Battle for Second Is a Civil War

Irrepressible John Force, the former truck driver from Yorba Linda, has run away with his sixth National Hot Rod Assn. funny car championship, but behind him is a tight family duel for second place between the Pedregon brothers, Tony and Cruz.

After 18 of 19 events, Tony has a minuscule 37-point lead over Cruz, 1,292 to 1,255, and after two rounds of qualifying for Sunday’s Winston Select Finals at the Pomona Raceway, Tony stands No. 1 with a 4.981-second run he made Thursday. Cruz is No. 11 at 5.166.

“It’s like a war zone out there,” Tony said of the family feud. “I haven’t asked our mother who she’s rooting for when me and Cruz race against one another. I’m afraid to ask.”

Both drive for high-profile, heavily sponsored teams, Tony for Force and Castrol, Cruz for Joe Gibbs and McDonald’s. Force ran an event-record 305.70 mph Friday, but his elapsed time of 5.026 failed to unseat his teammate.

“I’ll be surprised if John doesn’t come out with a hot number tomorrow, but the main thing on my mind is keeping that second spot [in the final standings] from Cruz,” Tony said. “As for racing my brother, I’ve beat him and he’s beat me. Cruz knows how competitive I am.”

Said Cruz, “When Force called up my brother, I thought what a career boost this was for Tony. It would be like Richard Petty or A.J. Foyt calling up. Force is a legend. I’m pleased for Tony and if little brother wants to play in our sandbox, more power to him.

“But tell him to move out of the way if he sees me coming.”

Cruz, 33, already has an NHRA championship in his resume, having won as a rookie in 1992 while racing for Larry Minor. Tony, 31, started the year as a look-see test driver for Force, but after the fourth race Force told him he was a full-time teammate.

A third Pedregon brother, Frank Jr., 34, is racing at Pomona in an alcohol funny car, and their father, Frank, raced dragsters in the NHRA’s early years.

“Cruz always helped me until I started racing him,” Tony said. “My brothers and I were always brawling. We all started driving early. I can remember when Frank was 16, my dad would give him the keys to drive us to the race track.

“We’d take the old 91 freeway [to the now defunct Orange County Raceway in Irvine]. One time, Cruz and I started fighting in the back and Frank stopped the car and pulled over. He hopped over the seat and got involved in the fight.”

Cruz remembers: “Tony was the baby and got his way most of the time. If either Frank or I looked at him hard, he went screaming for Mom or Dad.”

In head-to-head meetings, Cruz has a 3-2 edge over his younger brother. Cruz also has 17 funny car victories to one for Tony.

Tony’s one win was memorable, however. He beat Force in the final round of the Fram Nationals at Atlanta.

“I felt bad when I beat John,” Tony said. “He’s my boss and he’s also a guy I have to face every so often. Last year, I raced him a few times. John Force doesn’t like to lose. If you’re going to get yourself up to beat anyone, it’s going to be John Force.”

Or brother Cruz.

Drag Racing Notes

Cory McClenathan set an elapsed-time event record in top fuel with a pass of 4.651 seconds, bettering the 4.689 set last year by the late Blaine Johnson of Santa Maria. It was a career best for the Anaheim driver, another member of Gibbs’ team. . . . Warren Johnson of Duluth, Ga., also set an elapsed-time record, in pro stock, with a 6.994-second run, breaking his own 6.997 set last year. He has now run 23 of the 39 six-second pro stock runs in NHRA history.

Despite crosswinds that ranged from 13 mph to 24 mph, making riding a motorcycle precarious, Matt Hines of Whittier and Angelle Seeling of Americus, Ga., set event records in pro stock motorcycle. Hines ran 7.462 seconds elapsed time, and Seeling, the first woman to win an NHRA motorcycle event, reached 182.33 mph. Both rode Suzuki GXSRs. Wind velocity readings came from nearby Brackett Airport.

Dale VanGundy, a top-alcohol funny car driver from Anaheim, was hospitalized after his Chevrolet Camaro hit the retaining wall during time trials. He was conscious and alert, according to Dan Brickey, NHRA director of emergency services.

The eight-car field for the Budweiser Classic, a $147,000 event for top-fuel drivers, will start eliminations at 11:30 a.m. today. Qualifying in other pro classes will also continue today with a final session at 2:30 p.m.