CORRECTION: TONY PEDREGON / Q POWER NITRO FUNNY CAR TEAM
LAS VEGAS ADVANCE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 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
TONY PEDREGON
Q POWER NITRO FUNNY CAR TEAM
LAS VEGAS ADVANCE
EVENT:
Las Vegas NHRA Nationals
TRACK NAME / LOCATION:
The Strip at Las Vegas (NV) Motor Speedway
<http://www.lvms.com/> www.lvms.com
DATE:
October 27-29, 2006
SERIES:
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Nitro Funny Car Division
TEAM MEMBERS:
Driver/Owner: Tony Pedregon
Teammate: Cruz Pedregon
Crew Chief: Dickie Venables
Asst. Crew Chief: Kurt Elliott
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (October 19, 2006) - 2003 NHRA World Champion Tony Pedregon
and his Q Power Nitro Funny Car Team head to The Strip at Las Vegas (NV)
Motor Speedway next weekend for the Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, the 22nd of 23
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series events in 2006. With three wins in 2006,
Tony is currently fifth in points in the NHRA POWERade Nitro Funny Car
division.
"We are looking forward to returning to Las Vegas and attacking that track
in an attempt to not only end our year on a winning note, but also to redeem
ourselves after the spring event," stated Pedregon. "The Q Power Team has
learned a lot over the summer and early part of fall, and I'm excited to
take that new knowledge to Vegas again. Our program is stronger than when
we ran there last, and I'm hoping that will show with our on-track results
next weekend. One of our sponsors is the great Palms Casino and Resort, and
the Maloof family, who own the Palms, will be visiting us on Saturday. It
will be great to have Joe, Gavin and George Maloof trackside supporting my
efforts, as I sure enjoy staying at their resort throughout the year.
Winning in Las Vegas would not only help us to end our year strong for Q,
the Maloofs and all of our other sponsors, but would allow us to carry that
winning momentum into 2007 and a championship run."
How to get to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: From the Las Vegas
Strip and downtown, follow Interstate 15 north to Speedway Boulevard (Exit
54). Follow signs to the main parking area.
After conquering The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the NHRA warriors
head on November 10-12 to the NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
(Calif.).
For more information on Tony, please go to www.PedregonRacing.com.
TONY PEDREGON STORY ANGLES:
· Tony, along with brother and co-team owner Cruz, 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 Pedregon Racing, LLC,
and Cruz Pedregon Racing, Inc, along with input from Tony's wife Andrea,
Cruz's wife Sharon, 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.);
· Tony and his Q Power Team will be running a totally different
special paint scheme for the NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, NV. The Q
TorquePower Full Synthetic stunning blue and gold paint job will be
celebrating Quaker State's introduction of this product on retail shelves,
which coincided with the massive U.S. Nationals event. The new advanced
motor oil formulation is engineered to help maximize torque in the engines
of hard-working trucks and SUV's to help give drivers the power they want
for towing, hauling and off-roading. Pedregon's car will sport this new
paint scheme for the remainder of the season;
· A special limited edition set of 1:64 scale Hot Wheels® models of
Tony and Cruz 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);
· Tony has a strong Hispanic following and can speak in Spanish;
· Tony just became certified with the Indiana Business Diversity
Council, designed to promote minority ownership of businesses in Indiana.
TONY PEDREGON HISTORY AT THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
Pedregon won both the spring and fall NHRA events in 2003, was top qualifier
in the fall race in 2003, and again in 2004.
2006 RESULTS:
Feb. 9-12 - Pomona:
Qualified: 3rd, 4.713; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.147 vs. Worsham 4.894
Feb. 24-26 - Phoenix:
Qualified: 4th, 4.724; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.778 vs. Densham 9.445; 2nd
Round: Pedregon 4.847 vs. Johnson 4.809
March 16-19 - Gainesville:
Qualified: 16th, 4.900; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.018 vs. Force 4.775
March 31-April 2 - Houston:
Qualified: 8th, 4.798; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.869 vs. Bazemore 6.819; 2nd
Round: Pedregon 9.461 vs. Force 4.761
April 6-9 - Las Vegas:
Pedregon ran a 4.79 Friday night but the pass was disallowed by the NHRA
when his team did not stop and weigh the car at the inspection station due
to the drama of an engine explosion at the finish line. This was Pedregon's
first DNQ in five years dating back to the Bristol race in 2001 (115
events).
April 28-30 - Bristol:
Qualified: 12th, 4.851; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.314 vs. Johnson 4.817
May 5-7, 2006 - Atlanta - WON THIS EVENT:
Qualified: 9th, 4.797 / 275.00 1st Round: Pedregon 4.765 vs. Bazemore 4.774;
2nd Round: Pedregon 4.735 vs. Force 4.715 (Pedregon's margin of victory was
.0124 of a second (approx. 6 feet); .03 sec. advantage at the starting line
over Force, Pedregon's former car owner); Semi-Final Round: Pedregon 4.739
vs. Medlen 5.083; Final Round: Pedregon 4,740 vs. Hight 4.738 (Pedregon's
Final Round win was by about 5 feet - .0096 sec.)
