A week or two after Eric Medlen’s funeral last spring, John Force and Robert Hight stopped at the Huff & Fluff Laundry in Clermont, Ind., to drop off some dirty clothes.
And it didn’t take Force long to spot on the bulletin board the newspaper clipping and photo of Tony Pedregon, who interrupted his string of Funny Car series championships in 2003, then shocked National Hot Rod Ass’n observers by bolting to start his own team. The move triggered raised eyebrows, plenty of gossip and skepticism about the wisdom of such a career choice. For a while, it also sparked a bit of uncharacteristic tension that has long since melted away.
That day at the Huff & Fluff, Force smiled sentimentally and said softly, “Aww…little Tony…”
The love was evident again Sunday in the first round of the season-opening Carquest Auto Parts Winternationals. That’s when Force’s remarkable return to racing after a horrifying accident near Dallas last September played out almost in equally dreadful similarity.
Pedregon, who opened defense of his series title in the opposite lane, was injured in a fiery explosion and wallbanger that shot him across the track behind Force’s Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and warranted a trip to Pomona Valley Medical Center Hospital.
Pedregon was back at the track by the start of the second round. His right hand sported a bandage that encased four fingers.
Still mending from broken bones in both feet and serious tendon and ligament damage to his right knee, Force hobbled quickly to Pedregon’s side as he lay on a gurney. Pedregon, his driving boots and lower portion of his firesuit charred, spoke with Force and smiled. Then Force leaned over and kissed his former protégé on the forehead. Next he limped to Dickie Venables, Pedregon’s shaken crew chief, and comforted him.

"I’ve tried to dislike John, but I can’t. When I see him, he makes me smile. There’s only one John Force.” — Tony Pedregon

“I love Pedregon,” Force said. “He was the first guy yelling for me to get well.”
Pedregon’s Q Racing Chevy engine exploded before the finish line, and its carbon-fiber Impala body detonated.
“A part went through the side of my car,” Force said. “I was looking at him and forgot about the chutes. Got it stopped. Car’s OK. [Crew chief Austin] Coil will beat me up. But I’m just excited to be at Pomona. I’m glad Tony’s OK.”
Pedregon said he had no warning that his car was about to erupt in mayhem.
“A lot of times when something happens to your car, like when you drop a cylinder, you feel it, and I would have reacted,” he said. “But it blew up, and I had instant flames, like a flame-thrower in my face. And the scary part was I didn’t know where I was. I hit the wall very hard and I feel very lucky. I knew that my hands were burned and I knew that I got beat up a little.”
Following Force’s accident in Texas, Pedregon was clear about his feelings for his most famous mentor.
“If he decides to get back in a car, God bless him,” Pedregon said last September. “He’s had a great life. He’s had a great career. If he’s back in the seat, there’s no question he’ll be good.
“I am sincere the way I feel about him,” Pedregon said. “John and I have to compete on the track, and in some ways we have to compete off the track, because this is about sponsors and leveraging partnerships. I’ve tried to dislike John, but I can’t. When I see him, he makes me smile. There’s only one John Force.”
And Sunday, Force was well aware that we have only one Tony Pedregon — and the 14-time champion demonstrated just how much he treasures him.