Tony Pedregon Stays No. 1 at Firebird

NHRA 2005 NOTES & QUOTES

21st Annual Checker Schuck¹s Kragen NHRA Nationals
Firebird International Raceway  Chandler, Ariz.
Q Racing Nitro Funny Car  - Pedregon Racing
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
 
Tony Pedregon Stays Atop Firebird Funny Car Mountain
Second-Straight No. 1 Qualifier for Q Racing Monte Carlo

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 26, 2005)  Tony Pedregon, driver of the Q Racing
Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car, continued his qualifying dominance by wrapping
up a second-straight No. 1 qualifier at this weekend¹s Checker Schuck¹s
Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

The California resident lapped the suburban Phoenix quarter mile with a
track record elapsed time of 4.703 seconds at 325.06 mph, during last
night¹s second-qualifying session. This accomplishment came on the heels of
his record breaking 4.681-second lap at the season-opening Winternationals
in Pomona, Calif., two weekends ago. It was the second-quickest pass in NHRA
Nitro Funny Car history.

³The goal today was to pull it back and get the car down the track,² said
Pedregon, the 2003 NHRA POWERade NHRA Nitro Funny Car World Champion. ³We
slowed the clutch down and wanted to see what would happen.

³The track was almost as good as it was last night,² Pedregon continued.
³Even though the temperatures were up a little bit today. Overall, we are
real pleased with where we are. It¹s amazing where this track has evolved
from five or six years ago. Back then, cars weren¹t able to run any where
near what they could run on the super tracks like Pomona (Calif.), Dallas
(Texas Motorplex in Ennis) or Gainesville (Fla.). Now, with the preparation
and what they did a few years ago to improve the concrete, it¹s really
become a track that¹s as fast as any of them.²

Pedregon went on to talk about what his keys to success are for tomorrow.

³Consistency,² Pedregon noted. ³We are prepared to step on it when we have
too. We have a very good engine combination and the power is there, but we
hope its there when we have to call on it. The competition has really gotten
to a point where we are going to have some tough races tomorrow.  We now
have the confidence that we can run with any one out there.²

Pedregon will match up with Gary Densham in the first round of eliminations.

Q Racing NHRA Notebook:

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Tony Pedregon and the Q Racing Monte Carlo Nitro
Funny Car team found an innovative way to help solve the parachute problems
they experienced during qualifying for the most recent Winternationals at
Pomona (Calif.) Raceway two weekends ago.

³We wanted to eliminate that parachute failure again,² Pedregon said. ³We
added one parachute, our primary one, to the steering wheel, so I don¹t have
to take my hand off the wheel.

³What happened in Pomona was a strut failure during the run² Pedregon added.
³It actually punched a hole through the rear end bodywork and landed right
in between the chute levers.²