May 19-21 - Columbus - WON THIS EVENT:
Qualified: 3rd, 4.728 / 323.58; 1st Round: Pedregon - 4.870 vs. Wilkerson
6.029; 2nd Round: Pedregon 4.865 vs. Scelzi 5.053; Semi-Final Round:
Pedregon 4.802 vs. Johnson Jr. 4.876; Final Round: Pedregon 4.923 vs.
Bazemore 6.368
May 26-28 - Topeka:
Qualified: 6th - 4.983 / 302.69; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.985 vs. Bartone
5.253; 2nd Round: Pedregon 5.044 vs. Medlen 5.097; Semi-Final Round:
Pedregon 5.092 vs. Force 4.968
June 9-11 - Chicago:
Qualified: 6th - 4.694 / 315.34; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.032 vs. Gilbertson
13.877; 2nd Round: Medlen 4.800 vs. Pedregon 6.585
June 16-18 - Englishtown:
Qualified: 5th - 4.812 / 320.58; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.926 vs. Kalitta
4.961; 2nd Round: Scelzi 4.947 / 311.41 vs. Pedregon - 5.310
June 24-26 - St. Louis - WON THIS EVENT:
Qualified: 12th - 4.909 / 313.37; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.198 vs. Worsham
6.183; 2nd Round: Pedregon 5.061 vs. Gilbertson 5.126; Semi-Final Round:
Pedregon 4.886 vs. Scelzi 4.877; Final Round: Pedregon 4.859 vs. Force 4.904
July 14-16 - Denver:
Qualified: 8th - 4.956 / 309.91; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.268 vs. Worsham
5.276; 2nd Round: Cruz Pedregon 5.588 vs. Tony Pedregon 6.866
July 21-23 - Seattle:
Qualified: 8th - 4.929 / 310.27; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.029 vs. Johnson Jr.
5.651; 2nd Round: Pedregon 5.318 vs. Hight 6.117; Semi-Final Round: Bazemore
5.029 vs. Pedregon 5.129
July 28-30 - Sonoma:
Qualified: 5th - 4.816 / 319.75; 1st Round: Pedregon 4.910 vs. Johnson Jr.
4.947; 2nd Round: Pedregon 4.909 vs. Kalitta 9.070; Semi-Final Round:
Pedregon 4.910 vs. Ashley 7.813; Final Round: Medlen 4.854 vs. Pedregon
5.021
August 11-13 - Brainerd:
Qualified: 2nd - 4.773 / 321.04; 1st Round: Wilkerson 4.805 vs. Pedregon
4.858
August 18-21 - Memphis:
Qualified: 5th - 4.899 / 304.80; 1st Round: Pedregon 5.247 vs. Bartone
5.361; 2nd Round: Pedregon 4.892 vs. Capps 4.941; Semi-Final Round:
Pedregon 4.895 vs. Hight 4.958; Final Round: Force 4.786 vs. Pedregon 5.048
September 1-4 - Indianapolis:
Qualified: 8th - 4.735 / 325.30; 1st Round: Ashley 4.754 vs. Pedregon
4.753
September 15-17 - Dallas:
Qualified: 4th - 4.812 / 321.96; 1st Round: Pedregon 6.263 vs. Burkart
7.522; 2nd Round: Pedregon 4.891 vs. Bartone 6.160; Semi-Final Round:
Hight 4.861 vs. Pedregon 5.827
September 29-October 1 - Reading:
Qualified: 6th - 4.723 / 321.12; 1st Round: Tony Pedregon 4.781 vs. Cruz
Pedregon 4.903 (red light); 2nd Round: Medlen 4.799 vs. Pedregon 4.904
October 13-15 - Richmond:
Qualified: 6th - 4.788 / 312.28; 1st Round: Ashley 4.842 vs. Pedregon
4.865
FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. John Force, 1,463
2. Ron Capps, 1,417
3. Robert Hight, 1,409
4. Eric Medlen, 1,297
5. Tony Pedregon, 1,265
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 1,176
7. Gary Scelzi, 1,140
8. Whit Bazemore, 956
9. Cruz Pedregon, 936
10. Phil Burkart, 930
LAS VEGAS WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, October 27
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel) – 3:30 pm PDT
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel) – 6:00 pm PDT
SATURDAY, October 28
Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel / Funny Car) – 12:45 pm PDT
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car ONLY) – 5:05 pm PDT
SUNDAY, October 29
Final Eliminations (Top Fuel/Funny Car) – 11:00 am PDT
LAS VEGAS ESPN2 TELEVISION COVERAGE:
October 28 - Budweiser Shootout: 10:00-10:30 pm ET
October 28 - Qualifying: 10:30 pm-12:00 am ET
October 29 - Eliminations: 8:00-11:00 pm ET
October 30 - Repeat Eliminations: 2:30-4:30 am ET
LAS VEGAS LIVE AUDIO BROADCAST:
The public-address commentary from the Las Vegas NHRA Nationals will be
broadcast live over the Internet from
<http://www.nhra.com/2006/events/race22/broadcast.html>
www.nhra.com/2006/events/race22/broadcast.html. Follow the wire-to-wire,
play-by-play coverage from the 22nd 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. The all-access final eliminations show – open, as
always, to all NHRA.com visitors – begins Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern.
