Cruz Pedregon is bringing an old friend back to a familiar home. The two-time NHRA Funny Car champion will return to Famoso Dragstrip for the California Hot Rod Reunion, driving his Keeling & Clayton tribute car — the California Charger Pontiac Trans Am — in the NHRA Heritage Series Nostalgia Funny Car division.
Pedregon’s nostalgia car has long been part of his private collection, but the stars finally aligned for its return to competition. “The years keep whizzing by and I keep procrastinating,” Pedregon said. “Every year I tell my friends and fans, ‘Yeah, we’re going to bring the Charger out,’ and then next thing I know, Gainesville is right there. It’s always tough because my regular job is racing big show nitro Funny Cars.”
This time, however, the NHRA schedule cooperated. With a two-week break between the Texas FallNationals in Dallas and the Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas, Pedregon finally had the window he needed. “It just so happens that the stars lined up,” he said. “The timing seems to be right. So, we thought, why not?”
Helping make the decision easier was the involvement of Pedregon’s crew chief, Jason Bunker, who tuned nostalgia Funny Cars before joining his NHRA operation. “That’s what he did before I hired him,” Pedregon said. “I met him at Bakersfield. We’ve had a solid year together, so we thought, ‘Hey, it’s going to be work, sure, but let’s give it a whirl.’”
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At his Brownsburg, Indiana, shop, Pedregon and his team have been freshening engines and updating components to meet current NHRA Heritage safety requirements. “Getting everything certified was the only other challenge,” he said. “The blower blankets, bell housings, wheels — all of that had to be updated. But we got it handled. As long as we don’t hit any big roadblocks, we’ll be good.”
For Pedregon, the return to Bakersfield isn’t about points, prize money, or pressure — it’s about fun. “I built this car with one thing in mind — to run it,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed the class. That hasn’t changed. Just finding the time and the right guys to do it with was the challenge.”
Pedregon has owned and rebuilt the California Charger multiple times since its debut, refining it for reliability and safety. “I think it’ll be competitive,” he said. “I wouldn’t go out there just to cook hot dogs and be part of the show. I want to go out there and be competitive, let’s just put it that way — and not work too hard.”
Pedregon said the car will be maintained by a mix of his full-time and volunteer crew members. “It’s not going to be the entire Snap-on team,” he explained. “It’s going to be Jason and two of my main guys, plus a few volunteers who’ll help locally. We’ll piece it together and go out there to have fun.”
That fun, he added, will come with a relaxed, almost old-school vibe. “We’re definitely taking the lawn chairs, the ice chests, maybe even a grill,” he said. “What I do 20 times a year is fun, but this is a different kind of fun. I tell people I don’t have a boat, I don’t go to the lake — this is my boat. This is my weekend off. I can’t think of a better place to spend it than at the drag strip.”
The choice to bring back the California Charger tribute car, Pedregon said, was a personal one rooted in Southern California pride. “The name says it all,” he explained. “I’m born and raised in Southern California, and the car is a Southern California-based car. Keeling & Clayton ran it in the late ’60s and ’70s. I just love the colors and the name fits me.”
Pedregon said he first thought the “Charger” in the name referred to a Dodge body, but later learned it was the car’s nickname. “Keeling and Clayton are the original owners,” he said. “Jerry Clayton is still alive and well. In fact, he’s going to be driving the rig out to California and using my truck and trailer.”
The nostalgia car’s trip west will be a logistical mix of old and new. Pedregon’s modern NHRA Funny Car hauler will double as home base for the event. “We’re running Vegas the following week, so we’ll use our big show trailer and hauler,” he said. “It already has all the tools in it, and it saves work loading everything twice. Bakersfield’s only about five hours from Vegas, so when we’re done, we’ll go straight there.”
Once at the event, the California Charger will be unloaded from a smaller 30-foot trailer and pitted separately from the big show rig. “I’ve always kept the Charger self-contained,” Pedregon said. “It has its own starter, its own setup — everything it needs.”
The timing, he admitted, couldn’t have been better. “A couple of years ago, the Reunion fell on the same weekend as Dallas,” Pedregon said. “There was no way that was going to work. This year, it just lined up perfectly. I couldn’t pass it up.”
The nostalgia Funny Car has been on display for several seasons at Pedregon’s shop, but has remained mechanically sound. “The car’s together,” he said. “It’s not in a million pieces. We just need to modernize a few things — a new blower, a few plumbing updates, some safety items. NHRA’s tech guys are coming this week to recertify it.”
Pedregon said the stars aligning between the national event schedule, his crew’s availability, and his nostalgia roots made this reunion possible. “If it was anything but these two weeks off between Dallas and Vegas, we probably wouldn’t do it,” he said. “But it was too good to pass up.”
For Pedregon, returning to Bakersfield isn’t just a trip to a racetrack — it’s a trip back to the soul of drag racing. “It’s the place I love the most,” he said. “It’s history, family, and the roots of the sport all in one. I’m just happy to be a part of it again.”
