Fri, 27 Oct 2000, 12:20 PM Texas Roots Drive Pedregon to Succeed in SuperNationals

Courtesy of Dave Densmore, DensWood Sports Marketing

BAYTOWN, Texas -- Although Tony Pedregon was schooled in Gardena, Calif., he traces his roots right back to Texas.

That's one of the reasons the Hispanic drag racing sensation, driver of the world's quickest Funny Car (the 4.779 second Castrol SYNTEC™ Ford Mustang), feels so much at home at Houston Raceway Park, site of this week's Matco Tools SuperNationals and a track on which he has claimed two of his nine NHRA tour victories.

It also is the track on which in 1998 he successfully debuted a Selena-themed version of the SYNTEC Mustang he drives for car owner and mentor John Force, to whom he has finished second in Winston driver points three times in the last four seasons.

"The Selena promotion, in which we worked very closely with the (late singer's) family, was very special for me, personally," Pedregon said, "and the response of the fans in Texas was really gratifying. We have a lot of support in the Houston area and, really, in all of Texas even though most of those people aren't aware that my mom and dad (the late Frank Pedregon Sr.) really are from Texas.

"My dad is from El Paso and my mother from San Antonio," Pedregon said. "I remember that (before we moved to California) we lived for awhile in an old ranch house (outside San Antonio) that didn't have (glass for the) windows.

"I'm not saying that was a bad thing (because) for me and my brothers (Frank and Cruz), it really built a lot of character. At a young age, we were taught a work ethic that you really need in this world to make it, to be competitive, and I think that's the one thing that's brought us to this level.

"Back then, we were just three kids who used to run around the house and pretend they were race cars," Pedregon continued. "We used to sit at the dinner table and get our forks and that little fork, the way it was shaped, that was a dragster for us. We would sit there and race our forks. My mom? It used to drive her nuts."

It drove the Pedregon siblings, too, ultimately resulting in one of the most appealing success stories in drag racing history.

All three brothers now have won races at the sport's top level. Furthermore, Cruz is the only driver other than Force to have won a Funny Car championship in the last 11 seasons (chasing down the perennial champion to win the title in 1992).

Ultimately, Tony's goal is to follow his older brother's lead and win the Winston championship. In the meantime, he is happy to be able to contribute to the continuing success of Team Castrol.

Winner of the Pontiac Excitement Nationals at Columbus, Ohio, last June, he helped derail the 2000 title bid of upstart Jerry Toliver, who led the point standings through much of the first half of the season, when he beat the WWF driver in consecutive first round meetings last September at Indianapolis, Ind., and Reading, Pa.

As a result, Force comes into the SuperNationals in a position to clinch a record eighth consecutive series championship and record-tying 10th overall.

Tony Pedregon at......Houston Raceway Park - Baytown, Texas

Total starts: 10
SuperNat'ls starts: 3
Times No. 1 Qualifier: 1 (1997 SuperNat'ls)
Final rounds: 4 (1997, 1998 and 1999 O'Reilly Nationals; 1997 SuperNat'ls)
Wins: 2 (1997, 1998 O'Reilly Nationals)
Won-Lost Record: 21-8
SuperNationals record: 5-3
Best Performances:
    4.809seconds, April, 1999
    316.90 mph, March 22, 1998
    LAST YEAR – After qualifying eighth and beating Gary Densham in round
one, Tony lost to mentor and teammate John Force.

DID YOU KNOW:

Tony is responsible for painting one-of-a-kind driving helmets not only for himself and Force but also for 2000 Pro Stock Champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., Top Fuel drivers Kenny Bernstein and Cory McClenathan and his racing brothers, Cruz and Frank ....Tony is the Hispanic spokesperson for AAA of Texas ....Although he's driven Funny Cars for six years, Tony began his pro career in a Top Fuel dragster and, in fact, qualified such a car for 1993 O'Reilly Nationals at HRP in which he lost to Scott Kalitta in the second round ....in 1996, his first year with Team Castrol, Tony earned the AAA of Southern California Road to the Future Award, which identifies the sport's future stars ....although he's in only his fifth full season on the pro tour, Tony already has reached the finals 26 times in 104 career starts for Team Castrol and John Force Racing. He's appeared in four finals this season, losing two of them to his teammate.

SCHEDULE: Qualifying at 2:45 & 6:45 pm (ET) Friday; 12:15 & 5 pm (ET) Saturday. Finals at 12 noon (ET) Sunday.

The Race on TV: ESPN2 will provide coverage from 2:30 until 4 pm (ET) on Sunday, Oct . 29, and from 7:30 until 10 pm (ET) the same day.