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STELLAR PANEL OF RACING INDUSTRY VETERANS TO SPEAK AT 2008 PRI INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE IN ORLANDO, DEC. 10
LAGUNA BEACH, CA - One of the strongest line-up of panelists ever will greet attendees at the PRI Industry Roundtable taking place at the 21st Annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, in Orlando, FL, on Wed., Dec. 10, 2008, the day prior to the start of the three-day event, the largest racing trade show in the world. Moderated once again by FOX TV Racing Analyst Jeff Hammond, this year's Industry Roundtable will feature:
The Industry Roundtable, created by Smokey Yunick, one of racing's all-time legendary engine builders, provides attendees of the PRI Trade Show with a candid and honest forum to get frank answers to direct questions concerning the most critical challenges facing motorsports today. "It's the best discussion of the state of racing you will find all year, with a celebrated panel of motorsports figures," stated John Kilroy, editor of Performance Racing Industry magazine, and organizer of the PRI Industry Roundtable. "It is our tradition to present a diverse and exceptional group of racing experts, and this year, we feel this group of industry veterans are among one of our best Roundtables, and well-qualified to address a number of topics prepared by both Moderator Jeff Hammond and the audience.
Everything happens here first! Reaching more than 45,000 show attendees at the 2007 show in Orlando, the three-day PRI Trade Show is timed so that racing retailers, engine and car builders, wholesaler/distributors, professional race teams and other industry participants can shop the latest new product introductions and have them in inventory for the next racing season. This year, Dale Inman serves as Opening Day Breakfast Speaker and more industry social events are on deck, as Budweiser sponsors the PRI Happy Hour on Thursday night. Also, a full slate of motorsports business seminars is scheduled for Friday and Saturday mornings, and the Snap-on All-Stars of Karting race runs Thursday night, Dec. 11, featuring pro drivers, such as 2008 Indy 500 Rookie-of-the-year Ryan Hunter-Reay, competing on a specially constructed track directly outside the convention center. For more information, please contact: Pete Evanow 21stAnnual PRI Trade Show, Dec 11-13, 2008 pevanow@performanceracing.com 714.289.2242 Posted on 09 Dec 2008 by admin
Cruz Pedregon honored by nation's motorsports press
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 3) -- New Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon has been selected to the top tier of the 39th annual All-America Auto Racing Team alongside motorsports giants Jimmie Johnson, Scott Dixon, Carl Edwards, Helio Castroneves, Scott Pruitt, and fellow drag racer Tony Schumacher.
Named to the prestigious First Team by the 400-plus members of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA), Pedregon is now eligible for the Jerry Titus Award, given to the one driver that garnered the most in the seven different categories recognized by the AARWBA. That MVP will be named Jan. 10 at the official All-America Team ceremony in Ontario, Calif. "I'm honored and humbled to make the All-America Team," Pedregon said. "You always hear athletes complaining about the media but my experiences have always been real positive. We appreciate the exposure the media gives to Advance Auto Parts and the rest of our sponsors, in fact it's vital to our success, and we realize the value of the relationships we have with them. "It's especially gratifying to be named to the First Team. To see your name next to the NASCAR champ and the IRL champ and all the others that had such phenomenal seasons kind of reminds you that we accomplished something pretty special in 2008." Pedregon mastered the second year of the NHRA's playoff system -- the Countdown to 1. He began the six-race stretch with a strong runner-up finish in Charlotte, N.C., before closing out the year with a remarkable three straight wins in his Toyota Solara. Overall, his race day record of 37-20 added up perfectly for his second world title and first since 1992, when he upset drag racing legend John Force and ruined his sweep of the 1990s. "Just like the championship itself, being named to the All-America Team is something I will share with everyone on this team, especially our crew chief Rahn Tobler," Pedregon said. "I certainly didn't do this by myself." 2008 All-America Team FIRST TEAM Drag Racing: Cruz Pedregon, Tony Schumacher Open Wheel: Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon Stock Car: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson Road Racing: David Brabham/Scott Sharp, Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas Short Track: Jerry Coons Jr., Donny Schatz Touring Series: Justin Allgaier, Johnny Benson At Large: Jorg Bergmeister/Wolf Henzler, Raphael Matos SECOND TEAM Drag Racing: Jeg Coughlin, Tim Wilkerson Open Wheel: Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan Stock Car: Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch Road Racing: Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas, Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney, Lucas Luhr/Marco Werner (3-way tie) Short Track: Tracy Hines, Jason Meyers & Cole Whitt (tie) Touring Series: Ted Christopher, Benny Gordon At Large: Frank Manzo, Travis Pastrana HONORABLE MENTION Drag Racing: Greg Anderson, Spencer Massey Open Wheel: Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon Stock Car: none Road Racing: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O'Connell Short Track: Darrell Lanigan Touring Series: Eric Holmes, Matt Kobyluck At Large: Laurie Cannister, Rob MacCachren Posted on 03 Dec 2008 by admin
Back on top--Pedregon and Coughlin are NHRA champions again
Hey race fans!
Check out this great article about Cruz on Autoweek.com: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20081116/FREE/811169993 Go Pedregon Racing! Posted on 21 Nov 2008 by admin
Pedregon caps championship with Pomona victory
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 Posted on 17 Nov 2008 by admin
Sixteen years later, Cruz Pedregon wins second Funny Car championship
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 Posted on 17 Nov 2008 by admin
Family history colors Cruz Pedregon's plan of attack
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. Posted on 14 Nov 2008 by admin
The Advance Auto Parts Solara Team is Rolling Through the West Coast Swing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE tJuly 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 Posted on 16 Oct 2008 by admin
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