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NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps is expecting a little "deja vu" and perhaps a bit of a distraction this weekend at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. The driver of the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T enters this event following back-to-back season victories, the same as in 2006, and will be watching over his brother Jon as he makes his professional Funny Car debut at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Capps will not be distracted, however, from focusing on maintaining his win streak, something he wasn't able to cash in on at last year's event, where he was runner-up to Cruz Pedregon.
"We were on a two-race winning streak, kind of like we are on right now," said Capps, whose best career win streak is two in a row. "We almost made it three in a row. "Right now it's a very, very eerie feeling as far as the points go. We won Gainesville and Houston last year and went into Las Vegas with the possibility of going three in a row and we made it all the way to the final round and lost to Cruz Pedregon. I think Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is still kicking himself for going into tire smoke in that round. We hadn't smoked the tires in so long at that point.
"There was a lot on the line at the time. We were starting to extend the points lead out and here we are again in kind of the same boat," added Capps, 83 points ahead of Tony Pedregon after four events. "I know we have the Countdown to the Championship to look forward to and being in the top eight. I tell you, the more and more we get into the season, the more difficult it looks to get into that top eight. It's not going to be an easy task at all.
"Ace had told me early in the season that all we can do is show up at each race and try to win every race, and all the points will come with it. That's the plan right now.
"Vegas is going to be a strange weekend. We definitely missed racing against the John Force team in Houston. They're going to come back and they have a mission. They have a mission not only to get into the Countdown, but there's a lot of inspiration and a lot of emotion that's going to be going on with John Force Racing. I can tell you, we're all glad to have them back and it's going to be nice to get back to some kind of normalcy, although it will never be the same without Eric Medlen.
"It's also going to be an exciting event because I have my brother debuting in the professional Funny Car class. When we won in Gainesville, we ran against (Jon's crew chief) Paul Smith in the final round (with Phil Burkart driving), and that's the car Jon is driving. It's his hometown and some big things are happening for him. He's worked his tail off, and I kind of feel like a parent. I'm going to have a little bit of a distraction going to the starting line and watching my brother run."
Capps is still seeking his first Funny Car championship.
Capps expecting a little 'deja vu' in Vegas
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps is expecting a little "deja vu" and perhaps a bit of a distraction this weekend at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. The driver of the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T enters this event following back-to-back season victories, the same as in 2006, and will be watching over his brother Jon as he makes his professional Funny Car debut at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Capps will not be distracted, however, from focusing on maintaining his win streak, something he wasn't able to cash in on at last year's event, where he was runner-up to Cruz Pedregon.
"We were on a two-race winning streak, kind of like we are on right now," said Capps, whose best career win streak is two in a row. "We almost made it three in a row. "Right now it's a very, very eerie feeling as far as the points go. We won Gainesville and Houston last year and went into Las Vegas with the possibility of going three in a row and we made it all the way to the final round and lost to Cruz Pedregon. I think Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is still kicking himself for going into tire smoke in that round. We hadn't smoked the tires in so long at that point.
"There was a lot on the line at the time. We were starting to extend the points lead out and here we are again in kind of the same boat," added Capps, 83 points ahead of Tony Pedregon after four events. "I know we have the Countdown to the Championship to look forward to and being in the top eight. I tell you, the more and more we get into the season, the more difficult it looks to get into that top eight. It's not going to be an easy task at all.
"Ace had told me early in the season that all we can do is show up at each race and try to win every race, and all the points will come with it. That's the plan right now.
"Vegas is going to be a strange weekend. We definitely missed racing against the John Force team in Houston. They're going to come back and they have a mission. They have a mission not only to get into the Countdown, but there's a lot of inspiration and a lot of emotion that's going to be going on with John Force Racing. I can tell you, we're all glad to have them back and it's going to be nice to get back to some kind of normalcy, although it will never be the same without Eric Medlen.
"It's also going to be an exciting event because I have my brother debuting in the professional Funny Car class. When we won in Gainesville, we ran against (Jon's crew chief) Paul Smith in the final round (with Phil Burkart driving), and that's the car Jon is driving. It's his hometown and some big things are happening for him. He's worked his tail off, and I kind of feel like a parent. I'm going to have a little bit of a distraction going to the starting line and watching my brother run."
Capps is still seeking his first Funny Car championship.
