Cruz Pedregon Strong in Preseason Testing
PRESEASON TESTING NOTES & QUOTES Preseason Testing Firebird International Raceway Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car - Pedregon Racing NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Cruz Pedregon Strong in Preseason Testing Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car Ready For Pomona CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 1, 2005) Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car might be in mid-season form already. At least thatıs what the timing slips have indicated during Sundayıs preseason test session at Firebird International Raceway. Pedregon, coming off one of his most productive seasons in recent memory with four final-round appearances in 2004, clicked off a 4.748-second elapsed time at 312.02 mph, recording the fourth-quickest run of the day. None of the times recorded were full passes. ³Whatıs really encouraging is that we shut off early during that run,² Pedregon said. ³We planned it that way. (Crew chief) Wes (Cerny) has put together a great preseason game plan for this team and they are executing it well. The car has been absolutely flawless. ³Weıre having a great test,² Pedregon continued. ³In fact, this has been one of the best testing periods I have ever experienced since the early 1990s with Joe Gibbs Racing. Iıve driven with some great teams, but this has to be one of the best Iıve ever been associated with.² Pedregon also posted runs of 4.80 and 4.82 seconds throughout testing. The California resident feels this is a culmination from the past couple of years. ³Weıre starting to see some real results after all of the hard work this team has put in,² Pedregon said. ³Weıre not sitting here satisfied with what weıve accomplished this week because we do have a long ways to go. But it sure feels good to be ready for the 2005 season to begin.² Advance Auto Parts NHRA Testing Notebook: DRIVING FORCE: It may be worth noting that during Cruz Pedregonıs best run, he was two hundredths of a second quicker than John Force (4.05 to 4.07) to the 1,000-foot mark prior to shutting off. Forceıs 4.736-second elapsed time was quickest of the weekend. -PedregonRacing.com- Public Relations Contact: David Harris, Cox Marketing Group Account Manager davidh@coxmarketinggroup.com (704) 756-9301 - mobile Alti Perea, Cox Marketing Group Media Relations Representative (704) 779-3648 - mobile Pedregon Racing Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car Quaker State Nitro Funny Car (704) 799-2114 office