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CARLSBAD, Calif. (May 29, 2007) - Defending Funny Car event champion Ron Capps will arrive at Heartland Park Topeka for this weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals ready to roll after three straight weekends off from NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series competition.
Driving the newly-painted BRUT "Test Drive" Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, Capps enters this weekend's race with a 121-point lead over Robert Hight after winning three of the seven of 23 events so far this season.
And he's longing to add to the two-win total he's earned on Heartland Park's quarter-mile, in 1998 and 2006, the years he remembers well.
"In 1998, the year that we had to go back another weekend after a rain-out, it was after midnight when we ran the final round against Al Hofmann," said Capps. "Not only did we win, but it blew the clutch up and there was a shower of sparks from about 1000 ft. on, all the way through the shutdown area. I remember it vaulted us right into a major fight for the championship with John Force and that was a place that Force had owned. He'd won it so many times that to go in there and steal a win from him was gratifying.
"I also remember that nothing was open by the time we got out of the track, and we ended up having a team party at the truck stop at about 3 o'clock in the morning.
"Last year, when we won again, it was a very difficult weekend," he added. "It was hot and track conditions were unbelievable. Anything under five seconds was a good run. I remember the Brut team fighting adversity, fighting the heat and coming out on top. Not only that, but beating John Force (in the final) and Robert Hight that day was huge.
"We know the conditions are going to be warm this weekend. It's Topeka, and, no matter what, you still get the packed grandstands there, so it's a great race to win if you can do it."
The BRUT "Test Drive" paint scheme features a twist on the original green racing scheme with an original Brut Anti-perspirant & Deodorant stick cascading across the top of the car. The BRUT "Test Drive" Funny Car will be on track from Topeka through Reading in support of the BRUT Anti-perspirant & Deodorant "Test Drive" summer promotion.
As for the three-weekend "vacation" after the Bristol (Tenn.) event was postponed: "It's cool because we won the last race and we're leading the points, so we can relish that a litlte bit longer," he said, "but, Man, I'm itching to get back big time. I can tell you, everybody's got the itch. The guys I compete against who are friends away from the track are ready to go. Our wives are wanting to get us out of the house because we're going stir crazy. But, being the points leader and coming off a win like we did, it's nice to have the extra time to kind of enjoy it.
"But, I can tell you, we have a pretty brutal swing coming up after Topeka, the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 6, and Chicago next week. We'll have one weekend off, then it's six in a row. It's going to get busy."
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Leading 2007 Funny Car point standings after back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Houston, another win in St. Louis, one runner-up, two semifinal and one quarterfinal finishes in first seven races
* Leads Robert Hight in rankings by 121 points
* Qualified fourth last year in Topeka, defeated John Force
* Has two Funny Car wins at Topeka: 1998 (Al Hofmann) and 2006 (John Force)
* 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 49 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 41 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (10) and
son Caden (5)
* 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 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, June 1 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, June 2 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, June 3 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, June 2 ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 5:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 3 ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 3 ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 4 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, June 1, 10:30 — 11 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6 / Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, June 2, 8:30 — 9 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6 / Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, June 3, 7:30 — 8 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6 / Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, vertical)
DEFENDING EVENT CHAMP CAPPS READY TO ROLL IN TOPEKA
CARLSBAD, Calif. (May 29, 2007) - Defending Funny Car event champion Ron Capps will arrive at Heartland Park Topeka for this weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals ready to roll after three straight weekends off from NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series competition.
Driving the newly-painted BRUT "Test Drive" Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, Capps enters this weekend's race with a 121-point lead over Robert Hight after winning three of the seven of 23 events so far this season.
And he's longing to add to the two-win total he's earned on Heartland Park's quarter-mile, in 1998 and 2006, the years he remembers well.
"In 1998, the year that we had to go back another weekend after a rain-out, it was after midnight when we ran the final round against Al Hofmann," said Capps. "Not only did we win, but it blew the clutch up and there was a shower of sparks from about 1000 ft. on, all the way through the shutdown area. I remember it vaulted us right into a major fight for the championship with John Force and that was a place that Force had owned. He'd won it so many times that to go in there and steal a win from him was gratifying.
"I also remember that nothing was open by the time we got out of the track, and we ended up having a team party at the truck stop at about 3 o'clock in the morning.
"Last year, when we won again, it was a very difficult weekend," he added. "It was hot and track conditions were unbelievable. Anything under five seconds was a good run. I remember the Brut team fighting adversity, fighting the heat and coming out on top. Not only that, but beating John Force (in the final) and Robert Hight that day was huge.
"We know the conditions are going to be warm this weekend. It's Topeka, and, no matter what, you still get the packed grandstands there, so it's a great race to win if you can do it."
The BRUT "Test Drive" paint scheme features a twist on the original green racing scheme with an original Brut Anti-perspirant & Deodorant stick cascading across the top of the car. The BRUT "Test Drive" Funny Car will be on track from Topeka through Reading in support of the BRUT Anti-perspirant & Deodorant "Test Drive" summer promotion.
As for the three-weekend "vacation" after the Bristol (Tenn.) event was postponed: "It's cool because we won the last race and we're leading the points, so we can relish that a litlte bit longer," he said, "but, Man, I'm itching to get back big time. I can tell you, everybody's got the itch. The guys I compete against who are friends away from the track are ready to go. Our wives are wanting to get us out of the house because we're going stir crazy. But, being the points leader and coming off a win like we did, it's nice to have the extra time to kind of enjoy it.
"But, I can tell you, we have a pretty brutal swing coming up after Topeka, the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway on June 6, and Chicago next week. We'll have one weekend off, then it's six in a row. It's going to get busy."
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Leading 2007 Funny Car point standings after back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Houston, another win in St. Louis, one runner-up, two semifinal and one quarterfinal finishes in first seven races
* Leads Robert Hight in rankings by 121 points
* Qualified fourth last year in Topeka, defeated John Force
* Has two Funny Car wins at Topeka: 1998 (Al Hofmann) and 2006 (John Force)
* 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 49 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 41 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (10) and
son Caden (5)
* 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 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, June 1 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, June 2 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, June 3 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, June 2 ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 5:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 3 ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 3 ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 4 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, June 1, 10:30 — 11 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6 / Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, June 2, 8:30 — 9 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6 / Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, June 3, 7:30 — 8 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6 / Transponder 16K (12092.5 MHz, vertical)
