Pedregon is the son of drag racer "Flamin'" Frank Pedregon and is of Mexican American descent. He grew up in Torrance, California, and later resettled in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has three children: a daughter, Cecily, and two sons, Desidario and Benecio. His family's deep roots in drag racing provided both the foundation and the competition that shaped his career.
Pedregon qualified for his first NHRA event in 1993, driving a Top Fuel Dragster. In 1995, he ran a limited Funny Car schedule for car owner Larry Minor.
Pedregon joined John Force Racing in 1996 and immediately announced himself as a contender, making seven final-round appearances in his debut season, winning his first career event at Atlanta, and finishing second overall in season points. He was named the inaugural winner of the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award that year.
In 1997, he defeated his brother Cruz in the first-ever Funny Car final contested between brothers. He also collected three No. 1 qualifying positions and advanced to five final rounds that season. The following year, 1998, he won two events and notably posted the quickest elapsed time in history — a 4.779-second run at Gainesville Raceway — though the stat was later refined as the sport continued to accelerate.
By 2000, Pedregon was a consistent finals presence, reaching six final rounds and winning twice. In 2001, he won at Englishtown after qualifying first, marking a career first, and claimed back-to-back victories for the first time. In 2002, he won six of eight final-round appearances and finished second in points for the fourth time in his career, also stringing together three consecutive race victories.
The 2003 season represented Pedregon's career peak in his John Force Racing tenure. He won eight national events and claimed the NHRA Funny Car Championship — the first driver other than John Force to win it since Cruz Pedregon in 1992. Eight victories in a single season placed him fourth on the all-time career win list at the time.
After his championship, Pedregon left John Force Racing to co-found Pedregon Racing with his brother Cruz. In his first season as a team owner, he finished eighth in the championship, extending his streak of nine consecutive top-ten finishes. He qualified for all twenty-three events, stretching a consecutive-qualifying streak to eighty-seven races, fifth-best among all active professionals at the time.
In 2005, Pedregon set a career-best elapsed time when both he and his brother Cruz each recorded 4.680 seconds at the second Chicago event. He finished the season with two wins and earned three No. 1 qualifier positions.
In 2007, Pedregon won his second NHRA Funny Car championship, securing four victories along the way. In 2008, he again won four events and qualified first twice, finishing fifth in points. His 2008 season ended with a pivotal role in the title outcome: his victory at the final race of the year eliminated the last driver who could have caught his brother Cruz, handing Cruz the 2008 championship.
In October 2015, it was announced that Pedregon would join the Fox Sports NHRA broadcast team beginning in the 2016 season, transitioning from competitor to analyst for coverage of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Tony Pedregon's two championships, eight-win 2003 campaign, and role as a team co-owner across more than a decade of competition place him among the elite of NHRA Funny Car history. His family's collective achievements — two champions among the three racing brothers — represent one of drag racing's most exceptional sibling legacies.