Tony Pedregon Columbus Preview
41st annual Pontiac Excitement NHRA Nationals National Trail Raceway Columbus, Ohio NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Tony Pedregon NHRA Nationals Notebook Columbus, Ohio (May 18, 2005) * The ŒQ¹ Racing team heads to National Trail Raceway this weekend for the eighth race of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule. Tony Pedregon, the 2003 Funny Car champion, will drive his ŒQ¹ Racing Nitro Funny Car during the 41st annual Pontiac Excitement NHRA Nationals. * Pedregon has a good Œtrack¹ record at National Trail Raceway with two victories in 2003 and 2000, top-qualifier awards in2003 and 1999, and semifinal appearances in 1996 and 2001. Pedregon also set the track elapsed time record in 2003 with a pass of 4.780 seconds. A year later, National Trail Raceway¹s elapsed time record went from one Pedregon to another, when brother Cruz covered the quarter mile in 4.769seconds in June 2004. * The ŒQ¹ Racing team had a chance to test a new clutch and fuel system combination during last weekend¹s race at Atlanta Raceway. With this improvement, the ŒQ¹ car hopes to become more consistent and able to perform well under any track or atmospheric conditions. ³We¹re very pleased with the results,² said Pedregon. ³We knew they looked good on paper, but now we know they work on the track as well.² * So far this year, Pedregon has qualified in the number one position in Pomona, Calif. and Phoenix. He also broke the elapsed-time record at Pomona Raceway with a 4.681-second pass at 323.35mph. And in Chandler, Ariz., Pedregon broke Firebird International Raceway¹s elapsed time record at 4.703 seconds. Pedregon heads to National Trail Raceway 10th in POWERade Funny Car points with 321. -PedregonRacing.com- e