D R I V E R
T O N Y P E D R E G O N
The B A S I C S . . .
Car
Q Power Monte Carlo
Birthdate
March 8, 1965
Residence
Detroit, MI
Website
<http://www.pedregonracing.com/> www.PedregonRacing.com
Career NHRA Wins
TOTAL: 32
FC - 32
Career NHRA Final Rounds
57
FC - 57
Career NHRA Best Elapsed Time
4.680 sec.
Career NHRA Best Speed
331.28 mph
The B A C K G R O U N D . . .
· 2005: Set career best for time when he and his brother (Cruz) each
ran 4.680s at Chicago 2; Finished the season on a roll with two wins and a
runner-up finish at the final five events; Earned his first victory since
Las Vegas 2 in his championship season of 2003; Qualified for all 23 events,
increasing his streak of successfully qualifying at national events to 110;
Earned three No. 1 qualifiers and had the low E.T. at three events
· 2004: In his first season as a team owner, finished No. 8 in the
final POWERade championship standings, his ninth consecutive season
finishing in the top 10; Established career-bests for both E.T. and speed;
Career-best E.T. is the seventh quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history;
Recorded two of the 10 fastest Funny Car speeds in NHRA history (331.28,
Chicago 1; 329.83, Atlanta); His career won-lost record in elimination
rounds of 319-189 is 13th-best among all active pro drivers with 50 or more
decisions; Was the No. 1 qualifier three times (Las Vegas 1, Atlanta,
Chicago 1); Qualified for all 23 events, upping his national event
qualifying streak to 87 consecutive races dating back to Bristol 2001, fifth
best among all active pro driver
· 2003: Became the first driver other than John Force to win the
Funny Car championship since 1992; established career-bests for wins, No. 1
qualifying awards, elapsed time and speed; a career-best eight wins on the
season places him fourth on the all-time Funny Car win list with 24 career
victories; one of four Funny Car drivers to qualify for all 23 events;
earned $100,00 for winning the Funny Car bonus event in his eighth career
appearance
· 2002: Earned six victories in eight final round appearances; Was
contending for the POWERade championship until the semifinal of the last
event of the season; Finished No. 2 in the standings for the fourth time in
his career; Finished in the top five of the standings for the sixth time in
eight professional seasons; Won three consecutive races for the first time
in his career
· 2001: Won a race as the No. 1 qualifier (Englishtown) for the first
time in his career, beating team owner John Force; Won back-to-back races
(Englishtown and Topeka) for the first time in his career
· 2000: Went to the finals six times, collecting two victories
· 1999: Was the No. 1 qualifier at four events; Posted the quickest
time in history when he clocked a 4.779 second run at Gainesville; Runner-up
in the Funny Car bonus race at Indianapolis
· 1998: Earned two wins in two final-round appearances
· 1997: No. 1 qualifier at three events and raced in five finals;
Beat brother Cruz Pedregon at Houston in the first final-round meeting
involving brothers; Runner-up in Funny Car bonus race
· 1996: Made seven final-round appearances in first season with John
Force Racing; Named the inaugural winner of the Automobile Club of Southern
California Road to the Future Award, which identified the sport’s budding
stars; Finished second in driver points in first full season on the tour;
Earned first career victory (Atlanta)
· 1995: Ran limited Funny Car schedule for car owner Larry Minor
· 1993: Qualified for first NHRA event at the wheel of a Top Fuel
dragster
The F U N S T U F F . . .
· Wife: Andrea; Daughters: Cecily and Arielle; Son: Desidario
· Height/weight: 5´8", 165 lbs.
· Father, Frank, raced Top Fuel dragsters in the 1960s
· Brothers Cruz and Frank Pedregon also compete in the Funny Car
class
· Pedregon is an accomplished painter whose work adorns the helmets
of fellow drivers John Force, Cory McClenathan, Cruz Pedregon, and others
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
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 Q POWER RACE TEAM
2006 SUPPORTERS
Q POWER / 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
MOUNTAIN VIEW CHEVROLET - <http://www.mountainviewchevrolet.com/>
www.mountainviewchevrolet.com
SLICK 50 - <http://www.slick50.com/> www.slick50.com
LARRY MINOR MOTORSPORTS - <http://www.larryminor-motorsports.com/>
www.larryminor-motorsports.com
SIOUX CITY TRUCK & TRAILER - <http://www.siouxcitykenworth.com/>
www.siouxcitykenworth.com
EARL'S PERFORMANCE PLUMBING - <http://www.holley.com/> www.holley.com
MR. GASKET COMPANY - <http://www.mrgasket.com/> www.mrgasket.com
THE PALMS CASINO RESORT - <http://www.palms.com/> www.palms.com
FRAM - <http://www.fram.com/> www.fram.com
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