Battle of the former champs goes to Force
DALLAS (Sept. 21) -- Former world champions Cruz Pedregon and John Force
have had some epic battles over the years. They added another chapter
Sunday at the Texas Motorplex with Force getting the best of Pedregon in
the opening round of the 23rd annual Super Start Batteries NHRA Nationals
by a scant three-hundredths of a second.
"I heard him over there but I thought we had enough to hold on for the
win," Pedregon said. "I didn't see his car until after the finish line
but I didn't see the win light either. We knew he was a step ahead of us
on Saturday so we felt like we needed to step it up a bit today and Rahn
(Tobler, crew chief) got after it, but they stepped up a bit also."
Pedregon, the 1992 NHRA Funny Car champion, was intensely focused on the
race, leaving the starting line with a stellar .022-second reaction time
against Force's solid, but trailing, .061-second start. The race was on
from there with Force slowing catching and passing Pedregon at the
eight-mile mark, winning with a 4.163 at 302.48 mph to Pedregon's 4.233
at 295.46 mph in his Advance Auto Parts Toyota Solara.
The result dropped Pedregon from first to fifth place in the
tightly-packed POWERade championship points standings as the other four
drivers bunched up behind him at the start of the event all managed to
advance.
"This is just a bump in the road," Pedregon said of just his third
first-round exit of the year. "Fortunately, we had a great outing last
weekend in Charlotte so that offsets this weekend a little bit. We need
to show the ability to rebound from races like this because they will
happen. If we're good enough, we'll still win the championship.
"It's so close at the top of the points. With the way we all seem to be
taking turns knocking each other out we should be able to get out of here
without too much damage. The only thing that could hurt all of us is if
one driver starts to run away with this thing, but I just don't see that
happening."
Fortunately, Pedregon won't have long to wait to get back in the fight as
the Mid-South NHRA Nationals begin Friday at Memphis Motorsports Park in
Millington, Tenn.
"Memphis will be as hot as it was here, and Rahn seems to do really well
in the heat, so we'll hope for a big rebound there," Pedregon said. "I
also want to say thanks to the huge group of guests we had here this
weekend. They really kept us pumped up, and that means a lot when you're
fighting for the championship."
-credit: pr
