(Ron Lewis photo)
And there they were, preparing to live the essence of drag racing -- two drivers, two cars, two lanes, one Christmas Tree, one purpose, one winner. Pedregon was about to put a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel of his Advance Auto Parts Toyota Solara. He looked over at Wilkerson and hardly could believe what he saw.
Laughing, he said, "I was already in my car with my helmet on. And Tim didn't have his boots on, didn't have his upper fire suit on. He wasn't anywhere near ready to go. He was punching data into his MSD box. He was almost barefoot. But he came over and gave me a thumbs-up. There's a guy who's making his own decisions about tuning a car, gets in there, and cuts a good light -- really a phenomenal guy.
"I have so much respect for Tim," Pedregon said. "He's an independent racer. He doesn't come from a big Schumacher or Force team.
"We're in the hunt," he said, almost as amazed at his mere 69-point deficit as he was confident. "But we need some of these guys to take out Tim. Unless we can do something special in Vegas or Pomona, Tim's got a good shot at the championship."
(Todd Dziadosz photo)
Like Schumacher, Pedregon won from the No. 1 position and took the $40,000 jackpot in his third final round of 2008.
No. 4 Tony Pedregon -- his brother, teammate, and reigning Funny Car champion -- is 91 points off the pace, and Hight is 92 back.
"I told my crew after the first round, 'Enjoy this -- I know how hard it is to win one round," Pedregon said. He said that just before the final round, he surveyed the other pro finalists and thought for a second, "I was out of place. I hadn't been there in so long."
Cruz Pedregon’s crew chief, Rahn Tobler, enjoyed the Richmond win. (Ron Lewis photo)
Schumacher has been there on a regular basis and virtually has a lock on the title that will seal the story of the most successful team in Top Fuel history -- a swan song before crew chief Alan Johnson's departure from Don Schumacher Racing at the end of the season to own his own operation again.
Will Wilkerson be able to hang onto his Funny Car lead? Or will Cruz Pedregon be the one to strike a blow for the independents? Can Jack Beckman, a former sportsman-level national champion, add a pro title to his resume? Will Robert Hight storm back past both Pedregon brothers?
Will Dave Connolly, who missed the first five races of the season, keep marching to the top, or will his more experienced teammate Coughlin use his savvy to repeat his title? What will become of Kurt Johnson's quest? Will Greg Anderson be a bridesmaid again?
It'll be intriguing to see what odds the Las Vegas bookmakers come up with.