POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 16) -- A few hours after securing his second Funny Car championship, Cruz Pedregon added a perfect exclamation point to his season with his third straight national event win. Pedregon used a .058- to .109-second reaction time advantage and turned it into a big holeshot victory over veteran Ron Capps, clicking the 1,000-foot timers with a 4.087 at 303.30 mph to Capps' 4.078 at 304.53 mph

"You know, we were lucky enough to clinch the championship in Round 1 and you would think the pressure would have lifted a little after that but we had to keep racing and it was just one hitter after another," Pedregon said. "I wasn't even done with all the champion stuff and before you know it we're heading back up to race John Force. We beat John and get one of his team cars with Mike Neff, who was running strong all weekend, and then we get Capps. It was brutal.

"I'm worn out. There was so much leading up to this race and so much happened today, I feel like I don't have any emotion left in me. I can tell you this, I have the best crew chief in the business with Rahn Tobler and he's only been tuning Funny Cars for a little over a year. I have the best teammate in the world with my brother Tony, and I have a hard-working crew that always gives me a great racecar."

Pedregon opened the day's racing with a 4.142-second, 301.47-mph win over Jerry Toliver, who smoked his tires. He then watched all the other championship contenders fall by the wayside in the same round with his younger brother Tony, the outgoing champion, eliminating Robert Hight to keep the crown with Pedregon Racing.

After a championship presentation and a few quick media interviews, Cruz was back to work with another titanic race against 14-time champ Force. The two put on a great drag race with Pedregon eking out a 4.165 to 4.209 win.

Semifinal foe Neff fell a little easier, smoking his tires midway down the course, while Pedregon powered to a 4.162, setting up the final-round race with Capps.

"We made it that far and I was pumped up for Capps," Pedregon said. "I really wanted to finish it and I had a good light and just carried it home from there. What a way to end the year. This is the best day of my professional career without a doubt."



Media contact: Rob Geiger at 281-354-5769

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POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 16) -- Sixteen years after winning his first NHRA title, Funny Car veteran Cruz Pedregon returned to the top of the drag racing world early Sunday afternoon after advancing to the quarterfinal round of the season-ending 44th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway.

"I'm stunned," an emotional Pedregon said moments after his brother Tony Pedregon eliminated the last racer within reach. "It's awesome Tony got that win right there because I'm standing here thinking of my dad (Frank) and that I hope he's proud of his sons. I was 18 when he died and Tony was 16 and now we each have two world championships. We've come a long way for a couple of Hispanic kids from Chino."

Cruising through the regular season with a steady if not spectacular racecar, Pedregon entered the six-race Countdown to 1 playoffs a solid fourth in the POWERade rankings. That's when he and crew chief Rahn Tobler turned on the jets in the Advance Auto Parts Toyota Solara and rose to the top of the class, powering to three final rounds in the first five playoff events and winning the last two races outright to gain frontrunner status.

Proving it's better to enter the final race of the year with a lead, however slim it might have been (12 points), Pedregon kept the pressure on the other four drivers still within reach by starting off the Sunday's eliminations with a big round win over Jerry Toliver. That single victory immediately knocked Tony Pedregon and "Fast" Jack Beckman out of the equation. Moments later, second-place Tim Wilkerson fouled out, leaving just Robert Hight with a chance to spoil the long-awaited championship celebration.

"When Tony beat Robert it was like I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was I really the champ? Was that it? There must've been someone else with a mathematical chance, right?

"I love the Countdown format. Let's be perfectly up front, if it wasn't for the Countdown then Tim Wilkerson would be the champion. He's a great racer and deserving of this trophy, but we got it done under the rules that are there and here we are. It's impossible to describe this feeling. I'm just all over the place emotionally, and I still need to race.

"I went over to John Force this morning. Man, we have our battles in the sponsor hunts but as a person and as a racer, there's no one I admire more. He was there when I was hurt, he was there when I was on the outs. He's a class guy and a racer and for him to be one of the first guys down here to congratulate me is very special."

Pedregon also lauded his crew chief Rahn Tobler, who has only been with Pedregon Racing for slightly more than a year. Prior to joining the team, all of Tobler's experience was gained in the Top Fuel class.

"What's he been able to do with this car and this team is nothing short of amazing," Pedregon said. "Without Rahn and this crew, I wouldn't be champ. There're also a million sponsors to thank. Advance Auto Parts was with me even when things weren't so great. Snap-on Tools, the Palms Hotel and Casino, Herzog, Great Stuff, Sioux City Trailer, Toyota, Q Racing, and all the others. This is for them.

"My wife Sharon carried me through the lowest points of my career. Joe Pisano taught me how to drive all those years ago. My brother Tony is my teammate and partner. His crew is very important to our success also.

"We'll celebrate later. Right now we got to get back to work."


Media contact: Rob Geiger at 281-354-5769

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POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 11) -- One year ago, Tony Pedregon arrived at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals with a fairly comfortable 91-point lead over his nearest Funny Car rival. After a frantic weekend, he escaped as the new champion by less than one round of action.

