Pedregon earns first win of season
ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals
at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway
Funny Car: Defending champion Tony Pedregon raced to his first victory of the season and 37th of his career Sunday, beating Gary Densham with a run of 4.921 seconds at 315.27 mph in his Chevy Impala. Densham’s Impala finished in 4.924 at 309.13. Pedregon, who escaped injury at Pomona, Calif., earlier this season in one of the most spectacular explosions in NHRA history, moved to fourth in the point standings. “Winning is definitely the best medicine for this team right now,” Pedregon said. “A little more than a month ago I was in the hospital with a burned hand. Today we were able to win the race and get this season turned around. This is a great day.”
Top Fuel: Tony Schumacher claimed his 43rd career victory and third in the Gatornationals, beating Brandon Bernstein with a run of 4.603 at 325.37. Bernstein finished in 4.665 at 323.27.
Pro Stock: Jeg Coughlin took his first win of the season and 39th of his career by outrunning Jason Line. Coughlin powered his Chevy Cobalt to a 6.652 at 208.07 to hold off Line’s Pontiac GXP, which posted a 6.656 at 209.10.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Top qualifier Matt Guidera earned his second career victory by sweeping the season-opening race for bikes. Guidera finished in 6.949 at 191.54 on his Buell, and defeated three-time champ Andrew Hines, who posted a 6.985 at 189.55 on a Harley-Davidson.
Full results can be found here.