Pedregon VS Force

OK, I missed it. Will someone please tell me what happened between Pedregon and Force??????????????????

Pedregon called him a cheater for letting Hight win in the semi's. John didn't like that...

http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11595&Itemid=6

Thanks Gary.....I have many thoughts.....Sorry Tony, at your level it has always been a business......tuff one to call...

I was in Cruz's hospitality tent all weekend they were pretty steamed. A friend of mine's wife works for Cruz.


I have a "fun" poll over on my web site about it lol link below

http://indyracingscene.com/showthread.php?t=643

I'll post some UP close pictures of Hights motor later.

Do i think he did it on purpose? Yes. Do i think Tony and Cruz realized they screwed up in brainerd? Yes. With the kind of money and sponsorship Force has going i would think these kind of things are mandatory. I don't think any less of Force after this race if that question arises either.

Do i think he did it on purpose? Yes. Do i think Tony and Cruz realized they screwed up in brainerd? Yes. With the kind of money and sponsorship Force has going i would think these kind of things are mandatory. I don't think any less of Force after this race if that question arises either.

You think he is that good? to drive 2 feet from the wall on purpose?
NHRA already said there isnt sufficient evidence to overturn the results.

BTW I was standing in front of Tony he was signing a OLD blower belt for me ( from my car ) that John had already signed and he was livid. ( he neave saw John's signature ) lol

He was telling us that John was making the sport like WWE. LOL I had to laugh it was entertaining. He was telling a few of us that John medlin kept a record of all the races he threw when tony drove for them.

It was great stuff. I like all those guys, just some highly emotional folks but that's racing!

You think he is that good? to drive 2 feet from the wall on purpose @ 300 plus? You were there?



he wasn't to the 60 ft yet when he "got" out of shape. light went green and he turned right.

I watched it on tv slow motion real speed which ever way they showed it,He was little past the 60ft mark,hardly doing 300. I don't think he ran 300 on the pass peddling it three or four times. As i stated before not hating on the man but Yes i think it was done on purpose.Hell i think he is one of the best there ever has been and ever will be.

he wasn't to the 60 ft yet when he "got" out of shape. light went green and he turned right.

he hugged the right wall WAY down the track and nearly got sideways when he moved it back over to center it was well past the 60 ft. He may have drifted early but he wasnt close till late.

heres a clip of it all......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfhsinreXdk

I watched it on tv slow motion real speed which ever way they showed it,He was little past the 60ft mark,hardly doing 300. I don't think he ran 300 on the pass peddling it three or four times. As i stated before not hating on the man but Yes i think it was done on purpose.Hell i think he is one of the best there ever has been and ever will be.

Ok I saw it on replay 3-4 times in the pits he was @ 60 ft but he got bad out of shape ....

well never mind. maybe its me but I just cant belive anyone would drive a car that fast out of the groove on purpose. maybe so.... I guess we wont even know

it looked pretty bad in person, it doesnt look very fast on film

heres a clip of it all......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfhsinreXdk

I dunno watching the clip I still say he has balls to do that even if he did throw it.

I have it on dvr and will send you a copy because the precution from the engines must have blurred your vision.Did you hear him peddle it three or four times as he was trying to make it down the track? What speed did he run on the pass?

I dunno watching the clip I still say he has balls to do that even if he did throw it.

I agree.

I have it on dvr and will send you a copy because the precution from the engines must have blurred your vision.Did you hear him peddle it three or four times as he was trying to make it down the track? What speed did he run on the pass?

the clip on You tube looks pretty bad. I cant see his wheels not sure if he turned them or not.

they had some issues with that lane all weekend but it wasnt anything @ 60 ft.
all down track.

debris from blown engines, that was the lane that caught the crap all weekend, just happened that way. dont know his speed maybe someone has it on you tube.

I dont know if he threw it or not but like I said if he did he has big ones.

there are so many other things he could do besides drive it out of the groove to loose that are safer. it looks slow on you tube Id like to see the MPH

he has balls to do that even if he did throw it.


i agree with that.i think as narrow as the groove is, a driver with as much experience as john,could intentionally get a little out of the groove in hopes of it spinning and not rub the wall. in my opinion that is what happened.

i don't care either way and am not arguing with you about it. just stating my view that what you perceived happening and what i saw are two different things.

