FRANK PEDREGON’S
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I raced diesel trucks at the age of 15 and got my first win at 16 years old. I raced with a Detroit Diesel V-12 motor with one motor and won 5 of my last 6 final rounds. I won one event at the famous Irwindale Raceway Park and one event at Baylands Raceway in Freemont, California. We also won at Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale, California. We also won two at Orange County Raceway.
It would be safe to say if you ask three different Pedregon drivers that are all brothers you will get three different answers. However, for argument’s sake, we can agree our Dad was really the best. He taught us intensity, commitment and a passion for all forms of racing.
Don the Snake Prudhomme came up to me after winning Indy and said, “congratulations on winning Indy Frank – great job”.
Indianapolis. Winning the US Nationals was a magical experience in my life. Winning the Big Bud Shoot at Indy was also an incredible moment.
Building diesel trucks and selling equipment.
I had many great moments racing our family owned Kenworth, but a Volvo is a nice way to transport the team to race events, stadiums and promotions.
Horsepower claims vary widely—from 8,000 to 10,000—but are probably closer to 10,000. Supercharged, nitromethane-fueled motors of this type also have a very high torque, which is estimated at around 10,000 on the dyno. Automotive engineers debate on this number quite frequently.
In a typical run, the engine can consume between 12 – 14 US gallons of fuel during warmup, burnout, staging, and a 1,000-foot run. A 55-gallon drum of nitromethane fuel today costs between $1,200.00 & $1,400.00 dollars.
The cost of a complete nitro-methane fuel engine is in the range of $55,000 – $75, 000 dollars. At some race events, teams will swap out motors or major parts on every run trying to figure out the right combinations on the race car set-ups.
One of the fastest Funny Car passes in NHRA history to top qualifying at the NHRA Heartland Nationals. The funny car ran a 3.802-second pass at 338.85 mph in his Dodge Charger R/T at Heartland Park Topeka to break both ends of the national record during the first round of the day in May of 2017.
Today, fielding a Funny Car team can cost between US $2.5-M to US$3.0-M. A single carbon fiber body can cost as much as $70-k dollars. It’s estimated that for every sponsor dollar marketed on a car, sponsors require another dollar to activate their sponsorships. Therefore, clever car designs, marketing and promotions are all part of the Pedregon racing program.
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world. The NHRA is approximately 67 years old.
In 1955, NHRA staged its first national event, called simply “the Nationals” in Great Bend, Kansas. Six years later, as the Nationals hopscotched around the country to showcase the growing sport before settling in Indianapolis in 1961, the Winter Nationals became NHRA’s second event.
Wallace Gordon “Wally” Parks was the founder, president, and chairman of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA. He was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport. Wally Parks was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992. Mr. Parks served in the Armed Forces as a member of the Army in the World War II era.
The Wally, which was named in honor of the late NHRA founder Wally Parks, stands at more than one-foot tall with a classy brass finish.
The National Hot Rod Association’s top drag racing competition. There will be 24 Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock events, and 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events.