rpm.espn.com: Tony Pedregon

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Tuesday, January 7
Updated: January 20, 1:36 PM ET

Tony Pedregon
By Bill Stephens
ESPN.com

Team: Castrol Syntec/John Force Racing

Tony Pedregon
Pedregon

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Final rounds
No. 1 qualifier
Round record

2002 2 6 8 7 44-17

Career 19 40 17 252-150

2002 recap
The good: A career year for the driver who has raced in the shadow of his employer since 1996. Missed the title by only 78 points. Pedregon had the most consistently dominant car from Denver to Pomona II.

Season highlight: Won the fall race in Joliet for his third consecutive victory, a career first.

The bad: In the last two races of the year, he met Force head-to-head with the championship on the line and each time lost in extremely close finishes.

Season lowlight: There are two: In the second round in Dallas, he could have taken over the points lead by beating Tommy Johnson Jr., but lost on a holeshot. And, with a victory over Force in the semifinal at the Auto Club Finals, he would have had a tremendous shot at the championship. He lost to Force, and again, it was on a holeshot.

Tony Pedregon

Key stat: Pedregon won six races in '02, twice as many as his previous career-best.

2003 outlook
What needs to be done: When any driver comes to within 78 points of taking the championship away from Force, not a whole lot of improvement is necessary. Pedregon had the green light to race for the title last year and it's almost a surety that he'll have it from now on.

Prediction: Force is still Force. Pedregon will be a championship front runner in 2003 without a doubt, but unless Force really stumbles, No. 2 is the best he can expect to be.

Your take
Can Tony Pedregon overcome John Force to win the Funny Car championship in 2003? Here are your thoughts on Pedregon's prospects for the 2003 season.

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