But what you have to remimber is they check all the data from the cars computer and crew chiefs to see if they did it on purpose.Driving it out of the groove was the easy way of doing it with out changing the set up.I agree with you it probably was a ride and not something i would have done.

well, it's on sportcenter right now.NHRA made the big time finally.:)

well, it's on sportcenter right now.NHRA made the big time finally.:)

Yeah Graham Light is seeing dollar signs over it.

He drove it out of the groove, no tire shake, no smoke. Got it off to the side, turned back to the center and blipped the throttle. Instant smoke and the race was over. A couple more times to make it look good.

i agree with that.i think as narrow as the groove is, a driver with as much experience as john,could intentionally get a little out of the groove in hopes of it spinning and not rub the wall. in my opinion that is what happened.

i don't care either way and am not arguing with you about it. just stating my view that what you perceived happening and what i saw are two different things.


I guess only he knows maybe he did. oh well. tough way to throw a race if he did.

Is it against the rules to through a race? I remember the pro stock bikes last year....the vance and hines harleys paired up and Andrew cut a great light and then let off the gas
and let Krawick drive around him. Then there was a race years ago in pro stock bike where team members paired up and they didn't bring the second bike to the line. Allot of people didnt agree with it but it didnt get reversed as far as I know.

Is it against the rules to through a race? I remember the pro stock bikes last year....the vance and hines harleys paired up and Andrew cut a great light and then let off the gas
and let Krawick drive around him. Then there was a race years ago in pro stock bike where team members paired up and they didn't bring the second bike to the line. Allot of people didnt agree with it but it didnt get reversed as far as I know.

The bigger deal is that it bumped Cruz out of the count down. With sponsorships being tight, they need to make it in or they may lose it. Ford had already told Force that they're only going to sponsor 2 cars next year. Wouldn't have happened if they didnt have the countdown. On the other hand, it makes the championship race more interesting by making every race count. I DONT agree with the new points system the added for after indy. The top three runs in each qualifying round get 3,2 and 1 point. Means you HAVE to run a good number every time. So much for quailfying and saving some $$$ by sitting out a round.

The bigger deal is that it bumped Cruz out of the count down. With sponsorships being tight, they need to make it in or they may lose it. Ford had already told Force that they're only going to sponsor 2 cars next year. Wouldn't have happened if they didnt have the countdown. On the other hand, it makes the championship race more interesting by making every race count. I DONT agree with the new points system the added for after indy. The top three runs in each qualifying round get 3,2 and 1 point. Means you HAVE to run a good number every time. So much for quailfying and saving some $$$ by sitting out a round.

I don't agree with the new points system either.It probably will do what they want and make the teams try to press harder during qualifing but seems they are making up rules as they go along.One set of rules and stick to them.

Is it against the rules to through a race? I remember the pro stock bikes last year....the vance and hines harleys paired up and Andrew cut a great light and then let off the gas
and let Krawick drive around him. Then there was a race years ago in pro stock bike where team members paired up and they didn't bring the second bike to the line. Allot of people didnt agree with it but it didnt get reversed as far as I know.

It is supposed to be against the rules.But as you pointed out it only gets highlighted when someone gets pissed and makes a big deal of it.I wonder if vance and hines got teched after that pass? It only changed the outcome of a championship right?

1. The Countdown in an attempt to be like NASCAR, and most hate it! If it didn't exist we wouldn't have people fighting over 10th place 6 races from the end of the season.

2. If NHRA wants to say a "teammate" can't take a dive because it allows them to control the outcome of a race, then why allow "multi-car teams"? If you don't it is not really right either. They are working on the wrong end of the horse to say that. Granted, it allows money to rule, but it does everywhere in the profressional ranks or drag racing at every level!

3. That was 100% a buisness decision for Force. Regardless of what he meant to do, I am sure he wasn't planning on winning that round, but if he had won it, I don't think it would have been a smart move financially.

4. Tony keeps saying he has 8 years in with Force, and I never once heard him complain while with him, and he left on his own accord!

