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COMMERCE, Ga. (April 27. 2008) - Ron Capps raced the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car into his second straight semifinal round of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season at the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Capps moved into ninth in the Funny Car point standings after losing in the semis to Ashley Force. En route to this encounter with the daughter of 14-time Funny Car champion John Force he defeated JFR driver Robert Hight with a 4.875-second run at 313.07 mph, then Cruz Pedregon with a solid 4.876/318.62 pass.
Having earned lane choice for the semifinal face-off, Capps matched Ashley in reaction times as they took of from the starting line nearly simultaneously. But the tires on the NAPA Dodge lit up instantly at the hit of the throttle and Capps coasted to a 13.665/81.47 pass while Ashley shot to a 4.842/317.79 victory.
"We're not sure what happened," said Capps. "Ace (McCulloch, crew chief) is looking at the computer right now. I'm sure in a couple of days he'll find something. But to do what it did you usually find something broken in there or something that malfunctioned.
"Obviously, we knew that they were going to run good. Left lane or right lane, it didn't matter. There's a slightly bigger bump in the left lane. That's why the right lane has been the choice all day. But, let me tell you, plenty of cars ran good in that left lane. And we knew they ran a 4.86 earlier and they could run a low .80 over there. Guido (Antonelli, Ashley's crew chief) is very good. We didn't take them lightly. We just went up there and tried to repeat, maybe run an .85 or .84, and for some reason it blew them off at the hit. So, Ace will look at everything and we'll just go from there.
"It was a fun day because we were in and out of the pit area going up to the staging lanes and watching NAPA driver Michael Waltrip on TV in Talladega and he was up front with a few laps to go (he finished 27th). It was a lot of fun. We were hoping to get into the final, but two semifinals in a row for us is good, and I really feel comfortable now."
The next event is the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., May 2-4.
NHRA FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, AFTER SIX EVENTS:
1. Ashley Force, 438 (winner today)
2. Tim Wilkerson, 379
3. Cruz Pedregon, 351
4. Robert Hight, 323
5. John Force, 321 (runner-up today)
6. Tony Pedregon, 319
7. Gary Densham, 315
8. Jack Beckman, 311
9. Ron Capps, 276
10. Del Worsham, 253
11. Bob Tasca III, 252
12. Jim Head, 238
13. Gary Scelzi, 209
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17. Jerry Toliver, 171
CAPPS EARNS SECOND STRAIGHT SEMIFINAL FINISH OF SEASON IN ATLANTA
COMMERCE, Ga. (April 27. 2008) - Ron Capps raced the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car into his second straight semifinal round of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season at the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Capps moved into ninth in the Funny Car point standings after losing in the semis to Ashley Force. En route to this encounter with the daughter of 14-time Funny Car champion John Force he defeated JFR driver Robert Hight with a 4.875-second run at 313.07 mph, then Cruz Pedregon with a solid 4.876/318.62 pass.
Having earned lane choice for the semifinal face-off, Capps matched Ashley in reaction times as they took of from the starting line nearly simultaneously. But the tires on the NAPA Dodge lit up instantly at the hit of the throttle and Capps coasted to a 13.665/81.47 pass while Ashley shot to a 4.842/317.79 victory.
"We're not sure what happened," said Capps. "Ace (McCulloch, crew chief) is looking at the computer right now. I'm sure in a couple of days he'll find something. But to do what it did you usually find something broken in there or something that malfunctioned.
"Obviously, we knew that they were going to run good. Left lane or right lane, it didn't matter. There's a slightly bigger bump in the left lane. That's why the right lane has been the choice all day. But, let me tell you, plenty of cars ran good in that left lane. And we knew they ran a 4.86 earlier and they could run a low .80 over there. Guido (Antonelli, Ashley's crew chief) is very good. We didn't take them lightly. We just went up there and tried to repeat, maybe run an .85 or .84, and for some reason it blew them off at the hit. So, Ace will look at everything and we'll just go from there.
"It was a fun day because we were in and out of the pit area going up to the staging lanes and watching NAPA driver Michael Waltrip on TV in Talladega and he was up front with a few laps to go (he finished 27th). It was a lot of fun. We were hoping to get into the final, but two semifinals in a row for us is good, and I really feel comfortable now."
The next event is the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., May 2-4.
NHRA FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, AFTER SIX EVENTS:
1. Ashley Force, 438 (winner today)
2. Tim Wilkerson, 379
3. Cruz Pedregon, 351
4. Robert Hight, 323
5. John Force, 321 (runner-up today)
6. Tony Pedregon, 319
7. Gary Densham, 315
8. Jack Beckman, 311
9. Ron Capps, 276
10. Del Worsham, 253
11. Bob Tasca III, 252
12. Jim Head, 238
13. Gary Scelzi, 209
____________________
17. Jerry Toliver, 171
