The last time he was at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Snap-on Tools Toyota Funny Car pilot Cruz Pedregon came very close to winning what would have been his third championship. With a return to the venerable facility just around the bend for the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries – an event Pedregon has won three times in three categories – his confidence is high.
The off-season was eventful for the Brownsburg, Ind., transplant: the hiring of a comfortingly familiar crew chief, an extension of support from a major backer, and rejuvenated family ties have positioned Pedregon for what he hopes will be a year of celebration, from beginning to end.
"Like most off-seasons, it's been a lot of nose to the grindstone," said Pedregon. "I didn't take any long vacations or anything like that, and it felt good to be working with Lee [Beard, crew chief] and the team and getting everyone on the same page. It was important for me to be there. Lee is a new face with a lot of ideas and a lot of thoughts, and he is just a fun guy to be around. He's probably the first guy in a long time that I've been able to work with who is as good of a friend away from the track as we are on it."
The timing for the partnership seems fitting; Beard contributed to Pedregon's first Funny Car world championship in 1992, and this season marks the 20th anniversary of the accomplishment – as well as Pedregon's 20th year of competition in the category.
It's early yet, but already the team has begun to jell under the combined influence of Beard and Pedregon. The preseason test session in Palm Beach, Fla., produced a pleasing 4.06, 4.09, and a "soft, easy 4.12," according to Pedregon.
The nine total hits provided opportunity to sort out and solidify changes made in the engine department and gauge where they stand before hitting the road for an event that Pedregon first won in a Top Alcohol Dragster in 1989. The next season, Pedregon returned to Pomona and got the job done in a Top Alcohol Funny Car, and in 1995, he beat Chuck Etchells in a nitro Funny Car to add a third Winternationals trophy to his mounting collection.
"I remember it like it was yesterday, every detail of each one of those wins. Pomona is special to me," said Pedregon, who was raised in nearby Torrance, Calif. "I still have family there, and it's a home track. Coming in there this year, we have expectations. We had a good season last year – not a great season, but good. So what we want to do is get a good start, hopefully even win the thing, and then come back there in the fall and put the icing on the cake."
Team owner, team manager, driver, and sometimes crew chief Pedregon believes that with the addition of the vastly experienced Beard, his load of responsibilities will lighten a bit beginning in Pomona, and he will have more time to enjoy sponsor commitments such as ride-alongs with Snap-on franchisees as well as focus more on driving and the competition, two things that have held his interest for more than two decades.
"Having a little less on my plate is going to be a breath of fresh air," said Pedregon.
While the West Coast launch of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series beckons, even more excitement is slated as the year unfolds. In Gainesville, at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, Pedregon is scheduled to debut an all-new Toyota Camry body, and he will proudly pilot the brand in Englishtown at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, where Toyota has entered into a title-rights agreement as sponsor of the 43rd annual Toyota NHRA SuperNationals, May 31-June 3.
"I think it's great that Toyota has dipped their toe in little by little with NHRA," said Pedregon. "Having a major auto manufacturer support race teams and events is a very good thing for the sport, and the timing is right. I'm sure looking forward to running that new Camry; from what I'm told, it's going to be fast and better than we've ever had, and hopefully we'll be even more on par with some of the other manufacturers."
Pedregon's Toyota will continue to be backed by Snap-on Tools, which recently renewed with a multiyear agreement, and many longtime sponsors will remain in place in 2012, including Sioux City Truck and Trailer and Herzog.
Pedregon, surrounded with support from every angle, believes that he is fortunate to have a great group of people to work with, from the office to the hospitality team, and his race team is one that he respects both personally and professionally. He says that he has worked with some really good guys but calls Beard "arguably the best crew chief I've ever had." The ducks are in a row.
"I'm actually in better physical shape than I have been," added Pedregon. "I'm excited, I'm having fun again, and I'm absolutely confident. NHRA has weathered the storm with the economy, and I'm seeing more excitement with new drivers coming out – Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria – along with the veterans we've raced for years.
"And I'm looking forward to working with my brother [fellow Funny Car driver] Tony again. He's going to be a threat this year, and we're back to helping each other and sharing like brothers. Our dad always told us, 'You guys help each other.' We're getting back to that, and I'm excited. These are the best times for me. It's going to be a great 20th anniversary, and it would just be so fitting to cap this big year with a championship."
The 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season kicks off Feb. 9-12 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona with the 52nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries. Click here to get your tickets.