GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Defending Funny Car series champion Tony Pedregon raced to his first victory of the season and 37th of his career Sunday, beating Gary Densham in the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals.
Pedregon had a run of 4.921 seconds at 315.27 mph in his Chevy Impala at the historic Gainesville Raceway. Densham’s Impala finished in 4.924 at 309.13.
Pedregon, who escaped injury at Pomona, Calif., in one of the most spectacular explosions in NHRA history, moved to fourth in the point standings.
“Winning is definitely the best medicine for this team right now,” Pedregon said. “A little more than a month ago I was in the hospital with a burned hand. Today we were able to win the race and get this season turned around. This is a great day.”
Tony Schumacher, Jeg Coughlin and Matt Guidera also won their division.
Schumacher claimed his 43rd career Top Fuel victory and third in the Gatornationals, beating Brandon Bernstein with a run of 4.603 at 325.37. Bernstein finished in 4.665 at 323.27.
Coughlin took his first Pro Stock win of the season and 39th of his career by outrunning Jason Line. Coughlin powered his Chevy Cobalt to a 6.652 at 208.07 to hold off Line’s Pontiac GXP, which posted a 6.656 at 209.10.
Top qualifier Guidera earned his second career victory in Pro Stock Motorcycle by sweeping the season-opening race for bikes. Guidera finished in 6.949 at 191.54 on his Buell, and defeated three-time champ Andrew Hines, who posted a 6.985 at 189.55 on a Harley-Davidson.
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