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NHRA: Pedregon Rides Impala Past Mustangs In Chicago
Written by: Rob Geiger - Go2Geiger.com
go2geiger.com   http://www.go2geiger.com
06/06/2009
Joliet, IL
 
With a quartet of Ford drivers nipping at his heels, two-time Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon managed to keep his Chevy out front Friday during a quick nighttime session at Route 66 Raceway.

Pedregon's 4.089 at 304.39 mph placed him alongside Top Fuel leader Antron Brown and Pro Stock veteran Mike Edwards on the provisional pole at the 12th annual United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., just south of Chicago.
Pedregon's 4.089 at 304.39 mph placed him alongside Top Fuel leader Antron Brown and Pro Stock veteran Mike Edwards on the provisional pole at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. (Go2Geiger.com) ยป More Photos

"The Fords have been taking it to us," Pedregon said, referring to the brand's resurgence in 2009. "There's more of them this year and they're all working together. That's made a big difference. And they got a new design coming out soon so they'll get even better.

"I've remained loyal to GM and I get a lot of fans thanking me for that. The Ford guys have a formidable group over there and the Toyotas are strong but we're figuring out how to do more with less. Over the last couple of races we've taken a couple of really good butt-kickings and it's really fired us up and got us focused."

Mike Neff was the closest to Pedregon with a 4.110 at 305.08 mph in his Drive One Ford. Fourteen-time champion John Force was next with a 4.124 at 303.37 mph in his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford, Bob Tasca III was fourth with a 4.125 at 300.86 mph in the Motorcraft Quick Lane Mustang, and Ashley Force Hood was fifth with a 4.125 at 292.46 mph in her Castol GTX Ford.

Usually reliable Funny Car pros Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, and Del Worsham find themselves needing to improve during Saturday's action to secure a spot in the field.

Brown relegated Chicago native Tony Schumacher to secondary status in the cooler second session with a 3.826 at 317.94 mph in his Matco Tools rail. Schumacher topped out at 3.848 at 311.34 mph in the U.S. Army rail.

"(Tony) may live close to here but it's not his track," Brown said. "Hey man, we have fun with them and I know they're hungry but so are we. Everyone is running hard and Tony and Larry (Dixon) were behind us that session so I didn't know if that 3.82 would hold but it did.

"It was an incredible run. My crew guys were amped up because they know this car can run when the conditions are like they were tonight so they were ready."

Last week's
winner Larry Dixon was third in the Al-Anabi dragster with a 3.857 at 301.54 mph. Top runners Cory McClenathan and Brandon Bernstein did not qualify Friday and will need to make the show during Saturday's final two sessions.

It what's becoming commonplace in the category, Edwards blew everyone away with a double-track-record 6.587 at 209.88 mph in his Young Life/ART Pontiac GXP.

"I knew it was a good run but I was shocked when they told me it was a 6.58," said Edwards, a five-time low qualifier this season who was .026 of his closest rival here. "Even so, it might be premature to be up here (in the pressroom) because with the conditions were supposed to see tomorrow, a 6.58 might only be eighth or ninth when it's all said and done.

"(NHRA technical inspectors) came by and tore me down, which is fine. They've been by several times this year and I welcome it because it makes me feel better. I hope it makes everyone else feel better too."

A group of 25 Pro Stock cars attempted passes Friday. Surprises below the Day 1 cut line include Larry Morgan, Ron Krisher, and Warren Johnson.

Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Horne continues to impress in Pro Stock Motorcycle, racing to the provisional pole here with a 6.936 at 191.84 mph on his Dragstar Buell.

"I kind of just thought we'd come in here and get our feet wet this year," said Horne, who has raced to two final rounds already this season. "But in our three years running Top Fuel bikes we always wanted excellence in everything we did and that's carried over to this team."

Gainesville winner Hector Arana has his Lucas Oil Buell second with a 6.954 at 191.89 mph, while GEICO Powersports Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer is third with a 6.971 at 192.33 mph.

The 20 pounds of extra weight NHRA added to Harley-Davidson V-Rods certainly slowed the Screamin' Eagle team's two riders. Three-time champ Andrew Hines is fifth with a 6.989 at 191.00 mph, while point leader and reigning series champion Eddie Krawiec is ninth with a 7.028 at 185.82 mph.
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