5. Does a 4 car team have better info than a 2 car team? Not really, considering everything. Tony IS leading the points!


At the end of the day.... NHRA has Big Brothered themselves into this situation by having the countdown, and allowing for this stuff to happen. Force made a business decision, and that is the end of the story. I would have done the same thing, and so would have 95% of other racers if not 100%!!! It is really easy to cut him down for it when you know you probably will never be in that situation yourself!

1. The Countdown in an attempt to be like NASCAR, and most hate it! If it didn't exist we wouldn't have people fighting over 10th place 6 races from the end of the season.

2. If NHRA wants to say a "teammate" can't take a dive because it allows them to control the outcome of a race, then why allow "multi-car teams"? If you don't it is not really right either. They are working on the wrong end of the horse to say that. Granted, it allows money to rule, but it does everywhere in the profressional ranks or drag racing at every level!

3. That was 100% a buisness decision for Force. Regardless of what he meant to do, I am sure he wasn't planning on winning that round, but if he had won it, I don't think it would have been a smart move financially.

4. Tony keeps saying he has 8 years in with Force, and I never once heard him complain while with him, and he left on his own accord!

5. Does a 4 car team have better info than a 2 car team? Not really, considering everything. Tony IS leading the points!


At the end of the day.... NHRA has Big Brothered themselves into this situation by having the countdown, and allowing for this stuff to happen. Force made a business decision, and that is the end of the story. I would have done the same thing, and so would have 95% of other racers if not 100%!!! It is really easy to cut him down for it when you know you probably will never be in that situation yourself!

exactly! thank you!

JS

1. The Countdown in an attempt to be like NASCAR, and most hate it! If it didn't exist we wouldn't have people fighting over 10th place 6 races from the end of the season.

2. If NHRA wants to say a "teammate" can't take a dive because it allows them to control the outcome of a race, then why allow "multi-car teams"? If you don't it is not really right either. They are working on the wrong end of the horse to say that. Granted, it allows money to rule, but it does everywhere in the profressional ranks or drag racing at every level!

3. That was 100% a buisness decision for Force. Regardless of what he meant to do, I am sure he wasn't planning on winning that round, but if he had won it, I don't think it would have been a smart move financially.

4. Tony keeps saying he has 8 years in with Force, and I never once heard him complain while with him, and he left on his own accord!

5. Does a 4 car team have better info than a 2 car team? Not really, considering everything. Tony IS leading the points!


At the end of the day.... NHRA has Big Brothered themselves into this situation by having the countdown, and allowing for this stuff to happen. Force made a business decision, and that is the end of the story. I would have done the same thing, and so would have 95% of other racers if not 100%!!! It is really easy to cut him down for it when you know you probably will never be in that situation yourself!

I haven't seen any one cutting him down for doing it.Everything i have posted and read has upheld him in doing it.Hell i have seen people throw races in the bracket level because one was in a points chase and the other not.

Hell i have seen people throw races in the bracket level because one was in a points chase and the other not.
I have too...on more than one occasion...actually it happens quite often unfortunately.
The only way that Force's race would have came out any differently is....if he would have been racing for his 1st U.S. Nationals final instead of his 5th....IMO.

There could be another part to John's plan, first was to let Robert advance to the next round, the second part was, was knowing it would upset Tony enough to allow Ashley to beat him and be the first women to win Funny Car at Indy. Don't know if it was a plan or not, but if it wasn't, it still worked pretty good. I know in one article that I read, Tony said he would never do that if it was him, yea, right, if Cruz was up against Tony and it was the deciding race as to whether Cruz got it or not, I have a feeling Tony would have done the same thing, but I could be wrong.

so it sounds like tony is saying his championship with force wasnt legit. keeps pointing out how he knows what goes on

There could be another part to John's plan, first was to let Robert advance to the next round, the second part was, was knowing it would upset Tony enough to allow Ashley to beat him and be the first women to win Funny Car at Indy. Don't know if it was a plan or not, but if it wasn't, it still worked pretty good. I know in one article that I read, Tony said he would never do that if it was him, yea, right, if Cruz was up against Tony and it was the deciding race as to whether Cruz got it or not, I have a feeling Tony would have done the same thing, but I could be wrong.

Actually, they have raced each other, last year I think or the year before. I remember that whoever had the points lead lost to the other one. And this year at Brainerd. Tony beat Cruz even though Cruz needed the points.

