Cruz Pedregon makes fastest run in NHRA Funny Car history - MotorSportsTalk

For the second straight race weekend, history was made in the National Hot Rod Association during Friday night’s qualifying for the Toyota Summernationals in Englishtown, N.J.

Two-time former series champion Cruz Pedregon recorded the quickest run in Funny Car history, covering the 1,000-foot track at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in 3.959 seconds (at 310.48 mph).

Pedregon’s time will become an NHRA national record if he can certify (also known as “back up”) the run by posting another time within one percent of the mark during the remainder of the weekend in Saturday’s two final qualifying attempts or in Sunday’s final eliminations.

Pedregon has history on his side at setting the record, having four career No. 1 qualifying efforts and two wins at Englishtown.

“It would mean more than words could say,” Pedregon said about possibly setting the national record. “Even if we don’t back it up, to have the quickest time slip for Funny Car is an honor. It’s something that my team and I have worked really hard for.”

Pedregon eclipsed fellow Funny Car driver Ron Capps’ mark of 3.964 seconds, which had stood as the fastest run prior to Friday, and was also set at Englishtown, in 2012.

In addition to seeking the elapsed time mark, Pedregon is also in pursuit of his first win of the season. He’s coming off his first final round appearance – last week at Topeka, where he lost to Courtney Force due to mechanical failure.

Force made NHRA history by earning the 100th win by a female driver in the sanctioning body’s pro ranks.

“We’re on a roll right now, and had it not been for a supercharger issue that we had (at Topeka), the car should have run another 4.09 (seconds) without even a problem,” Pedregon said. “We came out here, unloaded, 4.05 and then 3.95.

“We’re not doing anything different. I guess all those tire smokes, cylinder dropping, and all those runs, they teach you something. We’ve got to get it right eventually.”

Del Worsham also reached the finish line with a 3.959 second effort (at 321.04) on the run prior to Pedregon’s, but the latter driver was slightly quicker, thus giving him the quickest elapsed time mark for now.

Other top qualifiers in Friday’s sessions were Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Kalitta led the Top Fuel field with a best run of 3.756 seconds at 327.03 mph. He’s the current points leader in the class coming into this weekend.

“It’s always good qualifying up front,” said Kalitta, who is seeking his second win of the season. “It just kind of sets the stage for how things are going. I’m just real proud of my guys. They’re working their butts off on this thing, and they’re just really making it run well. That was definitely a good start for today with qualifying so far.”

Having won last weekend at Topeka, Johnson is going for his second straight race win (and potentially fourth overall) in Pro Stock. He led all drivers in his class with a best run of 6.502 seconds at 213.00 mph.

“We picked up where we left off last week but we had completely different conditions,” said Johnson, whose Topeka win was his third of the season. “Last week it was warm and here it was a lot cooler. That’s a testament to my Mopar Dodge crew. Hats off to them.”

As for Pro Stock Motorcycle rider and New Jersey native Krawiec, he set a track record with a 6.801 second run at 197.80 mph.

“I try not to treat this race any differently than usual, but that’s easy to say and hard to do,” Krawiec said. “I like to spend time with my friends and family, but obviously I still have a job to do. Still, it’s always a really good thing to come back here and race.”

Qualifying continues on Saturday at 12:45 and 3:15 p.m. ET. Sunday’s eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET.

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Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 45th Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, ninth of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.756 seconds, 327.03 mph; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.777, 324.51; 3. Brittany Force, 3.777, 324.44; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.784, 316.75; 5. Antron Brown, 3.786, 313.73; 6. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.792, 320.66; 7. Richie Crampton, 3.794, 321.73; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 3.804, 319.75; 9. Leah Pritchett, 3.812, 314.75; 10. Morgan Lucas, 3.833, 319.82; 11. Terry McMillen, 3.841, 321.19; 12. Spencer Massey, 3.865, 315.86. Not Qualified: 13. Dom Lagana, 3.983, 276.52; 14. Shawn Langdon, 4.022, 223.65; 15. J.R. Todd, 4.533, 166.95; 16. Clay Millican, 6.532, 99.62.

