CONCORD, N.C. — If it’s all coming together for two-time Funny Car champ Cruz Pedregon, it’s happening at the perfect time, especially heading into this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals at spectacular zMAX Dragway.
Pedregon picked up his first win last weekend in Reading since the finale in 2022, snapping a long winless streak and putting him firmly in an already intense Funny Car championship chase.
Throw in the wild and unpredictable nature of the first four-wide race in Countdown to the Championship history, and anything could happen this weekend in Charlotte.
Pedregon already proved that at the playoff opener and with the top four drivers – leader Austin Prock, Jack Beckman, Ron Capps and Paul Lee – separated by just 35 points, it’s already a heated battle for the world title.
Pedregon jumped all the way to sixth with his win in his 12,000-horsepower Snap-On Dodge Hellcat and is now just 65 points out of first with five races left. He’s also performed well in the unique four-wide format over the years, adding extra confidence on a weekend where he hopes to make another big move.
“Charlotte’s always been one of my favorite tracks,” Pedregon said. “We’ve had some big wins here and the four-wide format just adds to the excitement. Survive and advance, that’s what it’s all about. With five races to go, we’re right in the mix and that’s exactly where we want to be. We’re ready to keep it rolling this weekend and now we know we have the speed to contend. The Reading win was huge. The key is keeping that consistency and carrying the momentum (into Charlotte).”
Last year’s NHRA Carolina Nationals saw Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) each claiming wins.
It is the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship – and the 16th of 20 races in 2025 – and Pedregon is peaking and finally over the hump when it comes to wins.
His young team had been building to this, qualifying No. 1 in Norwalk, but consistency had evaded them on raceday. That wasn’t the case in Reading, as Pedregon made a series of strong runs en route to his 40th career win. It was a long time coming, but Pedregon certainly can’t be counted out now.
Along with the top four, four-time Matt Hagan is fifth, while other title contenders include J.R. Todd, Daniel Wilkerson, rookie Spencer Hyde and Alexis DeJoria. One win doesn’t solve everything, but for Pedregon, it was all about his team proving to themselves they could win. Now that it’s happened, he’s confident the team can continue to improve.
“Sometimes you need to find a little confidence. If I could bottle confidence and sell it, I’d really have something,” Pedregon said. “But the car’s been coming around. The runs at Brainerd International Raceway (in August) showed it. We went through the growing pains, but I’ve got a good group and now here we are.”
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