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CRUZ PEDREGON / ADVANCE AUTO PARTS NITRO FUNNY CAR TEAM RICHMOND ADVANCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

October 4, 2006

Media Contacts: 

     Allison Holt, JRL Group, (847) 291-7080 x201,
 allison@jrlgroup.com

     Janie Vogel, JRL Group, (440) 915-7627,  
janievogel@yahoo.com

Hi- and low-resolution photos available upon request

 

 

CRUZ PEDREGON

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS NITRO FUNNY CAR TEAM

RICHMOND ADVANCE

 

EVENT:

NHRA Nationals

 

TRACK NAME / LOCATION:

Virginia Motorsports Park, Petersburg, Va. (near Richmond)

 <http://www.virginiamotorsports.com/> www.VirginiaMotorsports.com

 

DATE:

October 6-8, 2006

 

SERIES:

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series

Nitro Funny Car Division

 

CRUZ PEDREGON RACING TEAM MEMBERS

Driver/Owner: Cruz Pedregon

Crew Chief: Ron Douglas

Co-Crew Chief: Sam Shockley

 

 

RICHMOND, Va. (October 4, 2006) – Cruz Pedregon, the 1992 NHRA Nitro Funny
Car world champion, and his Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car Team are
headed back to the NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in
Petersburg, Va. (near Richmond), this weekend for the 21st of 23 NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series events in 2006. Pedregon sits in 10th place in
the 2006 NHRA point standings and is looking forward to a good performance
in Richmond and the remaining races in the season order to move up in the
standings, creating a solid foundation for a championship run in 2007.

 

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing returns to Virginia for the first time in five
years, bringing nitro-fueled thunder to the hallowed battlegrounds where
Civil War cannons once roared. Host of an NHRA national event from 1995 to
2000, Virginia Motorsports Park has been the site of many record-breaking
runs in all classes.

 

"Virginia is the home state of our primary sponsor, Advance Auto Parts
(company is based out of Roanoke), and it will be especially important for
us to do well there. We'd love to win one there for all of the great people
at Advance Auto Parts who have supported us," Pedregon said. "I raced there
from '96 through 2000, and look forward to going there again. We are looking
forward to running in front of the great fans in that part of the country.
Virginia Motorsports Park is a really nice facility and I know we'll put on
a good show. We are going to do everything in our power to see we get our
Advance Auto Parts car in the winner's circle."

 

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 Virginia Motorsports Park: From Interstate 85 southbound, use
Exit 63-A and travel five miles; the track is on the right. From I-85
northbound, use Exit 53 and travel west to Route 1 north. Go seven miles,
and the track is on the left. From I-95, take I-85 south to Exit 63-A. The
track is five miles on the right.

 

After conquering the quarter-mile Virginia Motorsports Park this weekend,
the NHRA warriors head on October 26-29 to The Strip At Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.

 

For more information on Cruz, please go to  <http://www.pedregonracing.com/>
www.PedregonRacing.com.

 

CRUZ PEDREGON RACING STORY ANGLES:

·        Cruz, along with brother and co-team owner Tony, has just opened up
a brand new 25,000-square-foot racing shop, located in the new headquarters
for NHRA teams in Brownsburg, Ind. The shop, housing both teams, was
designed specifically to address the unique needs of Cruz Pedregon Racing,
Inc., and Pedregon Racing, LLC (Tony Pedregon), along with input from Cruz's
wife Sharon, Tony's wife Andrea, and all of the crew chiefs;

·        The new Pedregon Racing facility houses the 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.);

·        A special limited edition set of 1:64 scale Hot Wheels® models of
Cruz and Tony Pedregon's NHRA Nitro Funny Cars are now available exclusively
at Advance Auto Parts stores. These cars will be packaged in a special Hot
Wheels® 2-Pack Collector Car Set (while supplies last);

·        Cruz owns a USAC Western States Midget Car Series team, with
current point leader Jerome Rodela behind the wheel; The Toyota-powered
Spike chassis ran for the first time at Ventura (CA) Speedway on September
30th. The stunning midget car will also be on display in the Toyota Racing
Development (TRD) booth at the upcoming Performance Racing Industry Trade
Show, held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., on
December 14-16. The midget car will be in competition on Friday, December
15th in the 2nd Annual Sprint and Midget Classic, a USAC-sanctioned race
held at Orlando Speed World Raceway in conjunction with the massive industry
event, the largest motorsports trade show in the world and the 45th-largest
trade show of any kind in North America;

·        Cruz has a strong Hispanic following and is fluent in Spanish.

