BRADENTON, Fla. (February 8, 2025) – One year after missing out on qualifying for the Funny Car field at the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout, three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps charged to victory at the second annual running of the independent event at Bradenton Motorsports Park. It was a motivating preseason performance for Capps, who qualified No. 4 in the eight-car field before taking his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra to the final round to face reigning event champion and reigning NHRA world champion Austin Prock. Capps turned on the final win light with a 3.87-second pass at 330.47 mph.
Capps began his PRO Superstar Shootout outing with a series of test passes early in the week before going into Thursday’s lone qualifying session. Sporting a fresh look on his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, Capps laid down a 3.868-second pass at 327.19 mph to sit fifth. Three more sessions followed on Friday, with Capps recording a 3.92 E.T. at 323.66 in the first session of the day. He lost traction in Q3, but crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli loaded up a stout 3.828-second blast at 333.49 in the final session to move up to the No. 4 position.
Qualifying positions went out the window for race day, though, as the PRO Superstar Shootout uses random chip draws to randomly determine the pairings for eliminations. In the first-round chip draw on Saturday night after qualifying, Capps drew second-generation driver Daniel Wilkerson.
In the closest match of the opening round of eliminations, Capps and Wilkerson left the line with identical reaction times and raced side-by-side down the Bradenton 1,000-foot course. Capps reached the finish line first with his 3.863 E.T. at 333.41 mph to Wilkerson’s 3.892-second effort. Capps drew another chip at the top end, pairing him up with Jack Beckman in the semifinals with lane choice going to the Ron Capps Motorsports team. A consistent 3.86 E.T. at 336.07 was enough to hold off Beckman, who was the second-quickest of the round with his 3.871. The 3.86 was also low E.T. of race day to that point, giving Capps lane choice against Prock in the final round.
The final round saw Prock leave first, but Capps started reeling him in by the 330-foot mark and powered through to a 3.87 E.T. at 330.47 mph to get the win, while Prock followed with a 4.003 E.T. at 316.60.
“I’m shocked,” said Capps, who finished third in the 2024 NHRA Funny Car points standings. “Last year I said I so wish that we had a car to battle those guys. I haven’t seen a dominant car, start to finish, like they had, but that’s Robert Hight’s car. We know what it’s capable of. I love Austin in there. It’s a different animal. I saw (Prock) out the window and I thought we lost. This is one of those roller coaster moments.”
The victory was rewarding on numerous levels for Capps. After five runner-up finishes in 2024, his team’s offseason efforts were validated by a win in their first event of the year. Plus, Capps was one of the professional drivers and team owners in the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) who worked behind the scenes to make the PRO Superstar Shootout a reality for the second consecutive year.
“Our NAPA guys, Guido, we stuck to our guns and used that NAPA Know How to get it done,” added Capps, after acknowledging NAPA Auto Care, Revchem Composites, Carlyle Tools, and F3 Energy, thanking them for their support. “What a great way to start the season, and to do it at this event means a lot. Back in the day, as a kid, I read about the Orange County Raceway and all the races where everybody showed up and it was put on by the partners and the sponsors, and that’s what this is all about. A lot of our sponsors are big supporters of this event. Thank you, SCAG Power Equipment, for putting all that money up. This is big for all of our NAPA guys and Guido. I can’t say enough about how hard he’s worked. This is the fruits of his labor.”
Capps, now in his 31st season as a professional drag racer, will kick off the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season March 7-9 at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla. Ron Capps Motorsports is seeking its second world championship and Capps’ fourth season title.
Qualified: No. 4 (3.828 E.T. at 333.49 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.863 E.T. at 333.41 mph defeated Daniel Wilkerson 3.892 E.T. at 315.34 mph
E2: 3.860 E.T. at 336.07 mph defeated Jack Beckman 3.871 E.T. at 330.55 mph
E3: 3.870 E.T. at 330.47 MPH defeated Austin Prock 4.003 E.T. at 316.60 mph
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Capps began his PRO Superstar Shootout outing with a series of test passes early in the week before going into Thursday’s lone qualifying session. Sporting a fresh look on his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, Capps laid down a 3.868-second pass at 327.19 mph to sit fifth. Three more sessions followed on Friday, with Capps recording a 3.92 E.T. at 323.66 in the first session of the day. He lost traction in Q3, but crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli loaded up a stout 3.828-second blast at 333.49 in the final session to move up to the No. 4 position.
Qualifying positions went out the window for race day, though, as the PRO Superstar Shootout uses random chip draws to randomly determine the pairings for eliminations. In the first-round chip draw on Saturday night after qualifying, Capps drew second-generation driver Daniel Wilkerson.
In the closest match of the opening round of eliminations, Capps and Wilkerson left the line with identical reaction times and raced side-by-side down the Bradenton 1,000-foot course. Capps reached the finish line first with his 3.863 E.T. at 333.41 mph to Wilkerson’s 3.892-second effort. Capps drew another chip at the top end, pairing him up with Jack Beckman in the semifinals with lane choice going to the Ron Capps Motorsports team. A consistent 3.86 E.T. at 336.07 was enough to hold off Beckman, who was the second-quickest of the round with his 3.871. The 3.86 was also low E.T. of race day to that point, giving Capps lane choice against Prock in the final round.
The final round saw Prock leave first, but Capps started reeling him in by the 330-foot mark and powered through to a 3.87 E.T. at 330.47 mph to get the win, while Prock followed with a 4.003 E.T. at 316.60.
“I’m shocked,” said Capps, who finished third in the 2024 NHRA Funny Car points standings. “Last year I said I so wish that we had a car to battle those guys. I haven’t seen a dominant car, start to finish, like they had, but that’s Robert Hight’s car. We know what it’s capable of. I love Austin in there. It’s a different animal. I saw (Prock) out the window and I thought we lost. This is one of those roller coaster moments.”
The victory was rewarding on numerous levels for Capps. After five runner-up finishes in 2024, his team’s offseason efforts were validated by a win in their first event of the year. Plus, Capps was one of the professional drivers and team owners in the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) who worked behind the scenes to make the PRO Superstar Shootout a reality for the second consecutive year.
“Our NAPA guys, Guido, we stuck to our guns and used that NAPA Know How to get it done,” added Capps, after acknowledging NAPA Auto Care, Revchem Composites, Carlyle Tools, and F3 Energy, thanking them for their support. “What a great way to start the season, and to do it at this event means a lot. Back in the day, as a kid, I read about the Orange County Raceway and all the races where everybody showed up and it was put on by the partners and the sponsors, and that’s what this is all about. A lot of our sponsors are big supporters of this event. Thank you, SCAG Power Equipment, for putting all that money up. This is big for all of our NAPA guys and Guido. I can’t say enough about how hard he’s worked. This is the fruits of his labor.”
Capps, now in his 31st season as a professional drag racer, will kick off the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season March 7-9 at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla. Ron Capps Motorsports is seeking its second world championship and Capps’ fourth season title.
Qualified: No. 4 (3.828 E.T. at 333.49 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.863 E.T. at 333.41 mph defeated Daniel Wilkerson 3.892 E.T. at 315.34 mph
E2: 3.860 E.T. at 336.07 mph defeated Jack Beckman 3.871 E.T. at 330.55 mph
E3: 3.870 E.T. at 330.47 MPH defeated Austin Prock 4.003 E.T. at 316.60 mph
Scag Pro Superstar Shootout
Scag Pro Superstar Shootout
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