Funny Car — 1. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 3.959, 310.48; 2. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.994, 321.04; 3. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.014, 316.45; 4. John Force, Mustang, 4.015, 310.48; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.027, 314.31; 6. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.030, 319.07; 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., Dodge Charger, 4.048, 311.27; 8. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.054, 313.58; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.055, 305.49; 10. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.071, 310.63; 11. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.074, 307.65; 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.080, 308.50. Not Qualified: 13. Chad Head, 4.093, 310.13; 14. Bob Tasca III, 4.129, 303.64; 15. Tony Pedregon, 4.160, 260.31; 16. Mike Smith, 4.364, 84.68; 17. Terry Haddock, 4.383, no speed.

Pro Stock — 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.502, 213.00; 2. Rodger Brogdon, Chevy Camaro, 6.508, 213.00; 3. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.516, 213.40; 4. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.520, 213.27; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.520, 212.66; 6. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.539, 213.33; 7. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.561, 212.76; 8. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.611, 208.46; 9. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 7.792, 128.80; 10. John Gaydosh Jr, Pontiac GXP, 8.593, 120.29; 11. Val Smeland, Chevy Cobalt, 10.061, 86.65; 12. Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 12.160, 71.90. Not Qualified: 13. Dave Connolly, 13.456, 98.72; 14. Chris McGaha, 14.718, 77.19; 15. Kenny Delco, 17.677, 45.94; 16. V. Gaines, 19.577, 57.43.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.801, 197.80; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.835, 194.94; 3. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.849, 194.58; 4. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.871, 193.82; 5. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.872, 195.17; 6. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.883, 192.30; 7. John Hall, Buell, 6.884, 194.18; 8. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.929, 193.29; 9. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.933, 192.08; 10. Chaz Kennedy, Buell, 6.961, 191.32; 11. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.975, 195.59; 12. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.991, 170.54. Not Qualified: 13. Michael Ray, 6.992, 190.83; 14. Justin Finley, 7.064, 192.25; 15. Junior Pippin, 7.074, 186.48; 16. Adam Arana, 7.133, 153.21; 17. LE Tonglet, 7.360, 189.82; 18. Elvira Karlsson, 7.382, 141.68; 19. Matt Smith, 12.980, 81.36; 20. Joe DeSantis, 16.784, 43.53.

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Jett Lawrence remains perfect in the Pro Motocross series after recording another perfect round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. In his second start on a 450, Lawrence won his second National with his fourth consecutive moto win. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives to describe the exploits on the reigning 250 West Supercross champion.

“The track was so brutal out there,” Lawrence told NBC Sports Jason Thomas. “The bike handles amazing even when it’s not too friendly. You had to be really patient; you couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough before that second moto. I kind of lost energy halfway through, but luckily I could use technique and balance and just keep that flow going.”

Lawrence leaves Hangtown with an 18-point advantage over Ferrandis in the 450 Motocross standings, but perhaps more importantly, he climbed to 19th in the SuperMotocross standings and should he stay there, he has an automatic invitation to the Main events in the SMX Championship.

“On this track, you just have to manage,” Lawrence continued. “If you try to take too much and not respect the track, it will bite you very quickly. It was humbling on the first few laps. I got kicked on the cutout at the start of the third section, the tabletop going to the left. I had to get my focus because the boys were coming.”

Still in his first few races since returning from a concussion suffered at Houston in the Supercross series, Dylan Ferrandis finished second with results of third in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. While Ferrandis was happy with the result, he remains hopeful that he will contend for victory shortly.

“The first moto was very hard for my physically, Ferrandis said. “I got arm pump and when you get arm pump your body gets tired. But I’m very happy because we made a big change for the second moto. We tried stuff every session today and in the last moto the bike was much better, but unfortunately I wasn’t sure what I could do with this bike because the track was very hard and difficult to pass.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Hangtown

With the rash of injuries at the end of the Supercross season, the podium was filled with heartwarming stories. Cooper Webb returned to action last week in Pala and failed to make the podium. He is steadily improving with a third-place finish in Hangtown. after finishing with a 4-2.

