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Sonoma, prerace: Five-time season Funny Car winner and class points leader Ron Capps has won two more NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national events than any other Funny Car driver so far (five), and he's hoping a return to his roots in Northern California will help him add to those results and parlay them into winning his first Funny Car championship.
Following his runner-up finish in Seattle last Sunday, the driver of the Brut Dodge Charger R/T now enjoys an 88-point margin over 13-time champion John Force. Capps' only victory at Infineon Raceway, which hosts this weekend's Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals, came in 1997, and he's been runner-up here twice, in 2002 and last year. A second victory this weekend could bolster his chances of accomplishing that feat.
With Capps a part of the multi-team Don Schumacher Racing, he's had the help of his Funny Car teammates (Denver winner) Gary Scelzi and (Seattle winner) Whit Bazemore on his path toward his goal. Scelzi has already taken out Force two times in 2006, while Bazemore has done it once.
"You've got to remember," he says, "that everybody is trying to win for themselves, but the fact that they've been lining up next to Force and the fact that Scelzi and the Mopar/Oakley team have taken out John for the last two races, has helped a ton.
"Seattle was such a big weekend for the overall team, to have the Matco Tools guys win. We're a big team and there's been a lot that's gone on this year. There's nothing better than to see somebody finally get the payoff from the struggles that they had and for both of us to be in the final round. Everybody on our team hates to lose, but if we had to lose, it was OK losing to the Matco Tools guys, Baze and Todd (crew chief Okuhara). I was truly happy for those guys at the other end.
"At the same time, we ran up some more points on Force. That was probably the least upset that I've ever been losing the finals. It was just a great weekend for everybody.
"Sonoma has always kind of been a home track for me. I always look forward to coming here anyway, but, right now, having the points lead back up to where it is, surely helps," says Capps, who also receives support from Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels.
His local friends and relatives will be on hand this weekend in the Brut pits at one of Capps' favorite facilities. "We get a lot of people when it's a home track - friends and family - and we do so much with this track, such as helping the Children's Charities by competing in the go-kart race earlier in the year, and with the dinner we're attending for the charity on Thursday night in San Francisco.
"It's a very pleasant track to work with and that really shows when you see drivers go out of their way to do things for the track. They take care of us and in turn we do a lot of things for (p.r. manager) John Cardinale and the rest of the people at Infineon.
"Besides that, it's just a great place to go to. Look at what we get to do for a living. We love it. When you have to dread going to work, it's time to do something else. If you can't enjoy yourself being a race-car driver or working on a race-car team, then you need to look somewhere else for a job.
"Everybody at Don Schumacher Racing is enjoying themselves."
Capps looking for second Sonoma win
Sonoma, prerace: Five-time season Funny Car winner and class points leader Ron Capps has won two more NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national events than any other Funny Car driver so far (five), and he's hoping a return to his roots in Northern California will help him add to those results and parlay them into winning his first Funny Car championship.
Following his runner-up finish in Seattle last Sunday, the driver of the Brut Dodge Charger R/T now enjoys an 88-point margin over 13-time champion John Force. Capps' only victory at Infineon Raceway, which hosts this weekend's Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals, came in 1997, and he's been runner-up here twice, in 2002 and last year. A second victory this weekend could bolster his chances of accomplishing that feat.
With Capps a part of the multi-team Don Schumacher Racing, he's had the help of his Funny Car teammates (Denver winner) Gary Scelzi and (Seattle winner) Whit Bazemore on his path toward his goal. Scelzi has already taken out Force two times in 2006, while Bazemore has done it once.
"You've got to remember," he says, "that everybody is trying to win for themselves, but the fact that they've been lining up next to Force and the fact that Scelzi and the Mopar/Oakley team have taken out John for the last two races, has helped a ton.
"Seattle was such a big weekend for the overall team, to have the Matco Tools guys win. We're a big team and there's been a lot that's gone on this year. There's nothing better than to see somebody finally get the payoff from the struggles that they had and for both of us to be in the final round. Everybody on our team hates to lose, but if we had to lose, it was OK losing to the Matco Tools guys, Baze and Todd (crew chief Okuhara). I was truly happy for those guys at the other end.
"At the same time, we ran up some more points on Force. That was probably the least upset that I've ever been losing the finals. It was just a great weekend for everybody.
"Sonoma has always kind of been a home track for me. I always look forward to coming here anyway, but, right now, having the points lead back up to where it is, surely helps," says Capps, who also receives support from Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels.
His local friends and relatives will be on hand this weekend in the Brut pits at one of Capps' favorite facilities. "We get a lot of people when it's a home track - friends and family - and we do so much with this track, such as helping the Children's Charities by competing in the go-kart race earlier in the year, and with the dinner we're attending for the charity on Thursday night in San Francisco.
"It's a very pleasant track to work with and that really shows when you see drivers go out of their way to do things for the track. They take care of us and in turn we do a lot of things for (p.r. manager) John Cardinale and the rest of the people at Infineon.
"Besides that, it's just a great place to go to. Look at what we get to do for a living. We love it. When you have to dread going to work, it's time to do something else. If you can't enjoy yourself being a race-car driver or working on a race-car team, then you need to look somewhere else for a job.
"Everybody at Don Schumacher Racing is enjoying themselves."
