Pedregon Racing finds success through family, others
By Wade Coggeshall CNHI
Photo Courtesy Wade Coggeshall/Flyer
BROWNSBURG — The walls in the immaculate lobby of Pedregon Racing’s headquarters are lined with awards and framed vintage photographs of bygone days.
One shows Frank Pedregon and his two sons, Cruz and Tony, working on a car. In the middle of the lobby sits a replica of the elder Pedregon’s 1966 fuel coupe, dubbed the “world’s fastest coupe.” Known as Flamin’ Frank Pedregon, he was a drag racer in southern California in the ’70s. He died when Tony was just 16.
“The perception is we were supposed to be doing this,” Tony said in one of the offices at his racing headquarters. “It’s in our blood, but it’s not in our genes. Racing is addictive and has the tendency to connect with people on an emotional level.”
Tony said people have been surprised in the past when he said if his dad were still alive, he probably wouldn’t be racing. Before he really got behind the wheel, he was studying architectural drafting. But when some racing opportunities came up, he took advantage.
“We thought we could make an attempt at this as a living,” Tony said. “At this point, it’s worked out. We started at the bottom and worked our way up. It’s not one of the safer occupations, put it that way.”
Tony now has his own team in the National Hot Rod Association’s Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He’s a two-time funny car champion, winning in 2003 as a driver for John Force Racing and in ’07 on his own. After winning his first crown, Tony formed Pedregon Racing with his brother Cruz.
“Because we were raised in a family-oriented environment and a family business, it was only a matter of time before my brother and I teamed up,” he said. “We always felt the two of us combined were better than just one of us. We’ve been fortunate to have some success in this sport, but we’ve put a lot into it.”
That family focus extends to Tony’s wife, Andrea. Born and raised in Port Huron, Mich., she also comes from a racing background. Her father was a pro stock racer in the ’70s who got back into it in the ’90s. That’s when Andrea met Tony. Her sister is also married to a race car driver. She was the kind of person who would race and get her hands dirty taking apart carburetors and rebuilding them.
“She was more of the garage girl,” Andrea said in her office, with windows overlooking the vast Pedregon Racing garage.
Not so much herself.
“I didn’t have that desire to put on a helmet and go fast,” Andrea said. “I’m content to stand on the sidelines. My fit was in the office.”
Indeed, racing takes more than driving skill, adrenaline, and mechanical know-how. Andrea said today’s racing world entails a lot of business acumen as well. Teams need sponsors to afford to keep a good car on the track. There’s also merchandising and coordination of fan appearances.
“To me, I don’t really see it as work,” Andrea said. “I was brought up in it. It fits for me as well. It’s not just (Tony’s) passion.”
It takes more than business smarts to thrive in racing, though.
“To me, drag racing is black and white; there’s not a lot of gray shades,” Andrea said. “You either like it or you don’t. If you don’t like it, I can’t imagine you being very compatible with a driver. You need to understand the long hours and weekend work.”
It helps that Pedregon Racing is a family business. Their headquarters are only five minutes from their home, having relocated to Brownsburg from California three years ago. Their son Desidario (they have four children total) can be seen running around the complex. As a driver for John Force, all Tony wanted to do initially was race. Since starting his own team, he’s gotten more involved in all the behind-the-scenes elements.
“We pretty much make all of our decisions together, even with the marketing side,” Andrea said. “He likes to be involved. That was one of the elements missing for him when he raced for John. He more or less just showed up and drove the car, maybe made an appearance here or there.”
Tony said Pedregon Racing is small compared to other NHRA teams. Don Schumacher owns four cars and Force races three, for example. Tony and Cruz have one car each.
“We’ve always felt like we had to do more with less,” Tony said. “We can’t outspend them, so we have to make up for it in other areas. Working together is definitely one of our assets.”
Despite the competition on the track, the NHRA is a tight-knit community, especially when it comes to charity. A perfect example is the 2011 calendar Andrea put together for melanoma research. The project came together rather quickly. Andrea had a childhood friend from Michigan who was diagnosed with the cancer a couple years ago. She died last August.
“I was grief-stricken by it,” Andrea said. “She was a wonderful woman.”
Andrea thinks skin cancer will become more prevalent because of the popularity of tanning. Not enough people know the risks, she said, much like smoking in the 1950s and ’60s.
“A lot of people, especially females, think if they get a spot they can just have it taken off,” Andrea said. “There’s not enough depth about the reality. It’s 100 percent curable, but you need to act on it immediately.”
The calendar came about through the Pedregon’s daughter’s modeling. At a photo shoot last year, after her friend’s death, Andrea talked about a charitable project with the photographer, who volunteered her time. They got a similar commitment from a hair and makeup artist. Andrea then set about getting wives of various NHRA racers to pose for a calendar. They shot it during the NHRA’s annual formal awards ceremony following the last race of the season Labor Day Weekend.
“I thought it would be a nice spin,” Andrea said. “Fans usually see us in race gear, not in a formal setting.”
She decided to produce 1,500 copies of the calendar, unsure of what the response would be. She was sold out before New Year’s. As a result, Andrea was able to donate $40,000 to the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center.
“I hoped and prayed for success, but it was unknown territory for me,” she said.
But once again, the NHRA community came through for its own.
“We’re a lot closer than we’d like to think we are,” Tony said. “It’s funny how that changes once we get to the track.”
wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com
SOURCE [http://flyergroup.com/local/x1527125134/Racing-family]
