Pedregon was raised in Torrance, California in a family with deep roots in drag racing. His father Frank Sr. competed as a drag racer, and the household produced three sons who would all compete professionally in NHRA events. Tony, the youngest, came up through the ranks watching his brothers establish themselves before finding his own path into national competition.
Pedregon entered NHRA competition in 1993, qualifying for his first national event driving a Top Fuel Dragster. By 1995 he was running a limited Funny Car schedule for car owner Larry Minor, getting his first sustained exposure to the class that would define his career.
In 1996, Pedregon joined John Force Racing as a Funny Car driver. His debut season was exceptional: he made seven final-round appearances, won his first career event at Atlanta, and finished second overall in season points — an extraordinary result for a first full season. He also received the inaugural Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award that year, recognizing him as the sport's top emerging driver.
Over the following seasons at John Force Racing, Pedregon steadily added to his résumé. In 1997 he defeated his brother Cruz in the first-ever funny car final between brothers in NHRA history. In 1999, racing at Gainesville Raceway, he clocked a 4.779-second run — the quickest elapsed time in Funny Car history at that point. Through 1999 and 2000 he qualified from the number-one position at multiple events and reached six finals in 2000.
In 2001, Pedregon won at Englishtown after earning the top qualifying spot, also winning back-to-back races for the first time in his career. In 2002, he won six times across eight final-round appearances and finished second in points for the fourth time in his career, including three consecutive wins in a single stretch.
The 2003 season brought his first championship. Pedregon won eight events that year and became the first Funny Car champion since his brother Cruz in 1992 to claim the title outside of John Force Racing. The win elevated him to fourth on the all-time NHRA Funny Car career victories list at the time.
After the 2003 championship, Tony left John Force Racing to join his brother Cruz and form Pedregon Racing. In his first season as a team owner, he finished eighth in the championship standings — his ninth consecutive top-ten finish. He set career-best elapsed times (4.680 seconds at Chicago in 2005, matched by Cruz at the same event) and maintained a national-event qualifying streak that reached 110 consecutive races by 2005, extending back to Bristol in 2001.
Pedregon won three events in 2006 and finished in the top five in the championship standings. In 2007, he captured his second NHRA Funny Car championship, winning four events during the season. He followed that with four more wins in 2008 and three wins in 2009, demonstrating sustained competitiveness as an owner-driver at the sport's highest level.
Across his career with Pedregon Racing, Pedregon was nominated for the ESPY Best Driver Award, joining a short list that included Tony Schumacher, John Force, Greg Anderson, and Melanie Troxel — the first drag racers to receive that recognition.
After his driving career, Pedregon transitioned to television. In October 2015 it was announced he would join the Fox Sports NHRA broadcast team beginning in 2016 for their coverage of the NHRA Mello Yello Series, bringing his expertise as a multi-time champion to the commentary booth.
Pedregon lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, and has three children: a daughter named Cecily and two sons, Desidario and Benecio. He is of Mexican American descent, the son of Frank "Flamin'" Pedregon Sr.
Tony Pedregon's career places him among the elite of NHRA Funny Car competition. With two championships (2003 and 2007) and a career record of over 300 round wins, he demonstrated elite-level consistency both as a team driver under John Force and as an independent owner-driver. His role in breaking the John Force Racing Funny Car hegemony in 2003 — following his brother's identical feat in 1992 — gave the Pedregon family a unique double achievement in NHRA history. His subsequent transition to broadcasting extended his influence within the sport well beyond his driving years.