Ron Douglas named Crew Chief for Cruz Pedregon

RON DOUGLAS NAMED CREW CHIEF FOR ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FUNNY CAR
Wes Cerny Parts Ways With Cruz Pedregon Racing

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Aug. 23, 2005) -- Cruz Pedregon Racing today announced Ron Douglas has been promoted to crew chief and Sam Shockely has been promoted assistant crew chief of the Advance Auto Parts Nitro Funny Car. It's also confirmed that crew chief Wes Cerny and Pedregon Racing have parted ways.

"Wes Cerny has been a great asset to the Advance Auto Parts team and leaves us on the best of terms. However, with a two-car team, Tony (Pedregon) and I have always had a plan of competing with similar set ups and sharing the most amount of data possible," said Cruz Pedregon, owner and driver of the Advance Auto Parts Funny Car. "This was not happening consistently, and as a result, we needed to make a change to ensure on-track success.

"I'm excited about what Ron Douglas brings to the table as our new crew chief," Pedregon continued. "Under Wes this past year, Ron has learned and proven he has the skills and qualities it takes to lead this team to victory."

Douglas joined Pedregon Racing at the beginning of the 2005 season, as an assistant crew chief. Prior to that, Douglas was a crew chief with Doug Herbert's Top Fuel organization and has worked underneath tuners like Lance Larsen, Dick LaHaie and Larry Frazier. Douglas began his career with Dean Skuza in 1994.

Shockely also joined Pedregon Racing at the beginning of the 2005 season, after serving as assistant crew chief with Doug Herbert's Top Fuel operation, where he started in 1999. Shockely began his career with Jerry Turner Racing's alcohol dragster organization, who fielded a car for Pedregon at that time as well.

-cpr-