In 1993 Pedregon qualified for his first NHRA event driving a Top Fuel Dragster.[1] In 1995 he ran a limited Funny Car Schedule for car owner Larry Minor.
John Force Racing Daysedit
In 1996 Pedregon made his debut at John Force Racing driving a funny car. In his first season with the team he made seven final round appearances, winning his first career event at Atlanta and finishing 2nd overall in season points under car owner John Force. He was also named the inaugural winner of the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. In 1997 Tony beat brother Cruz in the first ever funny car final between brothers. He was also the number one qualifier in three events and made it to five finals. In 1998 he won two events in two finals. In 1999 Pedregon was the No.1 qualifier at four events and posted the quickest time in history when he clocked a 4.779 second run at Gainesville Raceway. He was the runner-up in the Funny Car bonus race at Indianapolis . In 2000 Pedregon went to six Finals collecting two wins.[2]
In 2001 Pedregon won at Englishtown after qualifying 1st, a career first. He also won back to back races for the first time in his career. In 2002 he won six times in eight final rounds and finished 2nd in points for the 4th time in his career. He also won three consecutive races for the first time in his career. In 2003 Pedregon finally won the Championship becoming the first driver to win besides John Force since 1992 when brother Cruz won. He also won 8 events that season putting him 4th on the all-time career win list. Pedregon decided at the end of the season to go join brother Cruz and form Pedregon Racing.[3]
Pedregon Racingedit
Pedregon at Charlotte in 2011
In his first season as a team owner, finished No. 8 in the final Championship standings, his ninth consecutive season finishing in the top 10. Pedregon recorded his Career-best E.T. is the seventh quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history and Recorded two of the 10 fastest Funny Car speeds in NHRA history (331.28, Chicago 1; 329.83, Atlanta). His career won-lost record in elimination rounds of 319-189 is 13th-best among all active pro drivers with 50 or more decisions. Was the No. 1 qualifier three times (Las Vegas 1, Atlanta, Chicago 1); Qualified for all 23 events, upping his national event qualifying streak to 87 consecutive races dating back to Bristol 2001, fifth best among all active pro driver. Tony Pedregon joins a short list of only five NHRA Professional drag racers to have ever been nominated for the ESPY Best Driver Award. Joining Pedregon are Tony Schumacher, John Force, Greg Anderson and Melanie Troxel. No drag racer has ever won the ESPY Best Driver Award.[4]
In 2005 Pedregon set career best for time when he and his brother (Cruz) each ran 4.680s at Chicago 2. He finished the season with two wins and a runner-up finish at the final five events. He qualified for all 23 events, increasing his streak of qualifying at national events to 110. He also earned three No. 1 qualifiers and had the low E.T. at three events. In 2006 Pedregon won three events and finished top five in the final points standings. In 2007 Pedregon won his second NHRA Funny Car title winning four events along the way. In 2008 Tony won four events and qualified first in two events and finished fifth in the final points. In 2009 Pedregon won three events and finished sixth in the final points.[5]
On Oct 29, 1998, Tony Pedregon, sponsored by Castrol Syntec and Action Performance Racing, unveiled a racing car that featured slain Tejano superstar Selena[6]
Broadcasting careeredit
On October 31, 2015, it was announced that Pedregon would join the Fox NHRA broadcast team in 2016 for their NHRA Mello Yello Series coverage.[7][8]
Personal lifeedit
Pedregon resides in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife Andrea. He has four children: two daughters Cecily and Arielle, and two sons Desidario and Benecio. He is also the son of Drag Racing Legend Flamin' Frank Pedregon.[9] He is of Mexican American descent.[10]
Referencesedit
^"Tony Pedregon Biography". Tony Pedregon Racing. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^"Tony Pedregon Biography". Tony Pedregon Racing. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^"Tony Pedregon Biography". Tony Pedregon Racing. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^"selena-car-to-make-debut". Tony Pedregon Racing. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^"Tony Pedregon Biography". Tony Pedregon Racing. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^"selena-car-to-make-debut". Tony Pedregon Racing. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
^"Tony Pedregon Joins NHRA Broadcast Team". National Speed Sport News. Turn 3 Media LLC. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^"Pedregon named expert analyst on NHRA on FOX in 2016". YouTube.com. NHRA. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^"Tony Pedregon Biography". Tony Pedregon Racing. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^"NHRA's success fueled by blend of racial groups, ethnicities". 7 April 2013.
