Cruz Pedregon Grabs Top Qualifying Spot at Virginia NHRA Nationals
Cruz Pedregon qualified first in the NHRA Fuel Funny Car class for this weekend’s Third annual Virginia NHRA Nationals POWERade Drag Racing in Petersburg (Richmond), VA. Pedregon’s 4.041 second E.T. at 306.88 MPH put his Advance Auto Parts Toyota Solara out in front during the third round of Qualifying on Saturday. Cruz is currently sixth in the Countdown to the Championship. He is 115 points behind points leader Tim Wilkerson and is only 43 points behind second place Jack Beckman. With a good performance this weekend, Cruz can dramatically improve his POWERade Championship Point Standing.
Tony Pedregon ran his Q Horsepower Chevy Impala to a second place qualifying position. Tony’s quickest run happened in the last round of qualifying on Saturday with a 4.041 E.T. at 305.22 MPH. The third place qualifier, and third driver to hit a 4.041 E.T. was Mike Neff in his Old Spice Ford Mustang. Melanie Troxel qualified fourth with a 4.047 E.T. at 309.98 MPH, the fastest speed so far this weekend. Troxel's performance was consistently fast in each round of qualifying and could have a a very good weekend if she maintains consistency. Ashley Force took the fifth qualifying spot with a 4.048 E.T. at 304.46 MPH. The top five qualifiers have an elapsed time spread of just 0.007, which will make for some close racing this weekend.
ESPN2 will air the Virginia NHRA Nationals Eliminations from 7:30 PM to 10:30 ET on Sunday October 12th, and will replay Eliminations on Friday October 24th from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM ET.
First round pairings and qualifying results:
Cruz Pedregon Advance Auto Parts Solara 4.041 306.88
Tony Bartone Canidae Pet Food Monte Carlo 4.157 292.71
Tony Pedregon Q Horsepower Impala 4.041 305.22
Jerry Toliver Rockstar Energy Drinks Charger 4.125 299.00
Mike Neff Old Spice Mustang 4.041 304.80
Ron Capps NAPA Auto Parts Charger 4.088 295.98
Melanie Troxel ProCare RX Charger 4.047 309.98
Gary Scelzi Mopar Oakley Charger 4.081 301.00
Ashley Force Castrol GTX Mustang 4.048 304.46
Tim Wilkerson Levi, Ray & Shoup Impala 4.079 302.48
Robert Hight AAA of So. Cal Mustang 4.056 304.32
John Force Castrol GTX Mustang 4.078 298.21
Jack Beckman Valvoline/MTS Charger 4.059 301.54
Del Worsham CSK Impala 4.078 296.70
Tommy Johnson Jr. Monster Energy Drink Charger 4.070 303.64
Jeff Arend DHL Solara 4.078 302.55