During NHRA’s 40th anniversary Reading Nationals (at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvnnia, Cruz Pedregon snapped a frustration 55-race winless streak.

Pedregon had an emotional event beating Blake Alexander in the final round with a run of 3.969 at 330.63 in his Snap-On Tools Dodge Hellcat. That was Pedregon’s first NHRA circuit win since 2022 and the 40th in his career.

Pedregon reached the finals for the first time this season by defeating Bob Tasca III, points leader Austin Prock and Paul Lee, holding off Alexander at the finish line to win for the first time since the season-finale in 2022. It’s been an arduous process for Pedregon to get back to this point, but he’s trusted the process and the payoff was on Sunday when he won at Maple Grove Raceway for the third time in his stellar career.

The two-time world champion also moved all the way to sixth in points, delivering a classic performance he hopes to replicate again during the Countdown to the Championship.

“This is very special, very special,” Pedregon said. “You know, you start to doubt yourself — as an owner, as a driver — and I’ve done that a lot the last couple of years. I thought, ‘Maybe this is it.’ But we took the hard road. I hired young guys who weren’t already on other teams. It was like a draft.
 
“We went through the growing pains, but now I’ve got a good group. They’re still learning, but they’re hungry and now here we are. This morning, I told the guys there are six races left, including this one. I’ve won this race before and sat in the winner’s circle wondering how we did it. We can do that again — just be mistake-free, be aggressive and stay the course.”
 
Alexander reached the final round for the first time this season with wins against Matt Hagan, No. 1 qualifier Spencer Hyde and Ron Capps. Prock leaves Reading with a 25-point lead over Jack Beckman and a 29-point advantage over Capps.

NHRA Reading Nationals Funny Car Class Summary

WIN: Cruz Pedregon – 3.969 secs 330.63 mph (Career win #14)
R/UP: Blake Alexander – 4.020 secs 314.39 mph
Low ET: Spencer Hyde – 3.868 secs
Top MPH: JR Todd – 334.24 mph
Bump: 4.076
Entries – 18 cars

Posted with files by NHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler
Photos by Dave DeAngelis

For more Funny Car Photos from this event – link to LMLC Media Event Gallery: HERE