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CLERMONT, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2007) - NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps qualified No. 5 at the prestigious U.S. Nationals today, and was runner-up in the $100,000 Skoal Showdown bonus event to his teammate Jack Beckman.
Capps drove the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T into the final round of the Showdown, an event he has won three times, after first defeating his other teammate Gary Scelzi in the opening round, then Mike Ashley in the semifinal.
In the final, Capps took off first at the starting lights, with a .093 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Beckman's .104. Beckman crossed the finish stripe in the lead, however, grabbing his first Skoal Showdown win by seven feet with a 4.950-second pass at 313.80 mph to Capps' losing 4.976/315.64.
During the qualifying rounds, which included the first two stanzas of the Showdown, Capps recorded a 4.773/324.98 in the initial qualifying session on Friday to earn the No. 3 spot. His other attempts included a 5.732/167.34, 5.173/207.37, a 4.880/312.93 and a 4.893/31.77.
"Man, it hurts bad right now," he said of his Showdown loss. "I'm happy as heck for Don (Schumacher, team owner) and those guys on the MTS team. That's a good bunch of guys. But, when you get that far and then lose it it's like somebody punches you in the stomach.
"I thought I won, really. I never even saw him. I pulled my 'chutes and still didn't see him and I was on the radio trying to talk to the guys. I just thought our radio didn't work.
"The good thing is we ran good both runs today in the heat and it's going to be hot tomorrow. Tomorrow is the important day, when you look at the big picture, but we sure wanted to put that on the side and have a chance at the double-up ($50,000 bonus for winning both the Showdown and the U.S. Nationals). I've tasted victory in the Showdown before and it's so sweet. I told the guys how nice it would be to win and how good a feeling it is, and then not to do that, I feel bad. We gave it a shot.
"The best thing is, honest to God, the Brut Revolution Dodge went down the track all three runs today. And in very, very tough and adverse conditions. And that excites me for tomorrow. It's hard to put it behind you. I just told the guys to put it behind us and focus on tomorrow, but right now I'm having a hard time putting it behind me because it hurts bad. Once we do that, we'll be good to go."
Capps faces Kenny Bernstein in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday, when the Countdown to Four playoffs begin.
CAPPS IS SHOWDOWN RUNNER-UP, QUALIFIES NO. 5 AT U.S. NATIONALS
CLERMONT, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2007) - NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps qualified No. 5 at the prestigious U.S. Nationals today, and was runner-up in the $100,000 Skoal Showdown bonus event to his teammate Jack Beckman.
Capps drove the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T into the final round of the Showdown, an event he has won three times, after first defeating his other teammate Gary Scelzi in the opening round, then Mike Ashley in the semifinal.
In the final, Capps took off first at the starting lights, with a .093 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Beckman's .104. Beckman crossed the finish stripe in the lead, however, grabbing his first Skoal Showdown win by seven feet with a 4.950-second pass at 313.80 mph to Capps' losing 4.976/315.64.
During the qualifying rounds, which included the first two stanzas of the Showdown, Capps recorded a 4.773/324.98 in the initial qualifying session on Friday to earn the No. 3 spot. His other attempts included a 5.732/167.34, 5.173/207.37, a 4.880/312.93 and a 4.893/31.77.
"Man, it hurts bad right now," he said of his Showdown loss. "I'm happy as heck for Don (Schumacher, team owner) and those guys on the MTS team. That's a good bunch of guys. But, when you get that far and then lose it it's like somebody punches you in the stomach.
"I thought I won, really. I never even saw him. I pulled my 'chutes and still didn't see him and I was on the radio trying to talk to the guys. I just thought our radio didn't work.
"The good thing is we ran good both runs today in the heat and it's going to be hot tomorrow. Tomorrow is the important day, when you look at the big picture, but we sure wanted to put that on the side and have a chance at the double-up ($50,000 bonus for winning both the Showdown and the U.S. Nationals). I've tasted victory in the Showdown before and it's so sweet. I told the guys how nice it would be to win and how good a feeling it is, and then not to do that, I feel bad. We gave it a shot.
"The best thing is, honest to God, the Brut Revolution Dodge went down the track all three runs today. And in very, very tough and adverse conditions. And that excites me for tomorrow. It's hard to put it behind you. I just told the guys to put it behind us and focus on tomorrow, but right now I'm having a hard time putting it behind me because it hurts bad. Once we do that, we'll be good to go."
Capps faces Kenny Bernstein in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday, when the Countdown to Four playoffs begin.
