Pomona II: Cruz Pedregon Thursday summary

Cruz Pedregon Opens Strong at Pomona
Advance Auto Parts Machine Claims Second After First Session

POMONA, Calif. (Nov 3, 2005) -- Cruz Pedregon and the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car started out strong for this weekend's 41st Annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

Pedregon lapped the historic Pomona Raceway in 4.760 seconds at 324.12 mph, taking the provisional second slot. With three more sessions to go, Pedregon feels the transformation the team has experienced is beginning to pay off, and he is ready to fight for the No. 1 spot.

"Any time you can run in the 4.70s during a weekend, you've done something well," Pedregon said. "And to do it on the first run really sets you up right for the rest of the weekend. We're up with cars contending for the championship, but we're here to win the race. We want to keep the momentum.

"The Advance Auto Parts team put on a strong performance today," Pedregon continued. "We had a little trouble and torched a head gasket, let a little compression out of the engine, so we could have run a bit better, but we can't complain. We have the car that can go after that low 4.70 because that's what it's going to take to get that No. 1 spot. It would be nice to get another No. 1 qualifier and we're in a position to do that now."

-www.PedregonRacing.com-