Finally, a Funny Thing Happened to Pedregon

Cruz Pedregon has a date with his barber, and, for him at least, not a moment too soon.

One of the top funny-car drag racers in the 1990s, Pedregon then went winless for five years. Halfway through the NHRA’s 2005 season, he vowed to stop cutting his hair until he won another event.

The slump finally ended Sunday, when the Santa Rosa Valley driver beat Ron Capps in the final round to win the funny-car event in the SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas.

“I’ve never been so glad to see a win light come on,” said Pedregon, 42.

It helped that Capps lost traction off the starting line, so Pedregon merely had to steer his Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet down the quarter-mile in a relatively pokey 5.417 seconds at 266.16 mph, well below the 300 mph-plus that funny cars regularly post.

The victory also lifted Pedregon to fifth from 10th in the points chase for the NHRA Powerade championship.

Winning came much easier for Pedregon in the 1990s, when he was driving for other owners. Before Sunday, he had won 22 funny-car events and had won the series championship in 1992.

As 2000 arrived, Pedregon had formed his own team and managed one win in Englishtown, N.J. Then he took the next year off, to find additional sponsors and to be a drag-racing analyst for television.

When he climbed back into the car in 2002, he figured his winning ways would quickly resume.

He was wrong.

“I thought I could win with any people, in any car and at any time,” he said.

“But the one missing ingredient was the right people [who prepare the car]. I’ve had to learn as an owner the value of people. It’s like being a jockey, you’re only as good as your horse.”

Pedregon, whose brothers Tony and Frank also race funny cars, said he never lost confidence but, “It was definitely getting old not to win. It was tough.”

Still, Pedregon stayed in the hunt last year. He was in the semifinals several times and set the lowest elapsed times in two events, at Englishtown and Chicago.

The close calls, in fact, gave him the confidence to “have a little fun” and announce that he wasn’t cutting his hair until his next victory.

“But I didn’t realize we would go this long,” he said with a laugh. “I kept thinking, ‘Man, what if I don’t ever win a race again?’ ”

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Ladies First

As Danica Patrick and Katherine Legge keep trying to become the first woman to win a major open-wheel race, several women already are posting winning records in drag racing.

For the first time in NHRA history, two of its four main classes are simultaneously being led by women, Melanie Troxel in top fuel and Angelle Sampey in pro stock motorcycles. Erica Enders is in third place in pro stock cars.

Troxel, 33, won for the second time this year last Sunday in Las Vegas, and she has been in the final round for six consecutive weekends -- five this year and the final event last year. It was the first time any NHRA driver had reached the final round in the first five events of the year.

If she does it again at the NHRA’s next stop in Bristol, Tenn., on April 28-30, she’ll tie teammate and defending top-fuel champion Tony Schumacher, who holds the record for consecutive final-round appearances with seven.

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Last Laps

* The Indy Racing League is talking with Dodger Stadium officials about a possible race adjacent to the ballpark, but both sides declined to elaborate.

Dodger spokeswoman Camille Johnston confirmed that the team had been contacted by the IRL, but said she could not provide any details. IRL spokesman John Griffin declined to even confirm the talks, first reported by the Orange County Register.

But Griffin said the series was “looking at a number of different opportunities” in Southern California, including “a return to the California Speedway.”

The IRL raced for four years at the Fontana track, but it was left off the series’ more compact schedule this year. Griffin did say that in future seasons, any additional races to the IRL’s 14-race series probably would be added early in the year.

* Most of the auto racing world is off this weekend for an Easter break. The only major event scheduled is a NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday in Nashville.

* Irwindale Speedway will try for a fourth time Saturday night to conduct its first late-models feature race of 2006. Earlier attempts were postponed because of poor weather.

* Several California drivers registered to compete for rookie-of-the-year honors this year in the AutoZone West Series of NASCAR’s Grand National Division.

They include James Bruncati of Glendora, Daniel DiGiacomo of Dana Point, Eric Hardin of Anaheim, Eric Humphries of Chowchilla, Brian Ickler of San Diego, Justin Lofton of Westmorland and Brian Pannone of Riverside.

* This year’s tax deadline is Monday, because April 15 falls on a weekend. Even so, Perris Auto Speedway in Riverside County is having a “tax day” sale of $10.40 for adult admissions Saturday night, compared with the normal price of $16. USAC/CRA sprint cars top the card. Cory Kruseman of Ventura leads Damion Gardner of Concord, Calif., by 26 points in the standings.

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This week

NASCAR BUSCH Pepsi 300

* When: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 8 a.m.); Saturday, race (FX, 1 p.m.).

* Where: Nashville Superspeedway (tri-oval, 1.33 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns); Lebanon, Tenn.

* Race distance: 300 miles, 225 laps.

* 2005 winner: Reed Sorenson.

* Next race: Bashas’ Supermarkets 200, April 21, Avondale, Ariz.