NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

In a 30-plus-year, 700-plus-race Funny Car career, Cruz Pedregon has amassed 40 NHRA national event victories, visiting winner’s circles from Pomona to Reading, Gainesville to Sonoma, Las Vegas to Norwalk, and A to Z from Atlanta Dragway to zMAX Dragway, 17 different venues in all, but has never finished the day holding the Wally in Seattle.

Pacific Raceways has been jinxed for the two-time world champion, who has just two runner-ups, both to John Force and the most recent 22 years ago, so to see his Rip Reynolds-tuned Snap-on Tools flopper atop the qualifying field with a heat-of-the-day 3.93 Friday is a pleasant surprise.

“That was a great run,” he enthused. “The track temperature was 130 degrees, so I want to look at our records and see what’s the best e.t. ever run at a 130-degree temperature. We had the right setup, and it was just perfect all the way down the track. I wish it was going to stay warmer because there are more cars that can go fast when the conditions are fast. There are fewer cars that can thread the needle and hit the clutch just right when the track's hot.

“This year has been frustrating for me because I feel like we've been knocking on the door all year and we don't have we have but two round [wins] to show for it,” he continued. “But if you really pay attention to the numbers and look at our incremental times, you know that it’s only an accident that we're not better, not the other way around. So I think we're the best-kept secret performance-wise, and I hope to not keep it a secret any longer.

“Because it's going to be cooler Saturday, we think it'll take about 3.85 or .86 to to get back up in this [interview] chair here at the end of the [qualifying], and we've got a car, man. That car rips. If you treat it right, it'll run the number. We just have to quit dropping cylinders and shooting ourselves in the foot. If we make the right calls, and we can keep it on eight cylinders, we like our chances.

“If we can't run in the .80s, I'm going to put a bag over my head.”

As the 62-year-old veteran’s career begins to wind down, he’d love to not only finally conquer Seattle but also claim one of the coveted 75th Anniversary Diamond Wallys and finish ahead of young guns like Jordan Vandergriff and Jordan Vandergriff, who are half his age.

“My dad used to race up here in the Northwest, in Puyallup, and Bremerton and Calgary, so I would love to punch it in here,” he said. “I don't know how many shots I'll have at it here, but this could be the weekend.

“It would mean a lot to me, obviously. That's why I still do it, why I still get up on that wheel in that car. I still enjoy it. I'm still good at what I do. I feel like age is just a number and that I can rock and roll with the best of them. It’s a youth movement. I get it, but old dude still has a little something to say about it.”