“It’s incredible what seven days can do,” Webb said. “Last week I felt like I was going to get lapped in the second moto. This week, I could see the leader. It was nice. I fought hard, learned how to suffer again there and that felt nice.

Moto 2 wasn’t pretty for Lawrence. On several occasions in the opening laps, he nearly high sided as he rode the front wheel through the ruts. The reward was worth the risk. By the halfway point, Lawrence had 4.5-second lead over Webb, who was embroiled in a tight three-rider battle for second with his teammate Aaron Plessinger pressuring him and Ferrandis ready to take advantage if those made contact.

It took 20 minutes for Plessinger to get around Webb and once he did, he trailed Lawrence by four seconds. But then, with three minutes remaining, Plessinger crashed and had difficulty restarting the bike, handing second back to Webb who has seven seconds behind Lawrence. Plessinger fell to fourth with results of third and sixth.

Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five with a 5-4.

Heartbreak for Aaron Plessinger as he was charging forward 💔#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/vQtKIsuhVg

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2023

Last week Hunter Lawrence won the overall with a 3-1. He repeated that feat in Hangtown in an exact replica of his Fox Raceway results last week. In Moto 1, Lawrence got off to a slow start and lost 10 seconds in the opening laps. Forced to overcome a sixth-place position in the race at the end of Lap 1, he once again caught the riders ahead of him when the field hit heavy traffic. For the second week, scored another 3-1 for the Hangtown National win.

“The start was crucial’ I knew I had to go,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “They laid a lot of water down, so I didn’t want to be behind any longer than [I was]. First hot one of the year, was a bit of a wakeup call, so I’m happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”

Lawrence’s third-place finish in Moto 1 featured a fierce battle for final spot on the podium when he caught Spain’s Guillem Farres and France’s Tom Vialle. With Lawrence hailing from Australia, the international nature of the sport was highlighted.

Lawrence left Hangtown with a 10-point advantage over Haiden Deegan in the Pro Motocross championship battle.

Click here for 250 overall results

Justin Cooper finished second in both motos to finish second overall. Hangtown represented a huge improvement from Fox Raceway where he finished fifth overall with a 5-4 finish in the two motos. Cooper pressured Haiden Deegan in the second half of Moto 1 and he earned the holeshot in the second moto and stayed within three seconds of Lawrence in that race.

“He was following me a little bit, checking out my lines, seeing where he was better,” Cooper said. “It’s disappointing to give up the lead like that but it was way better than last weekend. I will definitely take two seconds. I want to be on the top of the step. I feel like I get close to the top step but I never get it done. That’s building up the frustration – the fire. I really want to get one of these wins, so it’s time to start digging.”

Haiden Deegan earned the first holeshot of his career in Moto 1 and rode away from the field, building a four-second lead in the opening laps. Cooper trimmed the lead at the halfway point and for a while it leveled off at two seconds. Then Cooper made another charge with three to go and closed to within a second. Deegan was biding his time, however.

“I was saving a little. I knew at the end Justin was going to try and put a charge on. I let him get up close and then sent it super hard at the end to break him a little at the end.”

Deegan’s first moto win comes in only his fourth National and he remains perfect in regard to podiums this year.

“This was a dream since I was a little kid, to win,” Deegan said. “And in my fourth race, it’s gnarly. I was just sending it. I was getting a little tired at the end becasue I left my mouth open the whole time. It’s unreal; I’m so hyped. I wanted to win bad and I proved it to you guys.”

Chaos erupted in turn 1 in Moto 2 Jeremy Martin went and another rider ran over his arm. Michael Mosiman crashed further down the track on that same lap. Both riders were helped off course by the Alpinestars Medical team.

Deegan grabs his first 250 Mx moto win!1️⃣#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/1FH5s1ZHfn

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 3, 2023