CRUZ PEDREGON / ADVANCE AUTO PARTS NITRO FUNNY CAR TEAM
MEMPHIS ADVANCE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2006
Media Contacts:
Allison Holt, JRL Group, (847) 291-7080 x201, Allison@jrlgroup.com
Janie Vogel, JRL Group, (440) 915-7627, janievogel@yahoo.com
CRUZ PEDREGON
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS NITRO FUNNY CAR TEAM
MEMPHIS ADVANCE
EVENT:
NHRA Nationals
TRACK NAME / LOCATION:
Memphis (TN) Motorsports Park
www.MemphisMotorsportsPark.com <http://www.memphismotorsportspark.com/>
DATE:
August 18-20, 2006
SERIES:
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Nitro Funny Car Division
TEAM MEMBERS
Driver/Owner: Cruz Pedregon
Crew Chief: Ron Douglas
Co-Crew Chief: Sam Shockley
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (August 15, 2006) – Cruz Pedregon, the 1992 NHRA Nitro
Funny Car world champion, and his Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car Team
are headed to Memphis (TN) Motorsports Park for the NHRA Nationals, the 17th
of 23 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events in 2006. Pedregon retains his
place in the top 10 in the NHRA point standings after the last round in
Brainerd.
NHRA’s annual visit to “the birthplace of the Blues” is a crucial stop on
the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series because the race is the last before the
year’s biggest event, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Race teams come to
Memphis Motorsports Park to fine-tune their combinations for the Big Go and
the stretch run for NHRA POWERade world championships. It’s also the final
event for Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors to earn points
toward respective participation in the Skoal Showdown and Ringers Gloves Pro
Bike Battle bonus events at the U.S. Nationals.
"If there's one track that has been tough on me through the years, it's
Memphis," explained Pedregon. "We hope to change that this weekend. It's
always very hot there, and hard to get a good grip. Coming off of a
consistent weekend in Brainerd, I know the Advance Auto Parts team has a
good setup, so we hope to change all of our luck in a positive direction.
We are definitely looking forward to the opportunity to change our fortune
heading into the Labor Day weekend and the U.S. Nationals. It would be nice
to go into Indy and the rest of the races toward the end of the season with
some momentum."
During his rookie season in Funny Car in 1992, Pedregon won the NHRA world
championship. With this accomplishment he became the only racer other than
John Force to win the championship in the 90s. In 1997, Pedregon was also
the first motorsports athlete to receive the “Premio De Oro,” the only
national award for Hispanic athletes. Born into a racing family, Pedregon’s
father, Frank, raced Top Fuel dragsters in the 1960s. His brothers Tony and
Frank also compete in the Nitro Funny Car ranks. In 1980, Cruz won his first
official drag race at the age of 15, driving a 1953 Kenworth truck.
How to get to Memphis Motorsports Park: Take Interstate 240 to the Warford
Road exit (Exit 6). Go north on Warford Road 6.0 miles to Raleigh Millington
Road. Turn left onto Raleigh Millington Road and continue to Fite Road. Turn
left onto Fite Road at the Memphis Motorsports Park billboard and continue
on Fite Road for .4-mile. The track is on the right.
After conquering the quarter-mile Memphis Motorsports Park, the NHRA
warriors head to the biggest event of the year, the massive U.S. Nationals
in Indianapolis, held annually on Labor Day weekend, August 30-September 4.
For more information on Cruz, please go to www.PedregonRacing.com
<http://www.pedregonracing.com/> .
CRUZ PEDREGON STORY IDEAS:
*Cruz, along with brother and co-team owner Tony, has just opened up a brand
new 25,000-square-foot Pedregon Racing shop, located in the new headquarters
for NHRA teams in Brownsburg, Ind. The shop was designed specifically to
address the unique needs of Pedregon Racing by both Cruz and Tony, along
with input from Cruz's wife Sharon and all of the crew chiefs;
*The new Pedregon Racing facility will house a restored version of the
Flamin' Frank Pedregon World's Fastest Coupe (a legendary top fuel dragster
from the 60's with a chopped Fiat body, driven by Cruz and Tony's father,
Frank Sr.);
*Cruz has a strong Hispanic following and is fluent in Spanish.
CRUZ PEDREGON HISTORY AT MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK:
Pedregon was number one qualifier in 1992, 1995 and 1998.
