Cruz Pedregon Day One Wrap Up From Brainerd
Advance Auto Parts Racing Nitro Funny Car Pedregon Racing NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway Friday Qualifying Notes & Quotes Cruz Pedregon Drives to 15th After First Day Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car Poised to Move Up BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 13, 2004) Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Racing Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car drove to the 15th position during todayıs first round of qualifying activity for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Pedregon, who clocked in a 5.434-second lap at 246.08 mph in his first pass, hopes to jump into the top half of the field with a strong effort tomorrow. ³The first run looked real good,² Pedregon said. ³We had really good early numbers we were one of the top teams in that area. We then spun the tires around half-track, the car got out of shape, so I just shut it off. ³We were a little off on that second run,² Pedregon continued. ³The car went into a severe tire shake. I backed off on the throttle, got back on it and did that twice to recover the car. Unfortunately, it also put a cylinder out at that point and we were running on seven. The engine didnıt like that, breaking a rod. That caused quite a bit of engine damage.² Pedregon has been on quite a streak, wracking up seven-straight, top-eight qualifying efforts, dating back to Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.) over this past Memorial Day weekend. ³It was a little disappointing,² Pedregon said. ³That Friday night run had been our bread-and-butter run. We were just a little off on it. Anytime you donıt make a good run on the first one, you want to back off a little on the second. Maybe we backed off a little too much on that last one. The track is in excellent shape and weıre going to go out tomorrow and Iım confident weıll get this car fixed.² Advance Auto Parts Racing Notebook: COOLER TEMPERATURES: A cold front has moved through the middle part of Minnesota, bringing unseasonably cool conditions to Brainerd International Raceway. It may be an advantage for Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car, as they try to capture an eighth-straight, top-half of the field qualifying performance. ³I think theyıll be some cloud cover tomorrow,² Pedregon noted. ³Unlike most tracks where itıs very warm on Saturdays, I think weıll make a good run and (Crew chief) Wes (Cerny) will have a better read on things. ³I hope we can get back into the top half of the field tomorrow,² Pedregon added. ³There have been a lot of teams who have won from many different qualifying positions this year. But weıre going to focus on tomorrow first.² PedregonRacing.com