Force did what he thought he needed to do to get another car in the countdown. But wouldn't you rather see them race heads up, and the winning car was actually the better car? Doesn't it cheapen the sport and make it less of a true sporting competition and more like the WWE (entertainment- not sport)? Why doesn't NHRA just join up with Rich Christiansen and Pinks to do whatever it takes to have the best tv show and leave the aspects of true competition out of it. Drag Racing will never make the big time if the average spectator thinks it's rigged.
J.M.O.
Gary

Force did what he thought he needed to do to get another car in the countdown. But wouldn't you rather see them race heads up, and the winning car was actually the better car? Doesn't it cheapen the sport and make it less of a true sporting competition and more like the WWE (entertainment- not sport)? Why doesn't NHRA just join up with Rich Christiansen and Pinks to do whatever it takes to have the best tv show and leave the aspects of true competition out of it. Drag Racing will never make the big time if the average spectator thinks it's rigged.
J.M.O.
Gary

Do you think the average spectator knew what happened and why?Do you think the average spectator knows it happens in nascar the most watched sport?How many people watch the wwe knowing its entertainment?

1. The Countdown in an attempt to be like NASCAR, and most hate it! If it didn't exist we wouldn't have people fighting over 10th place 6 races from the end of the season.

2. If NHRA wants to say a "teammate" can't take a dive because it allows them to control the outcome of a race, then why allow "multi-car teams"? If you don't it is not really right either. They are working on the wrong end of the horse to say that. Granted, it allows money to rule, but it does everywhere in the profressional ranks or drag racing at every level!

3. That was 100% a buisness decision for Force. Regardless of what he meant to do, I am sure he wasn't planning on winning that round, but if he had won it, I don't think it would have been a smart move financially.

4. Tony keeps saying he has 8 years in with Force, and I never once heard him complain while with him, and he left on his own accord!

5. Does a 4 car team have better info than a 2 car team? Not really, considering everything. Tony IS leading the points!


At the end of the day.... NHRA has Big Brothered themselves into this situation by having the countdown, and allowing for this stuff to happen. Force made a business decision, and that is the end of the story. I would have done the same thing, and so would have 95% of other racers if not 100%!!! It is really easy to cut him down for it when you know you probably will never be in that situation yourself!

X2

The latest stuff is pretty funny.
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11670&Itemid=6

http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11673&Itemid=6

Congrats to Ashley though, I feel sorry for her. And did anyone see the pro stock final? I thought Stanfield won until the slo-mo replay.

Its all finger pointing and wishfull thinking from here on out.The pro stock final was very close,I too thought stanfield had him until they showed jeg to win.Greg is from bossier city close to where i live. I use to talk to him when he ran a stocker and would come to the shreveport track sometimes.Nice guy too bad it didn't go his way.

Its all finger pointing and wishfull thinking from here on out.The pro stock final was very close,I too thought stanfield had him until they showed jeg to win.Greg is from bossier city close to where i live. I use to talk to him when he ran a stocker and would come to the shreveport track sometimes.Nice guy too bad it didn't go his way.

Stanfield is going to need a new sponsor too. Brogden bought attitude apparel..

At the end of the day...Pedregon would have 23 cars if he could and may have some day...it aint like John started racing with 10 million in his pocket .

NHRA LEVIES FINE AGAINST JOHN FORCE
GLENDORA, Calif. (Sept. 10, 2009) –

Funny Car racer John Force has been fined $10,000 by the NHRA for an incident involving physical contact with an NHRA official on Monday, Sept. 7 during the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

Videotape from the event showed Force making physical contact with an NHRA official at the top end of the race track during a confrontation with fellow Funny Car driver Tony Pedregon. Such physical contact violates the Participant Conduct policy as stated in the 2009 NHRA Rulebook. The fine, which can be appealed by Force, must be paid in full prior to participation at any future NHRA event

He will pay it with a smile i bet.

He will pay it with a smile i bet.

Unless Tony P. wins the championship :-)

Cruz's problems are of his own, no one else! The Force Team(s) just had the better opportunity to correct their problem than Cruz, and they did! Who the hells fault is that? At this stage of the game it's all business, and like any business, it must be managed correctly!

