The news which broke this past weekend that two of the three Pedregon brothers, Tony and Cruz, were joining forces in 2004 with a two-Funny Car battle group came as no major surprise to most fans of the NHRA POWERade series. But the announcement begged the question, "What will brother Frank Pedregon be doing next year?"

One thing is for sure. He won't be back in the K&N Firebird of Jim Dunn.

The oldest Pedregon brother abruptly resigned from Dunn's team as the 2003 season was winding down. At the Auto Club Finals in Pomona (Calif.) in November -- the last race on the schedule -- Dunn was approached by 1996 NHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion Tony Bartone for the opportunity to drive his nitro machine. Bartone qualified 12th before losing to John Force in the first round and now, Jim Dunn Racing has announced that a three-year deal has been struck, placing the popular veteran driver from New York in the team's fuel coupe starting in 2004.

Bartone has already established himself as a capable nitro racer, having driven a second team Funny Car for Jerry Toliver's WWF operation in 2001. This past year, he raced in the Top Alcohol Dragster class in the NHRA's Lucas Oil Series and finished third in the national championship standings.

"Tony Bartone's credentials are impeccable," said Dunn. "He's a tremendously talented racer who can drive just about anything that has tires and a steering wheel. Tony's also an extremely personable individual who will help this team to be successful and we're glad to have him with us next season. Tony did a great job at Pomona to get the K & N Pontiac into the show, and we're confident that he's the right driver to take this program to the next level."

Bartone's natural driving ability has extended beyond the quarter-mile and into the realm of big-bore road racing. He completed road course instruction at the Panoz Racing School at Road Atlanta four years ago, competed in three Motorola Cup road course events in both 1999 and 2000, and raced in the 24 Hours of Daytona Rolex Series in 2000 and 2001. He placed third in the SGT Class at the Mid-Ohio Grand Am Cup in 2001. As the owner of a successful contracting company based in Manhasset, N.Y., his personal collection of special interest automobiles ranges from exotic sports cars to high-end street rods.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to get back into POWERade Funny Car competition," said Bartone. "I'm looking forward to working with Jim Dunn and the rest of the team to give K & N Filters and Lucas Oil a Funny Car program they can be proud of. I've known Jim a long time and working with the team at Pomona was a great experience. Now we can focus on what needs to be done next season to get this Pontiac into the winner's circle."

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