So far he's listening and keeping his promise to himself not "to do anything to show disrespect in my dad's eyes." And it's translating into hot numbers on the track. Force told him at Las Vegas that he had already impressed people enough by running 70s.

Medlen called his opportunity bittersweet because of his relationship with Tony Pedregon. "We worked together eight years. He's like a brother. I didn't want him to leave." Clearly, though, he was happy to get the chance to work with his dad and drive for John Force Racing. "I'm over the top," Medlen said, adding that his organization has more than arguably the best funding. "We have the best technology, experience, guys, sponsors and equipment. And these guys are saying about me, 'This guy can do it.' It's unreal. And I hope it stays like this."

Pedregon, meanwhile, said he has put his 2003 title in perspective. "I won the Funny Car championship in a much better era than John Force ever won it, with the exception of when Cruz beat him in '92," Pedregon said. "You take that 10-year span that John won the championship. He never had any competition like I had against Whit (Bazemore) or John or any of the other guys that I did. So I think what I accomplished was something like what a Muhammad Ali accomplished. He fought in an era where there were the greatest fighters. John enjoyed a 10-15-hundredths of a second on the rest of the field. If he does it now, I'm going to shake the man's hand. That's something I can look back on. I don't just drive -- I follow the sport, and I pay attention to everything that goes on. With the exception of the year before that . . . yeah, it went down to the last race in the semifinals. But there were some races during that season that I think I was handicapped. Maybe it influenced the outcome of that year; maybe it did, maybe it didn't."

Perhaps with a nod to Force's pointed comments on a recent episode of the TV show, "Wind Tunnel," Pedregon again defended his decision to become a Funny Car entrepreneur. "It was the best decision for me. In the end, John understood. It didn't work for John, but it sure did work good for me."

Notes from Las Vegas testing

 

Although a dozen Funny Car drivers took advantage of this first of three test-and-tune opportunities, only four from the Nitro Top Fuel class participated. David Baca, the No. 7 finisher last season, was the most prominent there to prepare for the Feb. 19-22 K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona (Calif.) Raceway. Mike Strasburg made one pass in his dragster. Former Top Fuel dragster driver Shelly Anderson took to the track again, this time as one of four Pro Mod competitors. Mike Berry, the No. 9 Pro Stock Bike finisher last year, got a jump on the motorcycle riders and ran a testing-best 7.229 at 184.95 mph on his Suzuki. Baca had a hard time hooking up his American Racing Dragster but said the addition of tuner and former driver Larry Meyer to help veteran crew chief Johnny West is a good fit as they sort out their brand-new car and some new parts. "I believe we put on the brain trust we need here, not that some cubic dollars couldn't help. I'm still fighting that battle. I still haven't gotten the equivalent of some of the big boys yet. But we're pretty excited. We've made some progress," said Baca. Baca predicted the class is poised to make some major strides. "You've got to be running in the 40s [4.4-second elapsed-time range] -- the mid-40s and low 50s -- if you want to be a contender this year," Baca said.