Pedregon Brothers Qualify for Elite Skoal Showdown

NHRA 2005 NOTES & QUOTES

51st Annual U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis Raceway Park  Clermont, Ind.
Skoal Showdown Update - Pedregon Racing
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series

Tony & Cruz Qualify For Prestigious Skoal Showdown
Top Eight NHRA Nitro Funny Car Teams Battle For $100,000 Bonus

CLERMONT, Ind. (Aug. 26, 2005)  Tony and Cruz Pedregon are two of the eight
drivers qualified for this year¹s 24th annual Skoal Showdown, which will be
contested in conjunction with next weekend¹s running of the U.S. Nationals
at historic Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The field was set through NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Nitro Funny Car
qualifying, as each driver accumulated points during a 23-race span. Points
started to count during last year¹s 50th anniversary U.S. Nationals and
ended with last weekend¹s Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.
The better a driver qualified, the more points were earned.

³It¹s a real honor for the Advance Auto Parts team to be a part of this
event,² said Cruz Pedregon, the 1992 POWERade Funny Car World Champ. ³One of
the reasons I really like this field is because each driver earns a
position. You have to consistently qualify well to gain a spot in this
event. 

³And to have Tony competing in this as well, it just show¹s the strength of
our two-car race team,² Pedregon continued.

Tony Pedregon, who drives the Q Racing Nitro Funny Car, won this event back
in 2003, toppling then teammate John Force in the final. He talked about his
ninth-straight appearance in this elite race.

³This is an important event for our race team, and holds a lot of financial
incentive,² said Tony, who also made it to the finals in 1997 and 1999.
³This is the second-straight appearance for the Q Racing team as well, and
it¹s a real testament to how well we have performed. We have a good car with
a lot of power and we have demonstrated that with these performances.

³It¹s also the first time both Cruz and I will compete in this event
together, as a multi-car team,² Tony continued. ³It just validates how
strong our two cars and teams are.²

Even though Cruz has yet to win one, he has come very close on four separate
occasions, recording runner-up finishes in 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1998.

³Winning the Skoal Showdown has been one of my career goals,² Cruz noted. ³I
would love to share that big check among the members of the Advance Auto
Parts team.²

The Skoal Showdown winner earns a $100,000 bonus from U.S. Tobacco. Any
driver who wins both the Showdown and the U.S. Nationals next weekend will
earn a $50,000 ŒDouble-Up¹ bonus from NHRA. A race day purse of $147,000 is
available for the eight drivers competing in the Showdown.

-PedregonRacing.com-

Public Relations Contact:

David Harris, Cox Marketing Group
Pedregon Racing 
davidh@coxmarketinggroup.com
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