Tony Pedregon, the 2003 NHRA Nitro Funny Car World Champion, piloted his brand new, Q Horsepower Funny Car to the semifinal round held this past weekend at the newly remodeled racetrack in Norwalk. This event marked the first time the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series made an appearance at this facility.
“Overall, we made it to the semifinals and moved back into the top three in points and had a successful launch of the new Q Horsepower Funny Car. I’d say we had a good weekend, ” said Pedregon. “Our goal is to continue to build off our success and keep performing consistently each round. ”
Pedregon, the No. 3 qualifier with a 4.757, knocked off Tony Bartone in the first round of funny car action. Pedregon’s Q Horsepower Funny Car launched hard off the line and ripped through the lights with a winning 4.871, 318.31 mph.
Pedregon was paired against Bruce Wilkerson in the quarterfinal round with Wilkerson winning lane choice. He was quick on the gas and edged Wilkerson at the line with a 4.961, 298.73 mph to Wilkerson’s losing 5.052, 293.92 mph.
“For the first time in a long time we were dealing with a race track with one lane that was considerably better than the other, ” explained Pedregon. “We didn’t have lane choice, so that put us at a disadvantage. ”
Kenny Bernstein faced Pedregon in the Semifinal round. “We had the slower lane so we had to play it smart, ” said Pedregon of giving up lane choice to Bernstein. It was even off the starting line and at mid-track. Bernstein edged Pedregon at the stripe to take the win.
Pedregon moves up to 3rd in the NHRA Nitro Funny Car Countdown to the Championship. He’ll be looking to continue consistent performance as the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series heads to Bristol, Tenn. for the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, July 6-8.
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