Only two drivers in the history of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series have won professional championships in their rookie season: Gary Scelzi in Top Fuel in 1997, and Cruz Pedregon in Funny Car five years earlier in 1992.

Pedregon's championship run is the stuff of legend. Trailing John Force by a wide margin for the points lead heading into the season's final six races, Pedregon won five of them and earned the distinction of being the only driver other than Force to win the F/C championship in the last 13 years.

Since then, Pedregon's career path has been a twisty road. When his team owner at the time, Larry Minor, sold his operation to Coach Joe Gibbs shortly after Cruz's championship season, Pedregon drove for his new boss until 1999, losing his ride that year following a disappointing loss to John Force in the Englishtown (NJ) final.

A short-lived attempt to field his own team in 2000 was quickly followed by a year in the broadcast booth, serving as ESPN's expert analyst on the network's NHRA coverage. Last year, Cruz debuted a new team sponsored by Advance Auto Parts, and after several changes in his tuning personnel which included Gene and Ted Fasching, Richard Hogan, and Bill Schultz, he brought veteran tuners Rob Flynn and Dave Fletcher aboard to begin 2003, and now the former champion feels he has the tools to win.

Last week's final round appearance in Denver and photo-finish loss to John Force emphasized the progress Cruz and his team have made. "It has been a long road to get here," said Pedregon as he prepared for this weekend's 16th CarQuest Auto Parts Nationals at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle, Wash.

"This team has had to work through a lot of little problems and we understand that if you want to win, that's what you have to do. We're not there yet but Rob and Dave keep working toward our goal and we're a lot closer now to being there than we've ever been before."

After sitting outside the POWERade top 10 standings for the first 12 races of the year, Pedregon's runner-up finish last week has moved him to the No. 10 spot, only 26 points behind Johnny Gray at No. 9. For any racer, having a shot at a top 10 finish and a place on the stage at the annual award ceremonies in Hollywood in November is a strong incentive for winning. Cruz Pedregon is no exception.

"Every team that races out here sets a goal and winning the championship is always the biggest. I've always said that when I wasn't driving I didn't miss it as much as a lot of people thought because I knew I'd be back and that my racing career wasn't over. Now that I'm back with my own team, I want to win and that's very important to me. When you've won a championship, you're always looking ahead to winning the next one."

Bill Stephens covers the NHRA for ESPN and ESPN.com.