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CRUZ ON ADVANCE LEAVING: WE HAD A GOOD 8 YEARS TOGETHER

Advance Auto Parts announced on Friday afternoon that their sponsorship of two-time cruzNHRA Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon would end after the 2009 season.

A disappointed Pedregon reflected on the loss of his sponsorship which began in 2001.

“It’s been a great eight years,” Pedregon said. “The bottom line is that they are going in a different direction and that leaves me without a major sponsor. I have some things in the works but nothing confirmed yet. I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Pedregon captured the 2008 NHRA Funny Car title, his second since winning the 1992 crown. He reached eighteen final rounds during his Advance Auto Parts tenure.

“I will always look back at the Advance Auto Parts car, and as a company that took a chance on me … it wasn’t like I was a household name,” Pedregon said. “For all they knew I could have went broke in a year or two. We worked hard and had a few tough years where we sent bodies flying skyward but for the most part I had some great people work for me.”

EDWARDS CUTTING THE COMPETITION NO SLACK

Mike Edwards may have a 128 point lead over the rest of the NHRA Pro Stock field.

edwardsHe may be on the verge of a 15th low qualifying effort in 2009.

He could very well clinch the world championship on Saturday afternoon at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.

But those points, as impressive as they may be, aren’t enough to inspire Edwards to cut the competition any slack.

A THINNER NHRA PRO STOCK IN 2010?

There’s considerable speculation among the Pro Stock regulars that kjmore than a few of their peers may be sitting out next season as the economy – at least as far as corporate involvement in motorsports is concerned – appears to be tightening even more.

DIXON USES BONUS POINTS TO CHIP AWAY AT SHOE'S LEAD

Larry Dixon pointed out the importance of the NHRA’s bonus points awarded to the top three qualifiers in each session. dixonWithout them, Dixon, driver of the Alan Johnson/Al-Anabi Top Fuel dragster believes the 2009 NHRA Top Fuel championship would have already been decided.

“Against a car like Schumacher’s you couldn’t make up seven rounds in two races,” Dixon explained. “With the bonus points you can absolutely do that. We were able to pick up a couple on him today.”

TROXEL QUALIFIES NO. 1 AND ESTABLISHES NEW TRACK RECORD

Melanie Troxel blasted to the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot in Friday's lone qualifying session of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge presented by ProCare Rx at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals. The second round of qualifying was cancelled due to excessive track delays.

JEGS UNVEILS 50TH ANNIVERSARY LOGOS

The 50th Anniversary celebration of JEGS High Performance Parts got off to an early start Friday when Team JEGS racers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and his nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. unveiled special "50 Years" logos on their yellow and black hot rods.

Both men are racing at this weekend's ninth annual Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jeg in Pro Stock and T.J. in Super Comp. Before the start of next season, all Team JEGS racecars and transporters will proudly display the "JEGS 50 Years 1960-2010" design.

"We're all very excited about the upcoming season and celebrating 50 years of JEGS being in business," Jeg Jr. said. "This milestone is something we're all extremely proud of and we plan on having a fun year both at JEGS headquarters and at the races.

DIXON, HAGAN, EDWARDS AND ARANA LEAD QUALIFYING AT NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS

haganLarry Dixon raced to the Top Fuel qualifying lead Friday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.

Matt Hagan, Mike Edwards and Hector Arana also led their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, the fifth of six races in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.

Dixon, currently second in the championship standings, powered his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to a performance of 3.805 seconds at a track record speed of 318.24 mph at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If his time holds through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions (11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) it will be his ninth No. 1 of the season and 40th of his career.

A MOTHER IS GRATEFUL FOR DRAG RACING’S SAFETY

Thousands of race fans held their breath as the ADRL’s safety crew worked feverishly to extract Jason Hamstra, the 22-year old Pro Extreme driver who hamstracrashed during last Friday’s Speedtech Battle for the Belts competition.

One of those holding her breath was not your average race spectator.

It was Jason’s mother, Karen Hamstra; who on Thursday spoke about her son’s accident.

“He’s doing well,” she said. “He came out of the ordeal in good shape, not even a concussion.”

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS WON'T RENEW WITH CRUZ FOR 2010

Cruz Pedregon won't be representing Advance Auto Parts next season on the NHRA tour, this according to a report from Associated Press on Friday.

Advance Auto Parts Inc., said in the report, that its decision was made as part of a review of their marketing efforts. Instead AAP's marketing efforts will be focused on building its do-it-yourself business and the growth of its commercial business.

The contract ends on December 31, 2009.

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