NHRA® Team Report
Dodge NHRA Nationals – Reading, PA
Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon and his Snap-on Funny Car team have their sights set on Maple Grove Raceway. The trees that line the facility in the heart of Pennsylvania Amish Country make the track beautiful, but they also make it fast. “The trees in the valley give off so much oxygen,” says Crew Chief Aaron Brooks. “Combine that with the low altitude there, and that means extra power. Plus, cool temperatures at night could mean quick elapsed times – and more qualifying points for us.”

Cruz and the Snap-on Racing team have good reason to be confident. They’re using their “El Guapo,” (The Handsome One) Funny Car body in Reading. Cruz says, “We ran ‘El Guapo’ at the US Nationals a few races ago. We now have over 100 runs with that body, and we feel like we have a good handle on it.”

Reading is the second race of a six-race “playoff,” the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship. Though the intensity is ratcheting up, Cruz says there’s plenty of time to make their way to the front. “Our Snap-on Toyota is only 164 points out of first place in the race for the title,” he says. “All it takes is a couple of great races from us, and we’re at the top of the Championship leader board.”

Brooks says, “It’ll be a fight, but we’re up to the task. Cruz is a two-time Champ. If we can tune this thing like we know we can, I know there’s no one better to have behind the wheel.”