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Brainerd: Cruz Pedregon Friday summary

Cruz Pedregon Drives to 15th After First Day Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car Poised to Move Up BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 13, 2004) -- Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Racing Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car drove to the 15th position during ...

Published: Aug 14, 2004, 6:58 AM

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Cruz Pedregon Drives to 15th After First Day
Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car Poised to Move Up

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 13, 2004) -- Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Racing Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car drove to the 15th position during today's first round of qualifying activity for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

Pedregon, who clocked in a 5.434-second lap at 246.08 mph in his first pass, hopes to jump into the top half of the field with a strong effort tomorrow.

"The first run looked real good," Pedregon said. "We had really good early numbers -- we were one of the top teams in that area. We then spun the tires around half-track, the car got out of shape, so I just shut it off.

"We were a little off on that second run," Pedregon continued. "The car went into a severe tire shake. I backed off on the throttle, got back on it and did that twice to recover the car. Unfortunately, it also put a cylinder out at that point and we were running on seven. The engine didn't like that, breaking a rod. That caused quite a bit of engine damage."

Pedregon has been on quite a streak, wracking up seven-straight, top-eight qualifying efforts, dating back to Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.) over this past Memorial Day weekend.

"It was a little disappointing," Pedregon said. "That Friday night run had been our bread-and-butter run. We were just a little off on it. Anytime you don't make a good run on the first one, you want to back off a little on the second. Maybe we backed off a little too much on that last one. The track is in excellent shape and we're going to go out tomorrow and I'm confident we'll get this car fixed."

Advance Auto Parts Racing Notebook:

COOLER TEMPERATURES: A cold front has moved through the middle part of Minnesota, bringing unseasonably cool conditions to Brainerd International Raceway. It may be an advantage for Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car, as they try to capture an eighth-straight, top-half of the field qualifying performance.

"I think they'll be some cloud cover tomorrow," Pedregon noted. "Unlike most tracks where it's very warm on Saturdays, I think we'll make a good run and (Crew chief) Wes (Cerny) will have a better read on things.

"I hope we can get back into the top half of the field tomorrow," Pedregon added. "There have been a lot of teams who have won from many different qualifying positions this year. But we're going to focus on tomorrow first."

-PedregonRacing.com

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