2006 RESULTS:
Feb. 9-12 – Pomona:
Qualified: 16th, 4.807; 1st Round: Pedregon 6.432 vs Force 4.774
Feb. 24-26 – Phoenix:
Qualified: 2nd, 4.717; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.741 vs Wilkerson 10.109;
2nd Round: Pedregon 4.837 vs Force 4.792
March 16-19 – Gainesville:
Qualified: 15th, 4.896; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.526 vs Bazemore 5.706;
2nd Round: Pedregon 4.835 vs Medlen 4.829
March 31-April 2 – Houston:
Qualified: 10th – 4.821; 1st Round: Pedregon 12.741 vs. Burkhart 4.824
April 6-9 – Las Vegas – WON THIS EVENT:
Qualified: 8th - 4.780; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.871 vs Head 8.396; 2nd Round:
Pedregon 4.864 vs Bartone 7.530; 3rd Round: Pedregon 5.314 vs Johnson
6.583; Final Round: Pedregon 5.417 vs. Capps 6.474
April 28-30 – Bristol:
Qualified; 14th, 4.861; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.531 vs Force 4.808
May 5-7 – Atlanta:
Qualified: 7th, 4.747 / 318.24; 1st Round: Pedregon - 4.753 vs Capps -
4.792;
(Pedregon won this contest by .0029 of a second, about 16 inches); 2nd
Round: Pedregon 4.809 vs Hight 4.680 (Pedregon with a near-perfect light at
.001 with a nose-to-nose finish)
May 19-21 – Columbus:
Qualified: 5th, 4.744 / 326.56; 1st Round: Pedregon - 4.972 vs. Worsham –
4.873
May 26-28 – Topeka:
Qualified: 13th – 4.953 / 270.75; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.104 vs. Capps
4.993
June 9-11 – Chicago:
Qualified: 5th – 4.689 / 329.02; 1st Round: Capps 4.935 vs. Pedregon 5.311
June 16-18 – Englishtown:
Qualified: 13th - 4.854 / 314.46; 1st Round: Scelzi 4.929 vs. Pedregon
5.231
June 24-26 – St. Louis:
Qualified: 9th – 4.860 / 315.19; 1st Round: Scelzi 5.021 vs. Pedregon
6.706
July 14-16 – Denver:
Qualified: 16th - 5.177 / 286.32; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.311 vs. Densham
5.344; 2nd Round: Cruz Pedregon 5.588 vs. Tony Pedregon 6.866; Semi-Final
Round: Pedregon 5.610 vs. Gilbertson 5.961; Final Round: Scelzi 5.132 vs.
Pedregon 5.820
July 21-23 – Seattle:
Qualified: 7th – 4.925 / 313.95; 1st Round: Densham 5.019 vs. Pedregon
5.117
July 28-30 - Sonoma:
Qualified: 15th - 4.952 / 292.39; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.982 vs. Medlen
4.885
August 11-13 - Brainerd:
Qualified: 11th - 4.863 / 315.56; Scelzi 4.815 vs. Pedregon 4.812
FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Ron Capps, 1175
2. John Force, 1127
3. Tony Pedregon, 985
4. Eric Medlen, 983
5. Robert Hight, 946
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 938
7. Gary Scelzi, 935
8. Whit Bazemore, 819
9. Del Worsham, 707
10. Cruz Pedregon, 672
MEMPHIS WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, August 18
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel) – 5:30 pm CDT
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel) – 8:00 pm CDT
SATURDAY, August 19
Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel / Funny Car) – 3:00 pm CDT
Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel / Funny Car) – 7:00 pm CDT
SUNDAY, August 20
Final Eliminations – 3:00 pm CDT
MEMPHIS ESPN2 TELEVISION COVERAGE:
August 19 – Qualifying: 8:00-10:00 pm ET
August 20 – Eliminations: 10:00 pm-1:00 am ET
August 27 – Repeat Eliminations: 3:00-5:00 am ET
MEMPHIS LIVE AUDIO BROADCAST:
The public-address commentary from the 19th annual Mid-South Nationals will
be broadcast live over the Internet from
http://www.nhra.com/2006/events/race17/broadcast.html. Follow the
wire-to-wire, play-by-play coverage from the 17th race of the 2006 NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series season. NHRA members get exclusive access to
listen live to Friday's and Saturday's qualifying shows; check in Friday and
Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. The all-access
final eliminations show – open, as always, to all NHRA.com visitors – begins
Sunday at noon Eastern.
D R I V E R
C R U Z P E D R E G O N
The B A S I C S . . .
Nickname
"The Cruzer"
Car
Advance Auto Parts Monte Carlo
Birthdate
September 19, 1963
Residence
Santa Rosa Valley, Calif.
Website
www.PedregonRacing.com <http://www.pedregonracing.com/>
Career Wins
TOTAL: 27
FC - 23
TAD - 3
TAFC - 1
Career Final Rounds
TOTAL: 56
FC - 51
TAD - 3
TAFC – 2
Career Best Elapsed Time
4.680 sec.
Career Best Speed
330.80 mph
The B A C K G R O U N D . . .
