National Dragster: On the Run with Tony Pedregon

driver of the Q Racing Monte Carlo Funny Car

It was a pleasure to see all of the great Q employees and backers at their home track in Houston. We also look forward to seeing everyone attending the upcoming O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q at Bristol Dragway.

A lot of people have asked me about Q at the last few races, so I want to take this opportunity to talk about it with National DRAGSTER readers. Q is much more than just our new paint scheme, with the "Unleash all your horses" message splashed across the side and front of my race car. Q is using its drag racing program to promote its line of high-horsepower synthetic oils and build a more powerful consumer association with "Q."

Over the years, Q has spent many hours developing, designing, and refining the oils and products that go into our Q Racing Monte Carlo. It's not just the name on the side of the car but also the line of products that go into that name that mean so much to this race team. I believe Q's line of specially designed lubricants has given us an advantage at the track. We rarely have a loss of power, and I'm amazed at the level of technology that these products contain.

It's important to note that Q has chosen drag racing as one of its primary marketing focuses. It's a real testament to the brand loyalty, purchasing power, dedication, and do-it-yourself attitude of the greatest fans in the world. Drag racing offers a lot of great opportunities for companies to jump-start their marketing and publicity campaigns.

Another great example of this is when Great Stuff, Dow Chemical's line of insulating home sealants, signed on as one of our leading associate sponsors. The company was looking for a marketing partner that would hit its target market: active do-it-yourselfers. They chose Pedregon Racing and the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series as that vehicle. Obviously, drag racing fans fit into that category perfectly, but what wasn't known was how Great Stuffs executives would react to drag racing once they saw it in person. To say they enjoyed the experience is probably an understatement. Not only is the ESPN coverage a great outlet for our sponsors and supporters, but the at-track experience is also something many don't soon forget.

We've had an up-and-down season so far. Our opening weekend in Pomona was spectacular from every angle. Preseason testing was very positive, and we made a lot of solid runs. I felt the team had come together, and we were ready for the season.

Our last qualifying pass in Pomona was an exciting one. The car felt great and really made a move downtrack. When the run was over, I went through my standard stopping procedure, but when I hit the parachute levers, they weren't operable. I hit them again, but they still weren't working. At that point, I knew I was in trouble and was ready to do anything in my power, even drag my feet, to stop the car.

The sand trap was really deep; it went all the way up to my knees, kind of like quicksand. We still made the second-quickest pass in history and had the No. 1 spot for the first race of the season. The team's hard work in the off-season had paid off, even though we had a lot of work to do to prepare for race day. One of the body struts had come through the body and disabled the chute levers, so for Phoenix, we moved one of the chute releases to the steering wheel in hopes of resolving future problems and making chute deployment a little more efficient.

Speaking of Phoenix, we had a good weekend at Firebird Int'l Raceway. We tested there in January and gained a lot of information that became valuable later on. For the second straight race, the Q Racing Monte Carlo broke a track record and wound up on top of the qualifying charts.

I'm really looking forward to the middle part of the season. We have some great races coining up in Bristol, Atlanta, and Columbus. We are right on the edge of taking off. We are still a little young as a team, but things are beginning to head in the right direction.

I'll end the column by thanking the sponsors that make it happen: Q, Snap-on Tools, Great Stuff, Mountain View Chevrolet, The Palms Casino Resort, Mr. Gasket, Sioux City Truck and Trailer, Fram, and Earl's.