No one would mistake Tony Pedregon for Jim Nabors, the actor who played Gomer Pyle on the television show of the same name, but that didn't stop Pedregon from being surprised at the outcome of Funny Car qualifying during the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle.

“We're making a big transition coming from a mile high up, so everybody is having to change their combination to compensate to race here,” said Pedregon. “I think most of the teams are one or two runs away from getting the set up right.”

Pedregon wasn't surprised he held onto the top spot, improving on his late afternoon Friday run by a thousandth of a second, but he was surprised no one posted a bigger challenge.

No one would mistake Tony Pedregon for Jim Nabors, the actor who played Gomer Pyle on the television show of the same name, but that didn't stop Pedregon from being surprised at the outcome of Funny Car qualifying during the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle.

“We're making a big transition coming from a mile high up, so everybody is having to change their combination to compensate to race here,” said Pedregon. “I think most of the teams are one or two runs away from getting the set up right.”

Pedregon wasn't surprised he held onto the top spot, improving on his late afternoon Friday run by a thousandth of a second, but he was surprised no one posted a bigger challenge.

“It was a great effort in qualifying and really reminds me of our Chicago race,” Pedregon said when ask about his day. “That was really the first race that we put a string of runs together. My expectations are the same that they were in Chicago. I would be disappointed with anything less than winning this race.”

Pedregon is confident crew chief Dickie Venables has the set up to get down the track. Pedregon, driving for John Force back in 1992, lost his crew chief, John Medlin, on this same weekend to a medical procedure and it was Venables who stepped in and led the team to victory.

“I knew we would have a good setup coming in here. I knew Dickie makes a lot of power at sea level. Tomorrow if the weatherman is right, it will be a little bit cooler and I feel better going into those conditions versus going into hotter temps.”

What Pedregon is hoping for is the racing stays on pace and the most challenging aspect of the race track, a setting sun, doesn't come into play.

There is a point in the day where you absolutely cannot see,” Pedregon said of the late afternoon condition that can literally blind a driver. “I hope they stay on schedule. I guess I would like to have that problem where the sun is staring you in the face.” 

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