NHRA: Pedregon goes for three-peat at Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals
12 July 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
MORRISON, Colo. - Tony Pedregon just ended the longest victory drought of his career.
Needless to say, it was a gut-wrenching ordeal for the 35-year-old driver from Chino Hills, Calif. It was something that he doesn't want to go through again.
He had been shut out in three final rounds this season: once by Jerry Toliver and twice by team owner John Force. However, he gained some revenge at Columbus, Ohio in June, defeating Toliver with a holeshot start.
Prior to that celebration, the last time he drove his Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang to the NHRA winner's circle was nearly one year ago, when he claimed a victory at one of his favorite tracks: Bandimere Speedway.
During the slump, Pedregon always kept his focus, as well as his faith and trust in his teammates.
"I think it shows that being persistent and pulling together as a team will pay off eventually," said Pedregon, who will try for this third consecutive Bandimere Speedway victory at the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals, July 13-16.
He defeated Whit Bazemore for the win here in 1999 and topped Ron Capps for the '98 victory. The $1.8 million race is the 13th of 23 events in the $45 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
"When we won earlier in the year at Columbus, we had problems all weekend but made one good run in the final and won the race," he added. "When it's your time to win, it's going to happen."
He hopes it's his time to win again in Denver. He said the tremendous feelings he received in Ohio was too good to keep out of his system for another year. He wants to start a winning streak.
"Winning that race was pretty emotional for me," Pedregon said. "It had been a long time since I had seen smiles on my (crew membes) faces like that. I probably take more pleasure just seeing that, than anything else."
And defeating rival Toliver, who currently leads the Winston points championship?
"Inside I was celebrating more than it showed," Pedregon said. "I don't like to rub it in anyone's face. I'm not that type of person. I really like Jerry. He gets a little loud every now and then, but I have to control my emotions. Jerry has got me two or three times this year so I felt like I owed him one."
TOP FUEL TITLE CHASE: Tony Schumacher, driver of the Exide Batteries dragster, has earned two victories in six final round apperances this season as he marches toward a second consecutive NHRA Winston Top Fuel championship. Standing in his way is two-time champ Gary Scelzi, driver of the Team Winston dragster. Scelzi has claimed five victories in five finals and currently holds a 95 point advantage over the kid from Chicago. It doesn't worry Schumacher any, however. He figured it would be a tough battle between himself and Scelzi all season long. He expects the points lead to bounce back and forth before being decided at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. Until then, his strategy is to gain every point possible. "That's the whole point of the game," Schumacher said. "At the end you want to have the Winston points lead. We're going to battle. We've said it from the beginning. Every single point counts."
AMATO NEEDS A VICTORY: Joe Amato has demonstrated all season long that he's got one of the quickest and fastest Top Fuel machines. His Dynomax dragster has claimed two No.1 qualifying positions this season and advanced to two final rounds. However, he's still winless, as he posted runner-up finishes in Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio. The Exeter, Pa. driver, who recently underwent corrective eye surgery, hopes to regain his winning form at Bandimere Speedway, where he's won five times previously, including four straight from 1987-'91.
McCLENATHAN GOES FOR THREE: Cory McClenathan, driver of Joe Gibbs' MBNA dragster, has had quite a bit of success at Bandimere Speedway in recent seasons, winning back-to-back races there in 1997-'98. A winning performance at the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals could be just what he needs to make a climb to the top in the NHRA Winston point standings. McClenthan, who recently won the lucrative Winston Showdown all-star event, is currently seventh in the order with two No. 1 qualifying awards, but no final round appearances this season in points-earning events.
FIRST FOUR-SECOND FUNNY CAR RUN: While Funny Car teams will be focusing on defeating other rival race teams, one tough opponent also looms large: the quarter-mile track. Bandimere Speedway prides itself as being one of the toughest tracks on the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series circuit as it protects its track records. This season, Funny Car drivers will challenge one of its longest standing marks -- the elapsed time barrier. No NHRA Funny Car driver has ever covered the mile-high quarter-mile in less than five seconds. The current record is 5.034 seconds, set last season by Tim Wilkerson.
Text provided by Anthony Vestal
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