Cruz Pedregon, the two-time Funny Car World Champion, is set to compete at the NHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond. With high hopes and a positive outlook, Pedregon and his team are ready to take on the challenge as the summer racing season heats up.
Pedregon shared his thoughts on the upcoming race: “The Snap-on Dodge is starting to come around. It’s consistent, and getting into the summer months, I really feel like that’s going to play into our hands well. With a couple more races before the Western Swing, we expect that consistency to help us in going more rounds.”
Reflecting on his recent performance, Pedregon added, “Making the quarter-finals in Bristol before losing a close race to the eventual winner was really encouraging for the team.”
Pedregon is enthusiastic about racing in Richmond, noting, “We look forward to running in Richmond. It’s going to be warm conditions, but the track is flat and probably one of the smoothest on the circuit. The facility there is a really nice one, and the Dinwiddie/Richmond area fans are always good to see. They have a lot of enthusiasm.”
Virginia Motorsports Park holds special memories for Pedregon. “We’ve had good round wins at Virginia Motorsports Park, and we had a win there in 2008 that spurred us on to our championship year. But, in 1997, we had a pretty bad fire there, and I remember the long shut-off area made it possible for me to stop the car before I got into the sand.”
This week’s race will feature the name of Snap-on Nitro Franchisee Timmy Brann on Pedregon’s car. Timmy has been running his franchise business for 15 years and previously worked in trucking with his dad. Timmy, a longtime fan of Pro Stock, will have his first experience with Funny Car racing and is excited to bring his daughter to meet Cruz Pedregon.
As the primary sponsor, Snap-on encourages NHRA fans like Timmy to follow Makers and Fixers on Instagram and inspire others to share their stories at makersandfixers.com.
To see the latest Cruz news, like his Facebook page, on X, and Instagram.
This story was originally published on June 20, 2024. 
