SIGNATURE PROFILES
©1999-2002 Dwight Drum

TONY PEDREGON

Tony Pedregon is the youngest member of a racing family, a dynasty of Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers. Pedregon's father raced a Top Fuel dragster. His brothers Cruz and Frank race Funny Cars. John Force hired the "youngster" Tony Pedregon to drive a second Ford Mustang Funny Car sponsored by Castrol Syntex.

Force is a legendary character known for his driving skills and charged personality, but Force is also an excellent judge of character. He surrounds himself with competent racing talent. He assembles his Ford Racing team by paying top dollar and he keeps his gifted team together with camaraderie and victories. Pedregon fit the requirements to be a member of Force's elite pack, and he has stayed to compete in one of the fastest jobs on the planet.

Step inside the Force/Pedregon transporter lounge and be a part of our conversation. An articulate Pedregon has much to say.

DWIGHT CHATS WITH…TONY PEDREGON

Photos © by Gary Larsen and Dwight Drum
Story by Dwight Drum

DOB: March 8, 1965
Home Town: Chino Hills, Calif.

"To be a hard worker, to be the hustler and a good winner."

"To be healthy and have a healthy family and be successful. Other choices could be enjoyed, but I think it's important to have a good foundation. If you don't have a family, people close to you, then it makes it lonely to be able to enjoy the winning part of it."

"I dropped the nickname at but about age 21. My dad called me Gumby because I used to watch the Gumby show a lot. Frankie and Cruz were in were in school and I'd sit and watch Gumby all day so that became my nickname."

"My dad was my biggest hero when I was growing up, not just because he was my dad because he raced top fuel cars. Every son probably feels like his dad is in a lot of ways a superman. You look up to him and you emulate a lot of what he does. When he drives a top fuel dragster, he's better than superman."

"Overall, yes. I think there's always room for improvement. I've learned to not be so much of a perfectionist, but to try to constantly improve things that you're surrounded with. I'm pleased, but I'm still trying to get there."

"That's a loaded question. What could please me more? A good day in Vegas! That's the short answer, a good day in Vegas. I'm not going to get into the other."

"Always! I never used to wear a seat belt as much before I started racing, but you learn to understand. You look at the statistics. The majority of accidents take place within the first mile or mile and a half of your home. All the time."

"Technically, yes. One of my hobbies is that I still do a lot of design work and paint on helmets, but it's only a hobby. I have a three year old daughter who takes more of my time than anything. I enjoy that more than anything."

"The helmets get bumped to second because my daughter is my No. 1 hobby. My little girl."

"A few years ago it would have been a black convertible Cobra Mustang. The answer everyone wants to hear, but a Lincoln Navigator is more practical for me, with a car seat in the back and little TV on the head rest."

"Not as much as I'd like to, but from last year to now I'm 10 pounds lighter. I walk. I work out when I'm in a hotel that has a workout room. Holding a little 40 pound baby is a pretty good work. You have to do pull-ups with them."

"Master I don't know, but I've always felt I could be competitive at boxing. I used to train (box) a lot in the gym. Besides racing, I considered for a long time taking up that career. I chose racing instead."

"My mind is a part of my body, so I choose my brain. Mentally this occupation can be tough at times. I think I handle it OK for the most part, but it's another area that could be a little better."

"I love dogs. I love cats. No. I love animals, but I don't have any because I'm on the road too much."

"No. I treat myself to special things occasionally. I love Mexican food and lately I've spent a lot of time at Steak n Shake drinking their chocolate shakes. I do keep a decent diet, so most of the time I should be able to eat what I want, an occasional pizza and Mexican food."

"I admire people who find a way to be happy. I've learned a big misconception is that money is a big part of it. I think many people don't see that. Money isn't what does it. I think it's something that takes place at home and then comes the money and the setting of goals. I admire people with been married for 40 years 50 years."

"I with draw and try to be cool. That's me. I withdraw, erupt, and then try to be cool. Does John Force erupt first? I think I know him well enough. I withdraw and try to be cool. That has landed me here, actually."

"Music. I do some rockin' out, before I get into the car, here in the transporter lounge or in the Ford Excursion. I've got to listen to some loud music. It takes me where I like to be."

"Usually on Monday, testing. When they decide to put titanium headers on and they forget to tell you. When the car takes off, literally off, like a jet plane. Your mind is going, hey this is cool, the front end is up. Meanwhile the thrust puts you completely off the ground. That was scary. It blew the headers off. Whoever designed them had no idea they would blow when they were that thin. That was one of my scarier ones. That and fire. Fire isn't a good thing for us, but the fire in 95, I've already forgot."

"My daughter takes me where I need to go."

"I would fine the cry babies. That's what I would do. I think there's too much of that. The guys who whine out here need to go into a penalty box."

"Right now it's Michigan. Wherever my daughter is, whether that's California or Michigan. I'll go wherever she's at. It's the most fun that I have."

"I feel that I can out-drive them. I always imagine myself in this race car or that I can really blow their doors off. Knowing that you have something that others don't, and you don't choose to use it, to me that's calming. It gives you a good feel."

"Lately, I worry about waking up the next morning. Just being healthy."

"It takes your breath away. It doesn't compare with anything I've ever done. I've been aboard an F-18 with the Blue Angels and in all honesty there is nothing more awesome than 7,000 horsepower on the track. I've been in a Winston Cup car around the track and they're impressive, but nothing like this. That's what drove me to this sport."

"If you bounce off the wall usually your ribs hurt. When you hit the parachute, that smarts a while. After you lose, that sucks. When you win, honestly, there's isn't a whole lot wrong for at least for five or ten minutes, and then your other problems start to sink in. Winning is good. Losing is a drag."

"A racing answer is to never to lose focus particularly during a run. These cars demand all your attention and respect. The margin of error is very narrow for us. To never forget what these cars are capable of doing, I think is real important."

"My daughter by a landslide and her mother too."

If you could acquire three traits from three people, what traits would you take from whom?

"I'd pick something from John Force, his drive, his hustle. I'd have to go to Bernstein because he seems like a good businessman. I'd like to fly like the Spider-man. Hey, I can dream."

"On foot in the driveway of our house when I was six or seven. I'd race my brothers Cruz and Frank. That's where it started."

"Losing. Losing anything. Losing a race is way up there, but losing at anything."

"Driven and not quite where I'd like to be in life. Not yet. Sometimes I'm quiet and sometimes not."

"I really enjoy what I do, just waking up in morning. Sometimes I'm wondering what I'm doing. A good run and a good weekend at the races can really change things. It still amazes me. Right now I'm in a low, but you give me a 4.80 or 4.79 and every thing changes."

We try to apply one big word here that describes a driver's character, and it's no surprise that to apply one word to a John Force team driver is a great task. Force sees something in Pedregon that defies many words. Pedregon defies a single word description because he is, as many drivers are, much more complex than a few letters in the alphabet. Still, Zoomster must seek the fiber within a person and try put a final word on them. We found a word that may not capture Pedregon's total spirit, but we found a word that describes his work. Tony Pedregon is: