[coverattach=1]CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 28, 2009) - NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps is eager to return to Gateway International Raceway for this weekend's NHRA Midwest Nationals. It's the site of his first Funny Car victory in 1997. He went on to win there again in 2005 and 2007, and his record of three wins at Gateway places him at the top of the list with the most Funny Car triumphs at this facility.
Today, driving probably the hottest hot rod in the class, having won three of the first six events of the year, he's ready to take the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge to a fourth victory at this track as he targets his first Funny Car championship since joining the class in 1997.
"Any time this track across the bridge from St. Louis shows up on the schedule it's pretty exciting for me personally because it's where I got my first professional win in Funny Car," said Capps. "And it was the inaugural race at this track.
"I used to hear a lot of the legends I've been able to be around - Don Prudhomme, Don Schumacher and (tuner) Roland Leong - talk about the old St. Louis track. And when they redid the track and opened it in 1997 it was a pretty big deal. And to win the inaugural race there was something else.
"It's a great area. The one great thing about it it's only a few hours' drive for a lot of the teams from the Indianapolis area and, when I say the teams, I mean the crew members and the people who work day to day in the shops in the Brownsburg, Ind., area. So, it's somewhat of a close-to-home race for them.
"I'm not sure what the weather is going to hold this weekend, but we've had weather changes at every race this year and I think when you look at the Full Throttle points in Funny Car right now it just shows you how tough everything is.” Capps leads his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman by 69 points and Ashley Force Hood by 70.
"I don't see it getting any easier in Funny Car, believe me. To be holding the points lead right now is an amazing thing in this category because the competition level is so high, as everybody has seen. We don't expect to lose the points lead; we feel like we can win every race.
"The Friday night qualifying session is going to be critical in St. Louis," added Capps. "Even though it's still going to be light out, that 6:30 p.m. Friday night session is going to be THE session to lock yourself into that top 12 because what's more than likely to happen is the sun is going to be out on Saturday and you probably won't be able to advance your position very well, if at all."
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* No. 1 in 2009 Funny Car points, after winning three of the first six races of the season (Pomona, Calif., Phoenix and Las Vegas)
* Leads Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman by 69 points
* Round win-loss record in 2009 is 13-3
* St. Louis winner in 1997, 2005 and 2007
* Qualified 11th in St. Louis in 2008, lost first round to John Force
* No. 8 in 2008 Funny Car points; two runner-up, five semifinal, four quarterfinal finishes, 13 first-rounds
* 2008 round win-loss record was 20-24
* Is tied with Tony Pedregon with longest qualifying streak among active Funny Car drivers: 45
* No. 4 in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Led 2007 Funny Car point standings by as much as 154 points through 14 of the first 17 races of the season
* NAPA AUTO PARTS is primary sponsor for second straight season
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2005
* Has three U.S. Smokeless Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002
* Third in 2006 final point standings
* Had class-best five wins in 2006
* Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first
win for DSR in '05)
* 2005 Funny Car championship runner-up, eight points short of title
* Qualified No. 1 once in 2005, in Dallas; first time since Brainerd 2000
* Has eight career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006, '07 or '08. One in 2009 so far
* A perennial fan favorite, Capps has driven and won in both Top Fuel and Funny Cars since he began his pro NHRA career in 1995
* His best season points finishes were seconds in Funny Car in 1998, 2000 and 2005
* He has 28 event wins in 57 final rounds to his credit (27 national event wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel)
* His career-best elapsed time (established during an event) is 4.694 seconds, set in 2005 in Dallas
* His career-best speed is 331.61 mph (Pomona 1, '07)
* Capps' career round win-loss record is 346-258
* Capps' career record against 14-time champion Force is 18-41 in round wins. He's won 10 of the last 15 meetings against Force, and has won five of the last seven first-round match-ups over Force
* Age 43 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (7/25/96) and son Caden (7/1/01)
* Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt Late Models, Mini-Sprints and Go-Karts
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, May 1 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, May 2 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, May 3 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, May 2, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. (ET).