 

CRUZ PEDREGON HISTORY AT VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK:

Pedregon has never won this event.

 

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 

August 18-21 - Memphis:

Qualified: 4th - 4.887 / 309.63; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.384 vs. Capps 5.058 

September 1-4 - Indianapolis:

Qualified: 12th - 4.779 / 325.92; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.800 vs. Medlen
4.748; 2nd Round: Bazemore 5.072 vs. Pedregon DQ-Centerline

September 22-24 - Dallas:

Qualified: 8th - 4.850 / 313.37; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.258 vs. Head 5.406;
2nd Round: Hight 4.837 vs. Pedregon 5.074 

September 29-October 1 - Reading:

Qualified: 11th - 4.792 / 308.99; 1st Round: Tony Pedregon 4.781 vs. Cruz
Pedregon 4.903 (red light) 

 

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:

1. John Force, 1387

2. Ron Capps, 1386

3. Robert Hight, 1352

4. Tony Pedregon, 1241

5. Eric Medlen, 1179

6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 1143

7. Gary Scelzi, 1108

8. Whit Bazemore, 956

9. Phil Burkart, 899 

10. Cruz Pedregon, 844

 

RICHMOND WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, October 6

Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel) – 3:30 pm ET

Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel) – 6:30 pm ET

SATURDAY, October 7

Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel / Funny Car) – 12:30 pm ET

Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel / Funny Car) – 3:30 pm ET

SUNDAY, October 8

Final Eliminations (Top Fuel/Funny Car) – 11:00 am ET

 

RICHMOND ESPN2 TELEVISION COVERAGE:

October 7 - Qualifying: 10:00 pm-12:00 am ET

October 8 - Eliminations: 7:00-10:00 pm ET

October 9 - Repeat Eliminations: 2:30-4:30 am ET

 

RICHMOND LIVE AUDIO BROADCAST: 

The public-address commentary from the NHRA Nationals in Richmond will be
broadcast live over the Internet from
<http://www.nhra.com/2006/events/race21/broadcast.html>
http://www.nhra.com/2006/events/race21/broadcast.html. Follow the
wire-to-wire, play-by-play coverage from the 21st 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 at
9:30 a.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Eastern. The all-access final eliminations
show – open, as always, to all NHRA.com visitors – begins Sunday at 11 a.m.
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

 <http://www.pedregonracing.com/> 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 and Gabe

·        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 (rained out)

September 21-24 - NHRA Fall Nationals, Ennis, TX

September 29-October 1 - NHRA Nationals, Reading, PA (rescheduled due to
rain)

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 –  <http://www.advanceautoparts.com/>
www.advanceautoparts.com

QUAKER STATE –  <http://www.qpower.com/> www.qpower.com

SNAP-ON –  <http://www.snapon.com/> www.snapon.com

GREAT STUFF –  <http://www.greatstuff.dow.com/index.htm>
www.greatstuff.dow.com/index.htm

HERZOG –  <http://www.herzogcompanies.com/> www.herzogcompanies.com

FETERL –  <http://www.feterl.com/> www.feterl.com

SIOUX CITY TRUCK & TRAILER –  <http://www.siouxcitykenworth.com/>
www.siouxcitykenworth.com

MR. GASKET COMPANY –  <http://www.mrgasket.com/> www.mrgasket.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW CHEVROLET –  <http://www.mountainviewchevrolet.com/>
www.mountainviewchevrolet.com

THE PALMS CASINO RESORT –  <http://www.palms.com/> 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 3,000
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  <http://www.advanceautoparts.com/> www.advanceautoparts.com.

 

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