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DINWIDDIE, Va. (Oct. 15, 2006) - For Ron Capps, the chase for the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship took another turn this weekend at the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, as he dropped the first round of eliminations to Scott Kalitta, and points leader John Force went on to a semifinal finish.
With two events remaining in the 2006 season, Capps is still in second, 46 points behind leader Force. Capps was saved from falling any further, when third-in-points Robert Hight was eliminated in the second round. Hight is now eight points in back of Capps.
Driving the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T, No. 13 qualifier Capps' match-up over Scott Kalitta from the less favorable right lane resulted in a 4.891-second lap for Capps at 299.73 mph, to Kalitta's winning 4.808/301.67. Capps out-launched Kalitta at the starting lights by .017 of a second, but it wasn't enough to take the win.
"They just stepped up and whooped us," said Capps, who also receives support from Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels. "The right lane has been kind of a lane that everybody was worried about at times, but then all of a sudden guys were throwing shots in the right lane.
"We thought the lane was fine. But Scott Kalitta, boy, about half-track he just pulled out in front of me. The Brut Revolution Dodge made a pretty good move (out of the groove) at the end. I'm not saying that we would have beat him, but had I been able to maybe keep it in the middle it would have made a better race out of it.
"The right lane has been really bumping people around down there. But, we really did it to ourselves qualifying where we did. You hear everybody talk about having lane choice and how important it is, but it's all hindsight now. We have to put it behind us and go to Vegas where we've done very well in the past and we can hope for the best from here on out.
"We really didn't do much wrong other than not get the win light. Our Brut guys put a great effort into this. It's a cliche, but 'bottom line' - as Force would say - is we should have qualified a little bit better. We were on a couple of good runs yesterday, and the car just jumped out of the groove. I'm taking a lot of responsibility for not qualifying better yesterday. It's part of it."
Next up is ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 27-29.
Capps Knocked Out in First Round in Richmond
DINWIDDIE, Va. (Oct. 15, 2006) - For Ron Capps, the chase for the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship took another turn this weekend at the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, as he dropped the first round of eliminations to Scott Kalitta, and points leader John Force went on to a semifinal finish.
With two events remaining in the 2006 season, Capps is still in second, 46 points behind leader Force. Capps was saved from falling any further, when third-in-points Robert Hight was eliminated in the second round. Hight is now eight points in back of Capps.
Driving the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T, No. 13 qualifier Capps' match-up over Scott Kalitta from the less favorable right lane resulted in a 4.891-second lap for Capps at 299.73 mph, to Kalitta's winning 4.808/301.67. Capps out-launched Kalitta at the starting lights by .017 of a second, but it wasn't enough to take the win.
"They just stepped up and whooped us," said Capps, who also receives support from Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels. "The right lane has been kind of a lane that everybody was worried about at times, but then all of a sudden guys were throwing shots in the right lane.
"We thought the lane was fine. But Scott Kalitta, boy, about half-track he just pulled out in front of me. The Brut Revolution Dodge made a pretty good move (out of the groove) at the end. I'm not saying that we would have beat him, but had I been able to maybe keep it in the middle it would have made a better race out of it.
"The right lane has been really bumping people around down there. But, we really did it to ourselves qualifying where we did. You hear everybody talk about having lane choice and how important it is, but it's all hindsight now. We have to put it behind us and go to Vegas where we've done very well in the past and we can hope for the best from here on out.
"We really didn't do much wrong other than not get the win light. Our Brut guys put a great effort into this. It's a cliche, but 'bottom line' - as Force would say - is we should have qualified a little bit better. We were on a couple of good runs yesterday, and the car just jumped out of the groove. I'm taking a lot of responsibility for not qualifying better yesterday. It's part of it."
Next up is ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 27-29.