On another note, Mike Dunn IMO, must have had a "hard on" for Force! I thought his comments on TV were unnecessary.

Dave.

P.S. As to the NHRA's fining of Force. Didn't the NHRA official put his hand on John first?

The security guy did, not the track official.

money wins and Force has it. and he earned it the hard way...

good for him. hell he could hold a raffle and his fans would pay the fine for him. John is the man. lol

money wins and Force has it. and he earned it the hard way...

good for him. hell he could hold a raffle and his fans would pay the fine for him. John is the man. lol

It was once said that John Force has done the two things no one else in sports had done before and that is to win and be liked.

Cruz's problems are of his own, no one else! The Force Team(s) just had the better opportunity to correct their problem than Cruz, and they did!
Actually, the Pedregon brothers could have thrown the race back in Brainerd to get Cruz in the countdown, but they didn't and raced heads up with Tony winning. Now I suppose they'll be forced to have Cruz lose to Tony everytime they meet up from now on to ensure Tony wins the Championship! If it's OK for Force it's OK for their opponents! That will make the NHRA exciting "entertainment" for the rest of the season. It's just bad for the "sport"! J.M.O.
Gary

Actually, the Pedregon brothers could have thrown the race back in Brainerd to get Cruz in the countdown, but they didn't and raced heads up with Tony winning. Now I suppose they'll be forced to have Cruz lose to Tony everytime they meet up from now on to ensure Tony wins the Championship! If it's OK for Force it's OK for their opponents! That will make the NHRA exciting "entertainment" for the rest of the season. It's just bad for the "sport"! J.M.O.
Gary

You are correct in that they made a bad buisness decision in brainerd.If they had made a better decision there they wouldn't have been in this position now.

I wonder what would happen if Cruz started messing with the force cars if they meet in eliminations. Like adding more fuel so they can do a longer burnout, and kill some timing so it doesnt run as hot... staging slow too. John and Ashley have both had DQ's for being to light.

Well tony or Cruz can TRY to burn any of the Force cars down but he only has so much time to stage after the other car puts both lights on so I would love to see him try that because it might be a quick exit! Cruz's problem is if he beats Force himself this never would have happened he could have tried to take Hight out himself but he did not get the job done. No one's fault but his own. It also did not hurt the sport either because I hate to burst anyones bubble but NHRA has been going downhill for years.

been a force fan for years,but i knew he was gonna do that,not long ago ashley needed a win to make the finals for her 1st win i think it was and john went up in smoke just like that.

At the end of the day...Pedregon would have 23 cars if he could and may have some day...it aint like John started racing with 10 million in his pocket .

Lem -I guess thats the way I see it too !!

The man started the same way everyone else did, and not to mention he gave Tony an opportunity that he never got himself.

And if Tony was in the same shoes he wouldn't have made the decesion any differently

Well tony or Cruz can TRY to burn any of the Force cars down but he only has so much time to stage after the other car puts both lights on so I would love to see him try that because it might be a quick exit! Cruz's problem is if he beats Force himself this never would have happened he could have tried to take Hight out himself but he did not get the job done. No one's fault but his own. It also did not hurt the sport either because I hate to burst anyones bubble but NHRA has been going downhill for years.

Everyone says this but they are the only drag racing sanctioning body that has a regular televised program.They are the ones that that make the rules that everyone else follows.I hate to burst your bubble but they will be there when the others are gone be it with the current owners or someone else.

lol, my question is who made it like wrestling?? Force for getting in Tony's face or Tony for bringing it up at a televised event? Wrestling ain't about wrestling, it's about the stupid outside bickering.... hmmnnnn...

Actually, the Pedregon brothers could have thrown the race back in Brainerd to get Cruz in the countdown, but they didn't and raced heads up with Tony winning. Now I suppose they'll be forced to have Cruz lose to Tony everytime they meet up from now on to ensure Tony wins the Championship! If it's OK for Force it's OK for their opponents! That will make the NHRA exciting "entertainment" for the rest of the season. It's just bad for the "sport"! J.M.O.
Gary

I am pretty sure Force threw a race or was accused of it back in 2003 to help Tony win his championship. Where were the "high morals" then? I dont think Tony said much then.

many people do not know Force suffered from polio as a child, which resulted in one leg growing shorter than the other. Although he has this affliction, it is such that he does not need special shoes that make up for the difference.