April 10, 2024
tony, pedregon, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, avai. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information September 2013 This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Tony Pedregon news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Tony Pedregon born March 8 1965 is a 2 time NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car Champion from Torrance California He is also the youngest of the Pedregon brothers His brother Cruz Pedregon is the 1992 and 2008 NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car Champion Tony PedregonPedregon in 2010NationalityAmericanBorn 1965 03 08 March 8 1965 age 59 Torrance CaliforniaRelated toCruz Pedregon brother Frank Pedregon father Funny CarYears active1993 2015 driver 2016 present commentator Wins43Fastest laps4 659 seconds quarter mile Best finish1st in 2003 2007Awards1996Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award Contents 1 Racing career 1 1 Early Days 1 2 John Force Racing Days 1 3 Pedregon Racing 2 Broadcasting career 3 Personal life 4 ReferencesRacing career editEarly Days edit In 1993 Pedregon qualified for his first NHRA event driving a Top Fuel Dragster 1 In 1995 he ran a limited Funny Car Schedule for car owner Larry Minor John Force Racing Days edit In 1996 Pedregon made his debut at John Force Racing driving a funny car In his first season with the team he made seven final round appearances winning his first career event at Atlanta and finishing 2nd overall in season points under car owner John Force He was also named the inaugural winner of the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award In 1997 Tony beat brother Cruz in the first ever funny car final between brothers He was also the number one qualifier in three events and made it to five finals In 1998 he won two events in two finals In 1999 Pedregon was the No 1 qualifier at four events and posted the quickest time in history when he clocked a 4 779 second run at Gainesville Raceway He was the runner up in the Funny Car bonus race at Indianapolis In 2000 Pedregon went to six Finals collecting two wins 2 In 2001 Pedregon won at Englishtown after qualifying 1st a career first He also won back to back races for the first time in his career In 2002 he won six times in eight final rounds and finished 2nd in points for the 4th time in his career He also won three consecutive races for the first time in his career In 2003 Pedregon finally won the Championship becoming the first driver to win besides John Force since 1992 when brother Cruz won He also won 8 events that season putting him 4th on the all time career win list Pedregon decided at the end of the season to go join brother Cruz and form Pedregon Racing 3 Pedregon Racing edit nbsp Pedregon at Charlotte in 2011In his first season as a team owner finished No 8 in the final Championship standings his ninth consecutive season finishing in the top 10 Pedregon recorded his Career best E T is the seventh quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history and Recorded two of the 10 fastest Funny Car speeds in NHRA history 331 28 Chicago 1 329 83 Atlanta His career won lost record in elimination rounds of 319 189 is 13th best among all active pro drivers with 50 or more decisions Was the No 1 qualifier three times Las Vegas 1 Atlanta Chicago 1 Qualified for all 23 events upping his national event qualifying streak to 87 consecutive races dating back to Bristol 2001 fifth best among all active pro driver Tony Pedregon joins a short list of only five NHRA Professional drag racers to have ever been nominated for the ESPY Best Driver Award Joining Pedregon are Tony Schumacher John Force Greg Anderson and Melanie Troxel No drag racer has ever won the ESPY Best Driver Award 4 In 2005 Pedregon set career best for time when he and his brother Cruz each ran 4 680s at Chicago 2 He finished the season with two wins and a runner up finish at the final five events He qualified for all 23 events increasing his streak of qualifying at national events to 110 He also earned three No 1 qualifiers and had the low E T at three events In 2006 Pedregon won three events and finished top five in the final points standings In 2007 Pedregon won his second NHRA Funny Car title winning four events along the way In 2008 Tony won four events and qualified first in two events and finished fifth in the final points In 2009 Pedregon won three events and finished sixth in the final points 5 On Oct 29 1998 Tony Pedregon sponsored by Castrol Syntec and Action Performance Racing unveiled a racing car that featured slain Tejano superstar Selena 6 Broadcasting career editOn October 31 2015 it was announced that Pedregon would join the Fox NHRA broadcast team in 2016 for their NHRA Mello Yello Series coverage 7 8 Personal life editPedregon resides in Indianapolis Indiana with his wife Andrea He has four children two daughters Cecily and Arielle and two sons Desidario and Benecio He is also the son of Drag Racing Legend Flamin Frank Pedregon 9 He is of Mexican American descent 10 References edit Tony Pedregon Biography Tony Pedregon Racing Retrieved 23 August 2010 Tony Pedregon Biography Tony Pedregon Racing Retrieved 23 August 2010 Tony Pedregon Biography Tony Pedregon Racing Retrieved 23 August 2010 selena car to make debut Tony Pedregon Racing Retrieved 23 August 2010 Tony Pedregon Biography Tony Pedregon Racing Retrieved 23 August 2010 selena car to make debut Tony Pedregon Racing Retrieved 10 August 2011 Tony Pedregon Joins NHRA Broadcast Team National Speed Sport News Turn 3 Media LLC Retrieved 31 October 2015 Pedregon named expert analyst on NHRA on FOX in 2016 YouTube com NHRA Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 31 October 2015 Tony Pedregon Biography Tony Pedregon Racing Retrieved 23 August 2010 NHRA s success fueled by blend of racial groups ethnicities 7 April 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tony Pedregon amp oldid 1170416699, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
