Cruz Pedregon–Brainerd Advance

NHRA® Team Report
Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals – Brainerd, MN
Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon and team are undaunted by recent challenges and looking forward the weekend ahead in Brainerd. “I’m working with our new crew chief Tommy DeLago and assistant crew chief Glen (Huszar) to go over every aspect of the Snap-on Toyota with a fine-tooth comb to make sure the car is running at its peak performance this weekend,” Cruz says.

In an announcement made last week, Cruz shared news of the team changes saying, “Tommy has one of the most impressive resumes in the sport and we believe he can help take our Snap-on Funny Car to the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. His championship-winning experience will be a tremendous asset to our program.”

Huszar has experience working with DeLago who has a notable career as the crew chief of the 2011 Funny Car world champion driven by Matt Hagan. He also was the first crew chief to guide a nitro-fueled Funny Car to a pass under four seconds (3.995, Charlotte 2, 2011). Most recently, he was with Kalitta Motorsports where he tuned Alexis DeJoria to all of her five career wins, including the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in 2014.

Along with making decisions about the team, Cruz took time after the Seattle race to travel to Nashville to attend the Snap-on Franchisee Conference (SFC) of his primary sponsor. Cruz signed autographs by the Snap-on Toyota show car that was on display as a part of the SFC’s 150,000-square-foot show floor, always a popular photo spot at the annual event.