Daaang it dont look like he made a mistake and inched out of the groove. Hell it look like he drove out of it and being a pro he knew to do it early instead of late down the track. Then cracked the throttle and put on a show with a peddle fest show off.

Everyone says this but they are the only drag racing sanctioning body that has a regular televised program.They are the ones that that make the rules that everyone else follows.I hate to burst your bubble but they will be there when the others are gone be it with the current owners or someone else.

That might be the problem but with the way things are going now days they might not be running much longer themselves. Their ratings are horrible and for anything including a cricket match they push back the coverage to show the cricket match so it shows how bad the ratings are and how much ESPN really cares about NHRA. You can say what you want but it might not be much longer before ESPN drops them and you can see it already that alot of the times they cannot fill a 16 car field at the races in the PRO catergory. I went to Indy and Atlanta every year for 13 years when I was a kid but I do not drive the 2 hours to watch Atlanta anymore. Maybe with Ford getting back into Pro Stock again I might but even though I like Force funny cars are not what I like and that is the show it has become. The NHRA equals Nascar. I will take my local dragstrip or a NMRA race any day of the week!

IMO I think this was a typical round of racing where the Pedregon team had got into Forces and Hights head....

So, did Hight take a dive in the finals so Ashley would win? LOL

That might be the problem but with the way things are going now days they might not be running much longer themselves. Their ratings are horrible and for anything including a cricket match they push back the coverage to show the cricket match so it shows how bad the ratings are and how much ESPN really cares about NHRA. You can say what you want but it might not be much longer before ESPN drops them and you can see it already that alot of the times they cannot fill a 16 car field at the races in the PRO catergory. I went to Indy and Atlanta every year for 13 years when I was a kid but I do not drive the 2 hours to watch Atlanta anymore. Maybe with Ford getting back into Pro Stock again I might but even though I like Force funny cars are not what I like and that is the show it has become. The NHRA equals Nascar. I will take my local dragstrip or a NMRA race any day of the week!

The reason they can't fill the fields are simply money that not alot of teams have.The less expensive pro stock class doesn't have a problem.I went to some Ihra races this year only to see 6 or 8 fuel dragsters.They had to drop the funny car class because the lack of.So to see Nhra have twice that amount tells me its not the nhra.

No the reason they have twice that many is because of the money they pay is alot more than IHRA was paying. Money makes them show up but it is the fans that keep the sport going and attendance has been down for years even before the recession! There are multiple reasons for this but most ARE NHRA's fault. With all this crap with the playoffs like Nascar does I do not even go to watch NHRA I run some IHRA HR sometimes and than go to local races and run heads up or go to the NMRA. Soon the NHRA will price themselves out of business for the average racer and you will see it being nothing but Pro Teams racing and sorry but I would not go to watch that crap and the ratings on TV ARE horrible so it might not be much longer until ESPN drops them altogether and that will be another slide down the slope they take. Force and his drama actually brought a little interest into the sport for the day because I saw it on Sportscenter multiple times which i rarely see them say anything about drag racing on.

No the reason they have twice that many is because of the money they pay is alot more than IHRA was paying. Money makes them show up but it is the fans that keep the sport going and attendance has been down for years even before the recession! There are multiple reasons for this but most ARE NHRA's fault. With all this crap with the playoffs like Nascar does I do not even go to watch NHRA I run some IHRA HR sometimes and than go to local races and run heads up or go to the NMRA. Soon the NHRA will price themselves out of business for the average racer and you will see it being nothing but Pro Teams racing and sorry but I would not go to watch that crap and the ratings on TV ARE horrible so it might not be much longer until ESPN drops them altogether and that will be another slide down the slope they take. Force and his drama actually brought a little interest into the sport for the day because I saw it on Sportscenter multiple times which i rarely see them say anything about drag racing on.

Where there is cars there will be fans.Where there is cubic sponsor dollars there will be cars.I know the dollars have lessend for now but that is everywhere.I don"t know if you have been to a nhra divisional race lately but if you ever do, count the number of large enclosed trailers and toter homes.It will take them a while to price themselves out of buisness.I agree that the local track racers will not attend their races. But how many do now?