Reading: Tony Pedregon preview

Tony Pedregon Ready for Pennsylvania's 'Mineshaft'
Quaker State Racing Looks for Record-Breaking Weekend

MOHNTON, Pa. (Sept. 15, 2004) -- Maple Grove Raceway has traditionally been a place of record-setting performances. Much of that can be attributed to the cooler conditions and ample amounts of sea-level oxygen available in this central Pennsylvania quarter mile mineshaft.

These are the same conditions that breed confidence for the Quaker State Racing Monte Carlo Nitro Funny Car team and driver Tony Pedregon, who won this event back during the 1992 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season. He talked about what to expect this weekend.

"It's a high-powered track," Pedregon said. "Maple Grove always has a favorable a climate and weather conditions. I think that plays into our hands. I think over the summer races we were really trying to focus on getting the car to perform when the track was hotter. I think we started to get there, but I know we've been pleased with how the car has performed under good conditions. It might be a blessing if we have that kind of a climate this weekend. I'm real excited about it."

The Quaker State Racing team has qualified in the top half of the field in four-straight races, which is something Pedregon has taken notice of.

"Without a doubt, this team is coming together," Pedregon continued. "It's taken three quarters of a year or better, but the one thing we continue to learn as a new race team is that it's very competitive out there. We're up against teams that have 15 to 20 years of experience. We're doing this and accomplishing things in a short period of time, which is quite satisfying. I think we're to a point where things are really coming together. We had to go through the learning process, but were on schedule for where we wanted to be at this point in time. We have five races left, and for us, that's five opportunities to win a race.

Quaker State Racing Notebook:

THE HOME STRETCH: September always marks the home stretch of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. With five races remaining, Tony Pedregon and the Quaker State Racing Monte Carlo racing team have a definite set of goals to accomplish.

"We feel real upbeat about the end of the season," Pedregon said. "We've been putting a lot of time, effort and thought into what we can achieve. Our goal this year was not to just be in the top 10 in points, but find a way to the winner's circle. To be able to deliver that to Quaker State before the year's end would be quite an accomplishment for us. We wouldn't be happy with anything less. Right now, of the five races, we want to focus one winning just one and once we do that, we reset our goals. But for right now, that one victory is what we're after."

-PedregonRacing.com