TONY PEDREGON RATES TODAY'S FUNNY CAR CLASS AS BEST EVER
Mon, 2008-08-11 10:27
If Tony Pedregon becomes a grandfather, he’ll have some stories to tell.
The two-time world champion will spin yarns about the tough days of his championship defense season. This weekend during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., he added another chapter to story time as he captured his fourth national-event victory of the season and advanced to second place in the POWERade point standings with a final-round victory over Jack Beckman.
The triumph marked Pedregon's 40th career victory, his first at BIR, and his first final-round appearance at this venue since a runner-up back in 1996. Pedregon became just the second Funny Car driver in the history of the sport to reach 40 national-event victories. If Tony Pedregon becomes a grandfather, he’ll have some stories to tell.
The two-time world champion will spin yarns about the tough days of his championship defense season. This weekend during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., he added another chapter to story time as he captured his fourth national-event victory of the season and advanced to second place in the POWERade point standings with a final-round victory over Jack Beckman.
The triumph marked Pedregon's 40th career victory, his first at BIR, and his first final-round appearance at this venue since a runner-up back in 1996. Pedregon became just the second Funny Car driver in the history of the sport to reach 40 national-event victories.
"This is probably one of the toughest eras to be racing in," Pedregon said. "It's bad timing on my part, but we're surviving and we're very fortunate to be winning races. I had never won a race here in Brainerd. I was runner-up when I drove for Force so this is a big achievement for me to be able to pull the win off today. There's never a bad time to win, but we realize we need to get ourselves back in that second spot and I think we've done that. All the points will be critical from this point on."
Pedregon entered Sunday's eliminations as the sixth quickest driver and waded his way through eliminations at the expense of Melanie Troxel, John Force and a red-lighting Beckman.
"Every round was a big challenge," Pedregon said. "Probably the toughest race, without question, was racing Force. You can't cut him any slack. People say he's old and he's lost it. I'm not buying it - he told me that 10 years ago. He's a great competitor and it was a tough race just like I thought. But so was Beckman. A little more time in the seat and he's (Beckman) going to be better.
"Sometimes you force them into making mistakes when your car's running good and our car performed well today. I'm just happy to win a race here. We had great conditions, and we put a smile on these people's faces. A lot of good, close racing, just so tough mentally on the drivers, but we're in the business of entertainment. For us, the racers, it's all about nuts and bolts, and oil and spark plugs and filters. But it's really a form of entertainment, and I think we did a good job of being able to pull this off."
Pedregon's win ties him with Tim Wilkerson for the most in the category this season. Chevy Funny Car drivers have also combined for a class leading 10 victories this year, the most ever by Chevy Funny Cars in a single season.
"I have to have a certain amount of confidence and I have to remind myself of that," Pedregon said. "You take all this stuff away and I think I'm pretty humble because of where I come from, and how I was brought up. I look across the pit and see Don Schumacher's team and John Force's, and I was in the stands watching these guys - I was kid taking pictures of Force when I was 12 years old. That part of me will never change. But there's a competitive nature that was instilled in me when I was a child. I know what it's like to be on the top, and I know what it's like to be on the bottom and I don't want to go back there."
Tony Pedregon's victory enabled him to become only the second Funny Car driver to win 40 national events.
The two-time world champion will spin yarns about the tough days of his championship defense season. This weekend during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., he added another chapter to story time as he captured his fourth national-event victory of the season and advanced to second place in the POWERade point standings with a final-round victory over Jack Beckman.
The triumph marked Pedregon's 40th career victory, his first at BIR, and his first final-round appearance at this venue since a runner-up back in 1996. Pedregon became just the second Funny Car driver in the history of the sport to reach 40 national-event victories. If Tony Pedregon becomes a grandfather, he’ll have some stories to tell.
Tony Pedregon's victory enabled him to become only the second Funny Car driver to win 40 national events.
The two-time world champion will spin yarns about the tough days of his championship defense season. This weekend during the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., he added another chapter to story time as he captured his fourth national-event victory of the season and advanced to second place in the POWERade point standings with a final-round victory over Jack Beckman.
The triumph marked Pedregon's 40th career victory, his first at BIR, and his first final-round appearance at this venue since a runner-up back in 1996. Pedregon became just the second Funny Car driver in the history of the sport to reach 40 national-event victories.
"This is probably one of the toughest eras to be racing in," Pedregon said. "It's bad timing on my part, but we're surviving and we're very fortunate to be winning races. I had never won a race here in Brainerd. I was runner-up when I drove for Force so this is a big achievement for me to be able to pull the win off today. There's never a bad time to win, but we realize we need to get ourselves back in that second spot and I think we've done that. All the points will be critical from this point on."
Pedregon entered Sunday's eliminations as the sixth quickest driver and waded his way through eliminations at the expense of Melanie Troxel, John Force and a red-lighting Beckman.
"Every round was a big challenge," Pedregon said. "Probably the toughest race, without question, was racing Force. You can't cut him any slack. People say he's old and he's lost it. I'm not buying it - he told me that 10 years ago. He's a great competitor and it was a tough race just like I thought. But so was Beckman. A little more time in the seat and he's (Beckman) going to be better.
"Sometimes you force them into making mistakes when your car's running good and our car performed well today. I'm just happy to win a race here. We had great conditions, and we put a smile on these people's faces. A lot of good, close racing, just so tough mentally on the drivers, but we're in the business of entertainment. For us, the racers, it's all about nuts and bolts, and oil and spark plugs and filters. But it's really a form of entertainment, and I think we did a good job of being able to pull this off."
Pedregon's win ties him with Tim Wilkerson for the most in the category this season. Chevy Funny Car drivers have also combined for a class leading 10 victories this year, the most ever by Chevy Funny Cars in a single season.
"I have to have a certain amount of confidence and I have to remind myself of that," Pedregon said. "You take all this stuff away and I think I'm pretty humble because of where I come from, and how I was brought up. I look across the pit and see Don Schumacher's team and John Force's, and I was in the stands watching these guys - I was kid taking pictures of Force when I was 12 years old. That part of me will never change. But there's a competitive nature that was instilled in me when I was a child. I know what it's like to be on the top, and I know what it's like to be on the bottom and I don't want to go back there."
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