Seattle: Tony Pedregon final summary

Tony Pedregon Falls in the First Round
Quaker State Racing Improves His Performance

KENT, Wash. (July 25, 2004) -- Tony Pedregon, driver of the Quaker State Racing Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car, fell in the first round of eliminations to Eric Medlin during today's NHRA national event at Pacific Raceways.

Pedregon, the reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car World Champion, ran a 4.891-second elapsed time at 316.97 mph, but it wasn't enough to catch Medlin's 4.948-second elapsed time at 314.75 mph. The California resident talked about his day.

"The car definitely performed the way we wanted it too," Pedregon said. "(Crew chief) Dickie Venables did the right things, and made the car almost perfect. I'm a little disappointed in the way I staged the car. It was just a little driver error. We live in a world of tenths, and thousandths of a second, and that's what often determines the outcome of a close race. At this point, my responsibility is to locate and understand what I did wrong.

"My mental preparation will definitely be better for Sonoma (Calif.)," Pedregon added. "We didn't lose a lot of ground overall, so there is no reason to panic. We adapted almost better than any other team, with the drastic change in conditions. We know this car has just as much potential, even with the rule changes that have been made, so I'm quite happy about that. We need to get the consistency, and we're really working on that area. I'm discouraged a little bit short term, but the long-term prospects for this team are quite bright. We go to the next race, like a champion, and see if we can come out on top."

-PedregonRacing.com