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CARLSBAD, Calif. (Sept. 12, 2007) - After leading the Funny Car class by as much as 154 points from the fourth event of the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Ron Capps now finds himself fourth in the standings in the Countdown to Four playoffs following his first-round loss at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend.
This weekend's O'Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park is the second of four events in which the top eight who had qualified for the first phase of the Countdown to the Championship will vie for the top four spots. In the final two events of the season, those four will compete for the championship.
"I still love the concept of the Countdown," said Capps, who drove the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T to three season victories in six final rounds. "Granted, we went from first to fourth. We knew the points system going in. To be honest with you, it was a tough loss on Monday morning in Indy. But the first thing when I got back in the pits were all the guys saying don't worry about it, we'll get them the next time. This is a great team.
"This one-weekend break between Indy and Memphis has been tough because I've wanted to get right back in the car. The word resiliency comes up because I flew Sunday night to Indy and we tested a new car all day Monday that Murf McKinney put together. The MTS team and the Brut teams were the only two teams to test. We had a great test and we're going to take the car to Memphis and run it the rest of the year. It's a new wide-cage car with more padding around the cage. It was nice to get in the car on Monday and test.
"I'm looking forward to these next three races because I love the format and the pressure of the Countdown. You have to have a level of confidence without being cocky in this sport, because you can be humbled so quickly. I expected us to lead the first part of the season, I expect us to be leading the second part of this Countdown. I really don't look for this team to be down, and hopefully we're going to be leading the third and final part in Pomona.
"Right now it's a pivotal time for everybody, because with three races left to get into the top four, pressure is the word of the day. And every run is going to be very important. I think it's going to bring the best out in everybody and I really look forward to getting further up in that top four."
Capps' record in Memphis includes a 2000 victory and a 2005 runner-up.
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Is No. 4 after one event of the Countdown to Four playoffs
* Clinched No. 1 in the Countdown to the Championship at Reading, Pa., event
* Led 2007 Funny Car point standings from the fourth race of the season after back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Houston, another win in St. Louis, three runner-up, two semifinal, three quarterfinal, six first-round finishes and a DNQ in first 18 races
* Has one Memphis win, in 2000, and one runner-up, in 2005
* Has three Skoal Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002
* No. 13 qualifier in Memphis in 2006, lost second round to Tony Pedregon
* Third in 2006 final point standings
* Had class-best five wins in 2006: Gainesville, Fla., Bristol, Tenn., Topeka, Kan., Houston and Englishtown, N.J.
* Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first
win for DSR in '05), won at Chicago 2 at Route 66 Raceway and Las Vegas 2
* 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 seven career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006 or 2007 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 25 event wins in 51 final rounds to his credit (24 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 record against 14-time champion Force is 17-38 in round wins. He's won nine of the last 11 meetings against Force, and has won the last four first-round match-ups over Force
* Age 42 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (11) and son Caden (6)
* Is featured, along with son Caden and the Brut Revolution racing crew, in a number of Brut ads appearing in mainstream magazines, such as People, Sports Illustrated, etc.
* New to Don Schumacher Racing in 2005 after eight years with Don Prudhomme.
* Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt Late Models, Mini-Sprints and Go-Karts
* Is the subject, along with teammate Tony Schumacher, in the behind-the-scenes TV series, American Dragster, airing on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:45 and 6:15 p.m.
SATURDAY, Sept. 15 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at Noon and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, Sept. 16 — Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Sept. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 12:00 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, Sept. 14, 11 – 11:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 13K (Downlink frequency: 11940 MHz, vertical, analog)
Saturday, Sept. 15, 8:15 – 8:45 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 13K (Downlink frequency: 11940 MHz, vertical, analog)
Sunday, Sept. 16, 7:15 – 8:15 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 13K (Downlink frequency: 11940 MHz, vertical, analog)
CAPPS STILL A FAN OF COUNTDOWN
CARLSBAD, Calif. (Sept. 12, 2007) - After leading the Funny Car class by as much as 154 points from the fourth event of the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Ron Capps now finds himself fourth in the standings in the Countdown to Four playoffs following his first-round loss at the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend.
This weekend's O'Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park is the second of four events in which the top eight who had qualified for the first phase of the Countdown to the Championship will vie for the top four spots. In the final two events of the season, those four will compete for the championship.
"I still love the concept of the Countdown," said Capps, who drove the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T to three season victories in six final rounds. "Granted, we went from first to fourth. We knew the points system going in. To be honest with you, it was a tough loss on Monday morning in Indy. But the first thing when I got back in the pits were all the guys saying don't worry about it, we'll get them the next time. This is a great team.
"This one-weekend break between Indy and Memphis has been tough because I've wanted to get right back in the car. The word resiliency comes up because I flew Sunday night to Indy and we tested a new car all day Monday that Murf McKinney put together. The MTS team and the Brut teams were the only two teams to test. We had a great test and we're going to take the car to Memphis and run it the rest of the year. It's a new wide-cage car with more padding around the cage. It was nice to get in the car on Monday and test.
"I'm looking forward to these next three races because I love the format and the pressure of the Countdown. You have to have a level of confidence without being cocky in this sport, because you can be humbled so quickly. I expected us to lead the first part of the season, I expect us to be leading the second part of this Countdown. I really don't look for this team to be down, and hopefully we're going to be leading the third and final part in Pomona.
"Right now it's a pivotal time for everybody, because with three races left to get into the top four, pressure is the word of the day. And every run is going to be very important. I think it's going to bring the best out in everybody and I really look forward to getting further up in that top four."
Capps' record in Memphis includes a 2000 victory and a 2005 runner-up.
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Is No. 4 after one event of the Countdown to Four playoffs
* Clinched No. 1 in the Countdown to the Championship at Reading, Pa., event
* Led 2007 Funny Car point standings from the fourth race of the season after back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Houston, another win in St. Louis, three runner-up, two semifinal, three quarterfinal, six first-round finishes and a DNQ in first 18 races
* Has one Memphis win, in 2000, and one runner-up, in 2005
* Has three Skoal Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002
* No. 13 qualifier in Memphis in 2006, lost second round to Tony Pedregon
* Third in 2006 final point standings
* Had class-best five wins in 2006: Gainesville, Fla., Bristol, Tenn., Topeka, Kan., Houston and Englishtown, N.J.
* Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first
win for DSR in '05), won at Chicago 2 at Route 66 Raceway and Las Vegas 2
* 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 seven career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006 or 2007 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 25 event wins in 51 final rounds to his credit (24 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 record against 14-time champion Force is 17-38 in round wins. He's won nine of the last 11 meetings against Force, and has won the last four first-round match-ups over Force
* Age 42 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (11) and son Caden (6)
* Is featured, along with son Caden and the Brut Revolution racing crew, in a number of Brut ads appearing in mainstream magazines, such as People, Sports Illustrated, etc.
* New to Don Schumacher Racing in 2005 after eight years with Don Prudhomme.
* Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt Late Models, Mini-Sprints and Go-Karts
* Is the subject, along with teammate Tony Schumacher, in the behind-the-scenes TV series, American Dragster, airing on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:45 and 6:15 p.m.
SATURDAY, Sept. 15 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at Noon and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, Sept. 16 — Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Sept. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 12:00 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, Sept. 14, 11 – 11:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 13K (Downlink frequency: 11940 MHz, vertical, analog)
Saturday, Sept. 15, 8:15 – 8:45 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 13K (Downlink frequency: 11940 MHz, vertical, analog)
Sunday, Sept. 16, 7:15 – 8:15 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 13K (Downlink frequency: 11940 MHz, vertical, analog)
