Culture|Garage

Route 66 Raceway, Chicago- Chalk another win up for Mr. Tony Pedregon, who took his 38th Funny Car title home this weekend. Able to endure through terrible eliminations weather and a fire during qualifying rounds, Pedregon took out a tough field to claim the title.

Pedregon bested second-place Scott Kalitta in the final round, Pedregon running a 4.818@319.75 to Kalitta’s 4.957@308.92. “I’ve been doing this a lot of years, but this is the first time I’ve had a race where we’ve bounced back like this. We rose from the ashes after Pomona, but that took a few races. The way we did all this within 24 hours is a tribute to the great group of guys we have. I knew these guys were low on sleep after working until three in the morning, but I knew a taste of winning would give them the adrenaline they needed to get through the day,” said Pedregon after winning the final. What’s even more impressive is that Pedregon won using a chassis that had not been run before. Top Fuel yielded no surprises as Tony “The Sarge” Schumacher beat out “Hot Rod” Fuller in the final round, marking the U.S. Army’s 233′d birthday with a win. Schumacher took the win in a 4.4-second run, while Fuller’s tires went up in smoke, handing the win to the Army rail. Pro Stock saw another veteran driver in the winner’s circle, as Kurt Johnson took home a Wally at the end of the day. Johnson knocked out a tough field in pursuit of victory, including his father, Warren. Jeg Coughlin fell to Johnson in the final round. In Pro Stock Bike, Chris Rivas was victorious, streaking to the win in a close 7.051 to opponent Craig Treble’s E.T. of 7.134. “Treble tried to play a little bit with me. He was trying a couple of things, and I knew he was doing it, but I didn’t let it shake me. He rushed the first light and brought the rev limiter on before he full-staged. It worked out for him when he did it in the first round but not in the final,” said Rivas after claiming the win.

Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA- Kasey Kahne isn’t like lightning. It’s not that he’s not fast-he just strikes twice. Yes, the Soccer-Mom heartthrob has done it again, but this time doubled down, winning both the pole and the race at Pocono, one of the fastest and favorite tracks on the NASCAR schedule. Although early in the race Kahne was penalized for missing lug nuts on his car after a pit stop and sent to the back of the back of the pack as per the rules, the Dodge driver managed to work with his crewchief to pit and pass his way to victory lane. Kahne won by a margin of 3.702 seconds over second place finisher Brian Vickers, and third place finisher Denny Hamlin, both in Toyotas.

via: NHRA, NASCAR, Car Craft, Sports Business Daily

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