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St. Louis Pre-Race Report
NHRA Midwest Nationals
Event 19 of 22
Countdown Event 3 of 6
World Wide Technology Raceway
Madison, Ill.
Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, 2022
RON CAPPS: Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 2nd
St. Louis Event Highlights:
Four-time event champion (1997, 2005, 2007, 2017)
2009 runner-up and No. 1 qualifier
2021 St. Louis Recap:
Qualified second; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Chris King in E1; defeated by John Force in E2)
Last Event (Charlotte II):
Qualified fourth; Event champion (defeated Blake Alexander in E1, Bob Tasca in E2, John Force in E3, Alexis DeJoria in E4)
Career Statistics:
604 races; 72 wins; 34 No. 1 qualifiers
2022 Statistics:
18 races; four wins; two runner-up finishes; five No. 1 qualifiers
Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 2nd
St. Louis Event Highlights:
Four-time event champion (1997, 2005, 2007, 2017)
2009 runner-up and No. 1 qualifier
2021 St. Louis Recap:
Qualified second; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Chris King in E1; defeated by John Force in E2)
Last Event (Charlotte II):
Qualified fourth; Event champion (defeated Blake Alexander in E1, Bob Tasca in E2, John Force in E3, Alexis DeJoria in E4)
Career Statistics:
604 races; 72 wins; 34 No. 1 qualifiers
2022 Statistics:
18 races; four wins; two runner-up finishes; five No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
Capps, the winningest Funny Car driver at World Wide Technology Raceway, will look to add to his four St. Louis wins as he pursues a third Camping World Series title, and first championship for Ron Capps Motorsports in its rookie season
The NAPA AUTO PARTS team has visited the winner’s circle at two of the last three events (Indianapolis, Charlotte), and will be looking to carry that momentum into the Midwest Nationals
Capps moved into second following his Carolina Nationals victory last weekend and is currently 27 points behind the No. 1 ranked driver
Quotable:
“Obviously, we talked about coming out of Indy and how important it is to stay up there in the points and make sure you’re within striking distance before we get to Pomona. And, part of that is just what our NAPA team did last year, which is stay consistent and put the pressure on our opponents.
“The greatest thing about going to World Wide Technology Raceway as race No. 3 in the Countdown is, it’s been a really good track for me and our team; we’ve had a lot of success there. We stumbled a little bit in Maple Grove but our hard work this season and getting to second in the points afforded us the ability to have a stumble like that and recover like we did in Charlotte. We fought our way back and took advantage of the misfortunes of some of the teams ranked ahead of us, and gobbled up some of those crucial Camping World points. We’ve got a great race car, obviously. Our NAPA Supra is so quick and consistent, and we’ve got a lot of exciting things going on away from the race track. This is part of that grueling back-to-back-to-back stretch of races that we’ve talked about, and the chance to win a world championship doesn’t happen unless you’re solidly in the hunt heading into Vegas and Pomona, so this is an important race. Looking forward to a great weekend in St. Louis. The weather is looking good, and the fans are always fantastic there so should be a great weekend.”
About Ron Capps Motorsports
Established in 2021, Ron Capps Motorsports is a single-car NHRA Funny Car team owned and operated by reigning and two-time world champion Ron Capps. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., the team made its on-track debut in 2022, and competes on the 22-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of NAPA AUTO PARTS, Toyota, and GearWrench.Capps, who serves as both the owner and driver of his namesake operation, is the second-winningest Funny Car pilot in NHRA history with 71 wins in the category, and 72 overall (1 Top Fuel). The 2022 NHRA season marks Capps’ 28th year competing in the sport’s professional ranks.
