The days are getting longer and the blogs are getting shorter … hahaha.
What a weekend the U.S. Nationals turned out to be. The Indianapolis event weekend lived up to all the hype. It was a great event. One qualifying round was rained out, but other than that it was a routine semifinal finish for us. The effort kept us in the lead and 30 points ahead of our nearest competitor, Ron Capps. Indy was the last race before they reset the points for the Countdown.
But as I’m sure you all know, the drama took place on Monday. The good news is that we made SportsCenter. The bad news is the way we made it…
Tags: Countdown, NHRA Funny Car, Zmax
After the second round at Indy I think the writing was on the wall,Force had pretty much entered 4 cars into the countdown. Right or wrong it is what it is and bottomline is Tony you are the MAN to beat the defending champ and man you have been an animal and I hope that you stay that way. At any rate you need to know you have fans way up here in north Idaho. Look to see you in the finals on sunday
Tony Thanks for the Truth, Now you need to back it up…..I hope to see the Wicked Quick- Car out there, or the Nitro-Fish, Either way your the Points Leader, So take it One Round at a time…Thats How You Won The Championship in 07….God Bless You and Your Team…
Tony there are a lot of people who back you and cruz. As you said in your interview we only say it how we see it and it is a good call. To bad it has to be this way when you are living a dream as you athlete do. Keep beating them one round at a time and bring home another championship in 09. PS That dude with the pepper tat watches for you boys every weekend you race. Thank you for putting my pepper tat on the website LOOKING FORWARD TO SUMMITT NATIONALS IN 2010
Best of luck to you in the countdown Tony. Go out there and show everyone how a true champion wins championships. See you guys in Ennis.
Tony…
The more I see the video the more I see how your brother got screwed. Thanks for showing me the “real” of reality by having so much class and standing your ground with how you feel about this very dirty situation.
John Force showed me one thing… You can’t buy class.
Time may heal all wounds and some people may forget what he did… but you will be remembered for your class and true love for a sport, and not all about the price tags that goes with it.
Force forgets that when all the sponsors are gone the onlything that will still be there is the fans in the stands. And as a fan I could care less if the big names are on the side of the car as long as you go the 1,000 feet.
Thanks for showing myself and most important my son the difference from the walkers to the talkers, you walk the walk and my son is now a dedicated Tony P. fan.
Thanks and safe journey on every pass.
I am neither a Force fan or a Pedregon fan, but a fan of racing in general. I remember being five years old and my uncle firing up his front engined rail in my front yard , attracting every neighbor for miles. That got me into racing and now I am building a car for each of my kids. I’ve seen all types of racers , races , skirting of rules and all out cheating. It happens everywhere in every form of auto racing. Petty used to cheat like heck when he raced in Nascar and has told stories of how they used to manipulate fuel tanks to hold more fuel than the rules allowed but still pass tech and he is still considered “THE KING”.
Regardless of what you think John Force did or didn’t do to get his other car in the chase the bottom line is that if Tony’s crew chief had not left mid season, if Tony had a better year , more round wins, more points ,and /or more race wins then anything Force did or didn’t do would be of no consequence. Like it or not Tony was not in a very good position , he was on the bubble and he got their on his own. Force didn’t put him in the poor position he was in, his driving did. Period.
People have been talking about Force showing a lack of class due to his outburst and while I agree it could have been handled differently Tony showed the same lack of class when he went on live tv and called Force a cheater and blamed him for why he wasn’t in the chase. He could have showed some class, kept his mouth shut and filed a complaint with the NHRA , and confronted Force and his team face to face if he had a problem instead of crying like a poor sport to the tv announcer. That is just as much a show of poor sportsmanship as is the throwing of a race and I hope neither of them change a bit.
I used to like watching racing when I was younger because of the passion drivers had for the racing. Nascar used to have fights , disagreements , and yelling matches between drivers and that made the sport interesting. You knew it was real, you knew that each race was going to be exciting and you never knew what to expect during a race. Passion fueled the sport. Now it is toned down, politically correct , censored restricted and boring. All of the personality has been taken out of the sport and the drivers.
Do you really want the NHRA to become that way? Do you want so many rules and regulations on conduct and on the teams that the passion that the drivers have becomes watered down BS ? Would you rather Tony said what would be the nice politically correct “no comment” or Force just look at him and say ” well thank you for your input” ? How boring would that be? Go back and look at what the NHRA and it’s drivers used to be like. They had personality, they were real car guys that built and wrenched on their rides , said what they felt and didn’t care if you liked what they had to say. They were rough around the edges and they didn’t sugar coat anything.
Which brings me back to Tony and John Force. What you witnessed was racing. You witnessed two guys that are passionate about their sport and the emotions , attitudes, anger adrenaline and frustration that comes from two guys with their own agenda’s trying to get them accomplished . Tony was trying to salvage a poor season and stay in the chase and Force was doing the same with his driver. Force just had an advantage in that he had control over the outcome of the race that would get his driver in. Did Force throw the race ? More than likely and he could have made it a little less obvious but if Cruz was the guy that would make or break his brother’s chase I’m sure Tony would have won weather anyone wants to admit it or not.
I hope these guys have to race each other over and over and over. NHRA needs a good rivalry to bring in the fans.
Tony, Your’e the MAN. John Force is a second class racer, putting four cars in the same field to compete for one title? (EGO?) or MONEY?..We suport you and Cruzer, and have since “JUST FOR YOU CANDLES”..best wishes and good luck..Regards,CaptD.
Dear Tony,
I just love how you handled yourself in front of the cameras during John’s Indy(cent) behavior. Although, i’m sure it wasn’t your intention, your comments really pressed Jonh’s button. I guess truth does hurt! If this cheating (or Jonh’s inability to fool the mass) leads the AAA funny car to a championship title, i will cancel my AAA subscription and change my oil to Quaker stake in the name of justice.
Trust me Tony, your professionalism and your comments on ESPN after that “mini-brawl” made you gain even more fans. Me included. You are a true gentleman.
Now I just hope everyone will get along again and i just wish NHRA will gain credibility by making sure none of that cheating ever happens again.
Responce to captain d. What happened in Indy may not have been right and yes Tony handled it well but
to call Force a second class racer is WRONG he did what he had to do for his team , so what that he has 4 cars in the chase there are still 6 others (Tony the best bet ) that can put all 4 of Forces cars on the trailer and on top of that only one car can win so enough boo hoo about force. Go Tony
Dear Tony,
You are THE MAN! You have such great character and loved how you handled yourself with the incident @ Indy even when all the cameras were rolling. You have CLASS and you’re a GENTLEMAN with the way you represent yourself and your team.
I have been a longtime fan of yours and The Cruzer and will continue to be your TOP FAN!!
My family and I are looking forward to seeing you this Saturday @ Dallas. We’re gonna stop by your pits like we always do and say “Howdy”.
VIVA LA RAZA PEDREGON RACING!!!
It is my belief the fault for the incedent in indiana rests clearly on the nhra ,a rule such as no one owner may have more than two cars in any class would solve many problems associated with “stacking the deck”& outspending your opponents ( which cannot be stopped)but the odds would be improved