Twenty-seven Races to Victory
by CP Staff
Sunday’s 40th Annual NHRA Gatornationals saw a new name added to the list of Full Throttle Drag Series Funny Car class winners.
Bob Tasca III in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang made it to the final round for the first time in his career and defeated Tony Pedregon for the win.
"I'm speechless," said Tasca. "We qualified our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang No. 1, and we beat Tim Wilkerson, John Force and Tony Pedregon to get the first win. This is just a real tribute to the whole Motorcraft/Quick Lane program. To bring the first win home for Ford this year in the NHRA Funny Car class is really special. It’s a dream come true for me."
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On Sunday afternoon, Tasca went round for round with some of the series best en route to his first career win. In the first round won, Tasca defeated Jim Head. During the second round, he defeated teammate Tim Wilkerson. Tasca faced his mentor John Force in the third round. In the finals, Tasca defeated friend Tony Pedregon.
"John Force. What can you say? He's the man. I wouldn't be here if it wasn’t for John Force. Tony Pedregon is my best friend. Tim Wilkerson coming on board and working with us," said Tasca. "It is pretty special to beat those guys and walk away with your first Wally [trophy] and we are leaving here second in the points. That isn’t too shabby."
It was 16 months since Bob Tasca hired Chris Cunningham as his crew chief. The two went to work and 27 races later, they celebrate victory.
Later in the week, Tasca returns to the Tasca Ford dealership in Rhode Island.
"My grandfather's saying back in the 60's was 'Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.' The dynamic has certainly changed. Heck, they used to win with the cars you could buy in the showroom and today that's not the case. At the end of the day, 'Win on Sunday and sell on Monday' is what this program is all about. We have just as much emphasis with the off-track initiatives with Motorcraft, Quick Lane and Ford as we do on the track."
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