Tony Pedregon Finishes Season in Quarterfinals
Quaker State Racing Nitro Funny Car Pedregon Racing NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series 40th Anniversary Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals Pomona Raceway Elimination Notes & Quotes Tony Pedregon Ends 2004 in the Quarterfinals Quaker State Racing Moves Into Eighth For Final Points POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 14, 2004) The Quaker State Racing Nitro Funny Car of Tony Pedregon finalized the 2004 season with an appearance in the quarterfinals during todayıs 40th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway. In round number two, Pedregon took on Gary Scelzi, who laid down a 4.802-second elapsed time at 325.14 mph. Pedregon was unable to surpass Scelzi after breaking the tires loose at about half track. The 2003 POWERade Funny Car World Champion talked about his day. ³We lost the supercharger in that run,² Pedregon said. ³We really didnıt have the ability to test a lot this season, so that might of hurt a little. Since weıre a new team, weıre still trying to build up a good inventory of parts. Some of these things weıre going to keep to a minimum for next year. Weıre not as efficient as weıd like to be.² Pedregon blistered the Pomona Raceway quarter mile in the opening round, recording the second quickest elapsed time of the session at 4.766 seconds at 325.06 mph. The Chino Hills, Calif., resident faced Ron Capps, who drove to a 5.184-second lap at 227.11 mph. ³Believe it or not, we dropped a cylinder on that run,² Pedregon said. ³We pulled it back a little that round and still ran a 4.76. We were trying to read the conditions right and had a coil that worked, which meant it made more power.² Pedregon assessed his first season as a Funny Car team owner. ³We have a year under our belt now,² said Pedregon, who started his own team at the beginning of this season. ³We did a lot of good things this season, just as I anticipated. This was also Dickie Venables first year as a crew chief and he did an excellent job as I knew he would. He just needed an opportunity. ³I think weıre right on track for a first year team,² Pedregon continued. ³We set our goals and achieved them which was to finish in the top 10 in points (Eighth). I understand the business and Iım a very good sport. I think weıve done a lot of important things and I think it made a difference with everyone we worked with this season. Next year the goals change, but Iım real happy we made it through the year with minimal parts breakages and very few oil downs.² PedregonRacing.com