Advance Auto Parts/Cruz Pedregon Brainerd Pre-Race

> Advance Auto Parts Racing Nitro Funny Car
> 
> Pedregon Racing
> NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
> Brinaerd (Minn.) International Raceway
> Pre-Race Notes & Quotes
> 
> Cruz Pedregon Holds Fond Memories of Brainerd
> Advance Auto Parts Team Looks to Keep Momentum
> 
> BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 12, 2004) - Cruz Pedregon won the 1992 NHRA Funny Car
> World Championship, becoming the only driver to dent John Force's 12-year
> dominance of the category until last year's triumph by his brother and now
> teammate, Tony Pedregon.
> 
> That's well documented. What's not often mentioned is how Pedregon completed
> his trek to the title. That's where Brainerd comes in, as the current Advance
> Auto Parts Monte Carlo driver reminisced about the string of five-straight
> victories that swept Pedregon to his first ever World Championship, and how
> this year's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway could
> turn out.
> 
> "Thinking back to the 1992 season, I'll never forget it," Pedregon said.
> "Brainerd was the place we started our terror of the category. Our victory at
> Brainerd started a succession of five-straight National Event victories.
> Literally, it was the main reason we won the championship.
> 
> "We're not out of the hunt for sure, and I think Brainerd poses a great
> opportunity for the Advance Auto Parts Funny Car team to springboard into the
> U.S. Nationals," continued Pedregon, on talking about this year's team. "And
> no matter how you've performed throughout the season, if you can go out and
> win the U.S. Nationals, it means you've been successful."
> 
> NHRA switched the schedule around at the beginning of this season, allowing
> for another race - Memphis Motorsports Park - to lie in between Brainerd and
> Indianapolis. Despite the change, Pedregon still knows the importance of
> running well this weekend, and how it plays into the rest of the season.
> 
> "Brainerd has always been considered the start of the final stretch run,"
> Pedregon said. "There are a still eight races left, but this seems like the
> place a team really wants to build momentum. Typically, in the past, you go to
> Brainerd, complete a two-day test session at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and
> then head right into the biggest race of the year in the U.S. Nationals. This
> year we have an added bonus of going to Memphis, which is another very
> important race. Every race is important - and there is no race more important
> than another - but definitely, we are looking forward to these next two
> weekends."
> 
> Cruz talked about his team's recent surge, which has seen two final-round
> appearances (Denver and Seattle), a semifinal round run at (Gateway
> International in Madison, Ill.) and seven-straight, top half of the field
> qualifying efforts.
> 
> "We would like to continue what we started back at Columbus, where we earned
> our first number-one qualifying spot of the season," Pedregon said. "We've
> been qualifying well, taking home top-five efforts in six of the last seven
> races, and we want to continue our move through the field."
> 
> Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is based in Roanoke, Va., and is the second largest
> auto parts chain in the nation. With over 2,500 stores in 39 states, Puerto
> Rico and the Virgin Islands, the company serves both the do-it-yourself and
> professional installer markets. Additional information about the company,
> employment opportunities, services, as well as on-line purchase of parts and
> accessories can be found on the company's web site at
> www.advanceautoparts.com.
> 
> Advance Auto Parts Racing Notebook:
> 
> GETTING INTO THE GROOVE: Cruz Pedregon is excited about the possibilities for
> the rest of the season. His Advance Auto Parts Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car has
> been very consistent, recently winning rounds in a variety of fashions.
> 
> Pedregon took a minute to reflect on recent success.
> 
> "If you look at the round wins we've had, and the fact we've navigated through
> some adversity, it's a telling thing," Pedregon said. "We've had some tough
> rounds. We've experienced engine damage and recovered from that, been able to
> win the close races and have posted some of the top times at each of the last
> few events. We posted those great times in race trim, which tells me a lot
> about this team."
> 
> Pedregon's numbers have been impressive. Posting a first round elapsed time of
> 4.854 seconds (the fourth quickest time of the weekend) during the most recent
> Fram Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and a
> 4.908-second elapsed time in the second round of eliminations at Pacific
> Raceways - that Sunday's sixth quickest pass.
> 
> "It gets everyone excited over here because we're not just winning the
> tire-smoke battles," Pedregon noted. "We have won those as well, and have been
> able to get the car down the track, but the fact we've been able to make those
> quick and fast runs as well, shows me a lot. We have been getting the round
> victories. No matter how, we have just been getting the job done. Those are
> the things I look at in a team that has everything in order. We're a team to
> be dealt with and I've wanted that for a long time now. It's finally here and
> we plan on keeping it."
> 
> PedregonRacing.com
> 
> Contact:
> David Harris, Cox Marketing Group
> Media Relations Manager
> Pedregon Racing
> (704) 799-2114 - office
        (704) 756-9301 - mobile