· 2005: Earned a pair of No. 1 qualifiers (Englishtown and Chicago
2); Set the low E.T. at two events (Englishtown and Chicago 2); Set career
bests for both time and speed; Won at least two rounds at five consecutive
events and six of the first eight events to open the 2005 season; Won
$25,000 bonus for having closest margin of victory in Motel 6 Who Got the
Light award
· 2004: Earned first No. 1 qualifying position (Columbus) since 1998;
Was the runner-up at consecutive events twice (Denver & Seattle;
Indianapolis & Dallas); Established career-best performance numbers;
Qualified No. 11 in the quickest Funny Car field in NHRA history (Pomona 2)
· 2003: Highest finish in the Funny Car standings since 1998; was the
runner-up at Denver and Reading; established career-best time and speed
· 2002: After taking a year off from racing, Pedregon assembled a
team that qualified for 18 national events; Advanced to the semifinals at
Indianapolis
· 2001: Served as color analyst for ESPN’s drag racing coverage
· 2000: Raced part-time as an owner/driver, collecting one win
(Englishtown)
· 1999: Raced part-time as an owner/driver in the Funny Car category
· 1998: Earned the No. 1 qualifying spot a career-best 12 times; Won
NHRA all-star race; Set national elapsed-time record three times; Runner-up
in Funny Car bonus race
· 1997: The first motorsports athlete to received the "Premio De
Oro," the only national award for Hispanic athletes
· 1996: Competing in a limited amount of races, Pedregon won one race
en route to a third-place finish in the NHRA championship point standings;
Finished in the top three for the fifth consecutive season
· 1995: Won at Indianapolis for the third time in four years (1992,
’94-95); Recorded first career four-second run, a 4.991 at Dallas; Broke the
300-mph mark for the first time with a 300.90-mph pass at Indianapolis
· 1994: Was the only Funny Car driver to defeat John Force in a final
round the entire season; Qualified in the top half at 15 of the 18 national
events
· 1992: Won the NHRA Funny Car championship — the only Funny Car
driver other than John Force to win a title in the 1990s
· 1990: Won a career-best six races
· 1991: Raced part-time in Top Fuel competition
· 1990: Moved to Alcohol Funny Car competition
· 1987: Started his NHRA career in Alcohol Dragster
The F U N S T U F F . . .
· Wife: Sharon; Sons: Josh (4/16/82) and Gabe (9/20/85)
· Height/weight: 6´0", 180 lbs.
· Notable: Won first drag race in 1980 behind wheel of a 1953
Kenworth truck; Raced go-karts in 1986 and was track champion at Ventura
(Calif.) Raceway; Brothers Tony and Frank also compete in NHRA Funny Car
category
· Father, Frank, raced Top Fuel dragsters in 1960s
· Fluent in Spanish, Cruz enjoys working with Hispanic media
· Enjoys doing charitable work with children
· Avid NFL fan, especially of Oakland Raiders. Also enjoys listening
to sports talk radio
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series 2006 Schedule
February 9-12 –NHRA Winternationals, Pomona, CA
February 24-26 – NHRA Nationals, Chandler, AZ
March 16-19 - NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville, FL
March 31-April 2 - NHRA Spring Nationals, Houston, TX
April 6-9 - NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas, NV
April 28-30 - NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, TN
May 4-7 - NHRA Southern Nationals, Atlanta, GA
May 18-21 – NHRA Nationals, Columbus, OH
May 25-28 - NHRA Summer Nationals, Topeka, KS
June 8-11 – NHRA Nationals, Joliet, IL
June 15-18 - NHRA SuperNationals, Englishtown, NJ
June 23-25 - NHRA Midwest Nationals, Madison, IL
July 14-16 - Mile-High NHRA Nationals, Denver, CO
July 21-23 – NHRA Nationals, Seattle, WA
July 28-30 - Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals, Sonoma, CA
August 10-13 – NHRA Nationals, Brainerd, MN
August 18-20 - Mid-South Nationals, Memphis, TN
August 30-Sept. 4 – NHRA U.S. Nationals, Clermont, IN
September 14-17 - NHRA Nationals, Reading, PA
September 21-24 - NHRA Fall Nationals, Ennis, TX
October 6-8 - Virginia NHRA Nationals, Richmond, VA
October 26-29 - Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas, NV
November 9-12 - Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Pomona,
CA
MANY THANKS TO THE ADVANCE AUTO PARTS TEAM
2006 SUPPORTERS
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS – www.advanceautoparts.com
<http://www.advanceautoparts.com/>
QUAKER STATE – www.qpower.com <http://www.qpower.com/>
SNAP-ON – www.snapon.com <http://www.snapon.com/>
GREAT STUFF – www.greatstuff.dow.com/index.htm
HERZOG – www.herzogcompanies.com <http://www.herzogcompanies.com/>
FETERL – www.feterl.com <http://www.feterl.com/>
GOODYEAR – www.goodyear.com <http://www.goodyear.com/>
SIOUX CITY TRUCK & TRAILER – www.siouxcitykenworth.com
<http://www.siouxcitykenworth.com/>
WELD RACING – www.weldracing.com <http://www.weldracing.com/>
MR. GASKET COMPANY – www.mrgasket.com <http://www.mrgasket.com/>
MOUNTAIN VIEW CHEVROLET – www.mountainviewchevrolet.com
<http://www.mountainviewchevrolet.com/>
THE PALMS CASINO RESORT – www.palms.com <http://www.palms.com/>
ABOUT ADVANCE AUTO PARTS
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is based in Roanoke, Va., and is the second largest
automotive aftermarket retailer based on sales and store count. With almost
2,900 stores in 40 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
<http://www.advanceautoparts.com/> .
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