Quaker State Racing/Tony Pedregon Seattle Wrap Up
Quaker State Racing Funny Car Pedregon Racing NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pacific Raceways Elimination Notes & Quotes Tony Pedregon Falls in the First Round Quaker State Racing Improves His Performance KENT, Wash. (July 25, 2004) Tony Pedregon, driver of the Quaker State Racing Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car, fell in the first round of eliminations to Eric Medlin during todayıs NHRA national event at Pacific Raceways. Pedregon, the reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car World Champion, ran a 4.891-second elapsed time at 316.97 mph, but it wasnıt enough to catch Medlinıs 4.948-second elapsed time at 314.75 mph. The California resident talked about his day. ³The car definitely performed the way we wanted it too,² Pedregon said. ³(Crew chief) Dickie Venables did the right things, and made the car almost perfect. Iım a little disappointed in the way I staged the car. It was just a little driver error. We live in a world of tenths, and thousandths of a second, and thatıs what often determines the outcome of a close race. At this point, my responsibility is to locate and understand what I did wrong. ³My mental preparation will definitely be better for Sonoma (Calif.),² Pedregon added. ³We didnıt lose a lot of ground overall, so there is no reason to panic. We adapted almost better than any other team, with the drastic change in conditions. We know this car has just as much potential, even with the rule changes that have been made, so Iım quite happy about that. We need to get the consistency, and weıre really working on that area. Iım discouraged a little bit short term, but the long-term prospects for this team are quite bright. We go to the next race, like a champion, and see if we can come out on top.² PedregonRacing.com