one to beat now in Coyote Stock.

He had transmission issues at Norwalk, after winning at Atlanta and MIR. “I made it to Indy in between Norwalk and Joliet after freshening up some transmission components, and made a couple shakedown hits to make sure everything was shifting properly,” Lyons says. The transmission was a little wore out at Norwalk, so he had to go through it between Norwalk and Joliet.

This is usually how Drew Lyons’ Coyote Stock car leaves the line. He and crew chief Bruce Hemminger had to focus on the car’s chassis set-up and tire pressure in order to get the car to leave at Joliet.

At the Super Bowl, Lyons and crew chief Bruce Hemminger mostly worked on the car’s track settings. The track was a little tricky so they dialed in the car’s suspension and tire pressure. “ I ran one really good pass in qualifying and was able to qualify at the top spot,” Lyons says. On a 17-car ladder, the number 1 qualifier gets two bye rounds in that arrangement, which is very advantageous in Coyote Stock.

He was happy about his bye runs because in Coyote Stock, the class’ times are so tight that just a little blip on the starting line, or a missed shift, and you’re on the trailer. “The one I was really worried about was Steve Gifford since he beat me in round one last year at Joliet on a holeshot. Not to take away from any other Coyote Stock racer, but Gifford can cut a light for an old guy. And Darin (Hendricks) was running really strong, too. It was cool to have two Indiana guys in the final,” Lyons adds. In the end, Lyons was able to win the race, and his Super Bowl match-up with Chevrolet Performance Stock racer Glenn Pushis to give the Super Bowl win to the NMRA…again.

With his win at Joliet, Lyons pretty much has the Coyote Stock championship on lock. That alone is a foreign concept to Lyons. “Not long ago I would’ve laughed in your face if you would’ve said I was in the running for a championship,” Lyons says. That line of thinking comes from Lyons’ racing past. In his Pure Street days, he was lucky to get out of the first round, and more often than not, he was headed home before the event was even over. We think he’s found a home in Coyote Stock.

Lyons’ Super Bowl match-up was Chevrolet Performance Stock racer Glenn Pushis, and even though Lyons’ spun slightly at the hit, he was still able to pull out the win, clinching the Super Bowl victory for the NMRA. “As far as working on the car at Joliet, we didn’t really have to do much, which is really nice because I don’t like working on the car in 90-plus degree weather.”

The biggest thing now for Lyons and Hemminger is to get the car to leave when the track isn’t there from a starting line standpoint. That is what the boys will be working on during testing ahead of the NMRA World Finals at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. “Ideally, it would be good to have that data for next year since I haven’t had any issues at Bowling Green,” Lyons says. After all, Bowling Green is the site of his famous wheelstand into 3rd gear.

At this year’s World Finals Lyons will be looking to seal the Coyote Stock championship, and when he does, don’t expect that humble disposition to change. Lyons hasn’t forgotten his racing past, and that keeps him grounded. It’s usually his front wheels that are up in the air.