Daryl Ehrlich in “Problem Child.”  (Mark King photo)

Words by Bill Mayhall
Photos by Mark King and James Drew 

To say Eddie Knox and Daryl Ehrlich have a flair for the dramatic would be putting it mildly.

Knox, the owner, and Ehrlich, the driver, of the Top Fuel drag boat “Problem Child” could have taken it easy during the Top Fuel Hydro Final of Sunday’s Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series NAPA Auto Parts World Finals at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix. After all, their final round opponent, driver Mike Robbins and “Liquid Quicker”, was mechanically unable to make the final run.

A mere ‘breaking of the beam’ – a simple breeze down Firebird Lake would be all “Problem Child” would need to pick up its second consecutive win in drag boat racing’s premier event.

But that’s not how “Problem Child” rolls. Instead, the duo of Knox and Ehrlich decided to go all out. In doing so, “Problem Child” set a new elapsed time record with a run of 3.597 and 251.593 miles per hour to thrill the sun-baked crowd.

“We ran it hard anyways for the crowd,” Knox said. “It was a great crowd all weekend, and there was no way we were going to let them down.”

When asked about recording his second NAPA World Finals win, Knox commented, “Our set-up seems to really like the density of the water here…It’s really the best place there is in drag boat racing.”

Knox and Erhlich might have gotten their all-out approach for the finale from Joel Weber, driver of the “What a Tomato Too” Top Alcohol Hydro boat. In a final-round showdown with Mike Fry’s “Mean Streak,” Weber ran a record ET of 4.39 and a sizzling 205.987 to edge out Fry, who was speedy himself at 4.427 and 199.946.