Sunday May 3, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, May 3, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final round eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, May 1, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, May 2, 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, May 3, 7-7:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
Today, driving probably the hottest hot rod in the class, having won three of the first six events of the year, he's ready to take the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge to a fourth victory at this track as he targets his first Funny Car championship since joining the class in 1997.
"Any time this track across the bridge from St. Louis shows up on the schedule it's pretty exciting for me personally because it's where I got my first professional win in Funny Car," said Capps. "And it was the inaugural race at this track.
"I used to hear a lot of the legends I've been able to be around - Don Prudhomme, Don Schumacher and (tuner) Roland Leong - talk about the old St. Louis track. And when they redid the track and opened it in 1997 it was a pretty big deal. And to win the inaugural race there was something else.
"It's a great area. The one great thing about it it's only a few hours' drive for a lot of the teams from the Indianapolis area and, when I say the teams, I mean the crew members and the people who work day to day in the shops in the Brownsburg, Ind., area. So, it's somewhat of a close-to-home race for them.
"I'm not sure what the weather is going to hold this weekend, but we've had weather changes at every race this year and I think when you look at the Full Throttle points in Funny Car right now it just shows you how tough everything is.” Capps leads his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman by 69 points and Ashley Force Hood by 70.
"I don't see it getting any easier in Funny Car, believe me. To be holding the points lead right now is an amazing thing in this category because the competition level is so high, as everybody has seen. We don't expect to lose the points lead; we feel like we can win every race.
"The Friday night qualifying session is going to be critical in St. Louis," added Capps. "Even though it's still going to be light out, that 6:30 p.m. Friday night session is going to be THE session to lock yourself into that top 12 because what's more than likely to happen is the sun is going to be out on Saturday and you probably won't be able to advance your position very well, if at all."
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* No. 1 in 2009 Funny Car points, after winning three of the first six races of the season (Pomona, Calif., Phoenix and Las Vegas)
* Leads Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman by 69 points
* Round win-loss record in 2009 is 13-3
* St. Louis winner in 1997, 2005 and 2007
* Qualified 11th in St. Louis in 2008, lost first round to John Force
* No. 8 in 2008 Funny Car points; two runner-up, five semifinal, four quarterfinal finishes, 13 first-rounds
* 2008 round win-loss record was 20-24
* Is tied with Tony Pedregon with longest qualifying streak among active Funny Car drivers: 45
* No. 4 in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Led 2007 Funny Car point standings by as much as 154 points through 14 of the first 17 races of the season
* NAPA AUTO PARTS is primary sponsor for second straight season
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2005
* Has three U.S. Smokeless Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002
* Third in 2006 final point standings
* Had class-best five wins in 2006
* Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first
win for DSR in '05)
* 2005 Funny Car championship runner-up, eight points short of title
* Qualified No. 1 once in 2005, in Dallas; first time since Brainerd 2000
* Has eight career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006, '07 or '08. One in 2009 so far
* A perennial fan favorite, Capps has driven and won in both Top Fuel and Funny Cars since he began his pro NHRA career in 1995
* His best season points finishes were seconds in Funny Car in 1998, 2000 and 2005
* He has 28 event wins in 57 final rounds to his credit (27 national event wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel)
* His career-best elapsed time (established during an event) is 4.694 seconds, set in 2005 in Dallas
* His career-best speed is 331.61 mph (Pomona 1, '07)
* Capps' career round win-loss record is 346-258
* Capps' career record against 14-time champion Force is 18-41 in round wins. He's won 10 of the last 15 meetings against Force, and has won five of the last seven first-round match-ups over Force
* Age 43 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (7/25/96) and son Caden (7/1/01)
* Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt Late Models, Mini-Sprints and Go-Karts
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, May 1 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, May 2 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, May 3 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, May 2, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. (ET).
Sunday May 3, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, May 3, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final round eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, May 1, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, May 2, 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, May 3, 7-7:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
