Championship Drag Racing

Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals
Madison, Ill.
(June 25-27)

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Cruz Pedregon Advance Auto Parts Funny Car

Reports: Sunday Saturday Friday Pre-race

St. Louis, Sunday: Former Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon advanced to the semifinals for the first time this season at the NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis, MO.

Pedregon drove the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car passed Phil Burkart in round one with an elapsed time of 5.360 seconds at 273.39 mph to Burkart's slower elapsed time of 11.622 seconds at 76.97 mph. In the second round Pedregon defeated Funny Car points leader Del Worsham, powering to an elapsed time of 4.886 seconds at 318.24 mph to Worsham's elapsed time of 5.077 seconds at 301.54 mph.

In the semifinals Pedregon left the line first but suffered from tire shake giving Gary Scelzi the win with an elapsed time of 4.758 seconds at 330.23 mph to Pedregon's elapsed time of 6.608 seconds at 134.54 mph.

"We feel we made some great strides this weekend," said Pedregon. "Getting to the semifinals is a great way to finish off this three race swing. We can take this and capitalize on it for the rest of the year. We've got a couple of weeks to get prepared for our next three race swing, and you can bet we'll be ready to go."

St. Louis, Saturday: Former Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon improved on his qualifying efforts from yesterday (4.810ET/320.51 mph), powering the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet to an elapsed time of 4.800 seconds at 321.81 mph to qualify fifth for the NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.

"To be able to qualify in the top-five three weeks in a row is very strong," said Pedregon. "Wes (Cerny) has this car dialed in and I feel good about heading into tomorrow. First round is going to be warmer then these night sessions, so the set up is going to be different. I'm confident that Wes will make good decisions and we'll come out swinging."

Pedregon will face Phil Burkart Jr. in the first round of final eliminations scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. Pedregon has a 4-2 advantage over Burkart in race day competition, including last weeks first round victory in Englishtown, NJ.

St. Louis, Friday: After losing the first qualifying session due to a failure with the lights at the starting line, former Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon streaked to an elapsed time of 4.810 seconds at 320.51 mph during the second session to qualify the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo fourth at the NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.

"We didn't want to get to crazy with our setup for the second session since we missed the first one," said Pedregon. "Hats of to this team for turning it around and making a great run. We're going to use the information we gained tonight and get after it tomorrow and go after the number one spot.

St. Louis, pre-race: Former Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts team are starting to show what they are capable of with their recent qualifying efforts posting a number one in Columbus, Ohio and number three last weekend in Englishtown, NJ. This weekend the team heads to Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis, MO, where they hope to finish the three race swing with another strong qualifying effort and a win on race day.

"Things are starting to come together like we planned," said Pedregon. "With the hard work and dedication of this team our efforts are starting to show. We need to continue our strong qualifying efforts and just refine our race day set up. I feel we're back on track and we're going into St. Louis with a lot of confidence."

Pedregon was runner up at GIR in 1997, the first year for the series to race at the venue. In four starts, he's qualified in the top-five at three events.

"GIR is a great facility," said Pedregon. "It's all night racing, including race day, which gives the fans better racing. We're looking forward to finishing this three race swing in St. Louis with a victory."

Pedregon has been the low-qualifier 30 times in his career. He's won 22 races in 44 final rounds.