"For what ever reason they changed their strategy to try and just preserve their lead," said Cruz Pedregon, Tony's older brother who holds the top spot in the points this time through. "They ended up barely qualifying, losing Round 1, and having to sweat it out all day. It turned out okay but we learned from that, and it's why we're not going to change anything we've been doing. We're going out in a blaze of glory one way or the other."

Considering he's won the last two events in a row, Cruz's strategy remains sound. Exhibiting the signs of true champions, his Advance Auto Parts race team is peaking at the perfect time, racing through the first five events of the NHRA's playoffs with a class-leading 12-3 race day mark.

"We've raced with nothing to lose and kind of just trusted ourselves," Pedregon said. "We've been going for it and it's paid off. We're not going to pull back at all. We may be in the points lead, and that's very exciting for a bunch of different reasons, but I still feel like we have to push ourselves to the edge if we want to win it all."

Cruz arrives at Pomona Raceway in a much tighter race than brother Tony experienced one year ago. He's just 12 points up on Tim Wilkerson, 39 ahead of Robert Hight, 62 in front of Tony, and 64 up on "Fast" Jack Beckman.

"It's scary close," Cruz said. "The two guys that are the biggest threats worry me for completely different reasons. Wilkerson is generally great when it's warmer and it's supposed to be warm this weekend. Robert is back there lurking. He won this race last year and he'll have the entire might of John Force Racing behind him, including three blockers on Sunday that would love to take everyone else out. It's gonna be brutal. The champion this year will definitely have earned the crown.

"I'm so glad we run Thursday because I can't wait to get back in the car. The first thing to do every race is qualify well and with the points as close as they are, the championship can literally be won or lost in qualifying."

After so much success very early in his career -- capped by the 1992 championship -- the 25-time national event winner has learned over some leaner years that any success at the highest level of straight-line racing must be enjoyed to its fullest extent.

"This has been an incredibly exciting time for us," Pedregon said. "I'm really happy for Rahn (Tobler, crew chief). I'm happy for the guys. We've had meetings where I've just reminded everyone to enjoy these moments because they're hard to come by. Win or loss, this has been a great season for us and I truly feel as though we're just hitting our stride. I'm already fired-up for next year."


Media Contact: Rob Geiger, Geiger Media, 832-971-9345.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2008
Media Contacts:
Sophia Kokonas, JRL Group, (847) 291-7080 x201, sophia@jrlgroup.com
Hi-and low-resolution photos available upon request.


CRUZ PEDREGON
SONOMA ADVANCE
EVENT:
NHRA Fram Autolite Nationals

TRACK NAME / LOCATION:
Infineon Raceway, Sonoma CA
www.Infineonraceway.com
DATE:
July 25-27

SERIES:
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Nitro Funny Car Division

TEAM MEMBERS:
Driver/Owner: Cruz Pedregon
Crew Chief: Rahn Tobler

The Advance Auto Parts Solara Team is Rolling Through the West Coast Swing

With Cruz Pedregon and the rest of the Advance Auto Parts Solara team on a bit of a hot run they are looking forward to this week’s 21st annual Fram Autolite Nationals taking place at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma CA. “We feel optimistic going into the weekend” said The Cruzer, “I really like the car we have now; a win is just waiting to happen.”

The team has been on a roll making it to two semi-final appearances in the past three races moving them up from fifth place to fourth place in the POWERade Points Standings. They are definitely in position to finish the western swing with a good push. “We’re enjoying every minute of this” said Cruz, “it takes a lot of hard work to get to this position.”

The Cruzer has won this event twice before, the last being in 1998, and being from California himself there is the sense of home field advantage. “It’s close to my hometown, and we have a lot of really great fans here that we want to do well for” he mentioned.

When it comes to adapting to the 1000 foot mark instead of the quarter-mile the team goes into every race with the same mentality. They still need to get off the line quick, keep it in the groove, and keep all the cylinders pumping. Cruz states; “It’s the same strategy whether it’s a quarter-mile or one-thousand feet: get to the finish line first.”

Schedule of Events:
POWERade Point Standings
Position Driver Points Change
1 Tim Wilkerson
1009 -
2 Tony Pedregon
822 +1
3 Robert Hight
821 -1
4 Ashley Force
772 -
4 Cruz Pedregon
772 +1
6 Ron Capps
723 +1
7 John Force
705 -1
8 Gary Densham
704 -1
9 Mike Neff
655 -
10 Jack Beckman
581 -

Friday, July 25
Gates open – 7:30am
Round 1 Qualifying – 4:00pm
Round 2 Qualifying – 7:15pm

Saturday, July 26
Gates open – 7:30am
Round 3 Qualifying – 12:00pm
Round 4 Qualifying – 3:00pm

Sunday, July 27
Gates open – 9:00am
Pre-race Ceremonies – 10:00am
Final Eliminations 11:00am start time

ESPN2 Schedule
July 26
6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Qualifying


July 27
7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Eliminations

July 30
3:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m.
Repeat Eliminations