PEDREGON BACK ON TOP OF FC POINTS

Tony Pedregon got a free 4.768 second, 316 mile-an-hour ride to his seventh victory of the season when the Pontiac driven by final round opponent Phil Burkart Jr. was shut off because of an oil leak.

After beating Bob Bode in round one, the 38-year-old Californian beat teammates Gary Densham and John Force to reach the finals for the first time since June. The win, the 26th of Pedregon's career, enabled the SYNTEC driver to open up a 69-point advantage over Whit Bazemore who was upset in the first round at Joliet. Bazemore had held the points lead for only one week.

Densham, who will leave the team at season's end, had the outstanding performance of the event, driving the Team Castrol/Automobile Club Mustang to the second quickest quarter-mile in Funny Car history at 4.723 seconds. Only Force (4.721) has gone quicker.

Force and Densham remain third and fourth in the POWERade point standings with four races remaining, the next a resumption of the Lucas Keystone Nationals which was suspended by rain three weeks ago at Reading, Pa. (Jeff Burk photo) [9-29-2003]

UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE

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Here is the latest to come out of G-Force Race Cars in Tonawanda, NY. The stock body is on a G-Force chassis and is powered by a Jim Oddy 509 BBC. Owner Joe Cocina plans to race as a Top Sportsman and on the Supercharged Warriors circuit next season. Classy. [9-29-2003]