Ron Capps On Autographs (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Bobby Bennett
- Start date
Joker
Nitro Member
Ron is just happy that someone besides Kelly wants his autograph! 0X right Kel?????
But he is right, the fans mean the world. They pay the bills and I think thats one reason some of the drivers, especially Force, are very popular b/c they are good with the fans. Some have good and bad days, some have bad days all the time, and the very best ones have "good" days all the time atleast when around fans. Thats what seperates them.
But he is right, the fans mean the world. They pay the bills and I think thats one reason some of the drivers, especially Force, are very popular b/c they are good with the fans. Some have good and bad days, some have bad days all the time, and the very best ones have "good" days all the time atleast when around fans. Thats what seperates them.
Rick Rzepka
Nitro Member
capps seems like a great guy, i hope him and the ace can get it going. i met ace once at the hydro races here at detroit gold cup in the early 90's and he was cool. he was with the smokin joes people. i told him i was drag fan and he said give me your address and ill send ya something. 3 weeks later i got a hat and shirt in the mail from him, how cool is that? as far as the autographs ill be honest i dont get it unless its a young kid.
mick
Nitro Member
sorry, gotta' hi-jack this for a second.
autograph seekers......notably those that really aren't sure who they're asking
for an autograph.
a few years ago i went with 4 others to a Leon Russell concert.
one guy in our group had a 'leon' like resemblance.
so we're standin' around having a few beers before show (outdoor bigtop show)
and this lady walks up and says to our friend, 'mr. russell, i've been your
biggest fan for sooooo many years; i love to play your music when i'm
cleaning house, would you mind signing my shirt' (shoulder of t-shirt).
our friend did not miss a beat (while we're all holding back) and says, 'well
thank you ma'm, that's real nice of you to say that (while signing her shirt), i
hope you enjoy the show tonight'.
true story.
autograph seekers......notably those that really aren't sure who they're asking
for an autograph.
a few years ago i went with 4 others to a Leon Russell concert.
one guy in our group had a 'leon' like resemblance.
so we're standin' around having a few beers before show (outdoor bigtop show)
and this lady walks up and says to our friend, 'mr. russell, i've been your
biggest fan for sooooo many years; i love to play your music when i'm
cleaning house, would you mind signing my shirt' (shoulder of t-shirt).
our friend did not miss a beat (while we're all holding back) and says, 'well
thank you ma'm, that's real nice of you to say that (while signing her shirt), i
hope you enjoy the show tonight'.
true story.
Bullet
Nitro Member
mick
Nitro Member
I get mistaken for Brad Pitt all the time and end up doing the same!!
ok .........brad
LMAO!!
Kelly
Nitro Member
I've seen baseball players totally ignore (or worse) kiddos in public. Makes me sick to my stomach!
One that will always stick in my mind was AL playoffs '92. My 1st husband and I had just landed from Hawaii on our honeymoon. We were on a shuttle in Oakland dropping someone at a hotel from the airport. Jack Morris (Blue Jays) totally dissed this kid because he was too busy checking out some guy's Lamborghini. This poor kid ran off in tears with his autograph book landing on the ground.....Jack literally pushed him away! Really....he physically pushed him! My hubby had to stop me from jumping off that shuttle!
One that will always stick in my mind was AL playoffs '92. My 1st husband and I had just landed from Hawaii on our honeymoon. We were on a shuttle in Oakland dropping someone at a hotel from the airport. Jack Morris (Blue Jays) totally dissed this kid because he was too busy checking out some guy's Lamborghini. This poor kid ran off in tears with his autograph book landing on the ground.....Jack literally pushed him away! Really....he physically pushed him! My hubby had to stop me from jumping off that shuttle!
Rich
Nitro Member
Baseball players are notorious for being stingy with autographs. The reason, of course, is that autographs have become just another revenue stream for the players. I mean, why take the time to sign for a kid for free when you can sell that signature over the internet for $20 or more a pop?
And it's precisely that type of attitude that caused me to quit watching and following professional baseball and football more than a decade ago after being a NFL and MLB season ticket holder for more than a dozen years.
We all know and appreciate the accessability the fans have to the drivers in NHRA. Same holds true with other racing series like the World of Outlaws sprint car teams. I have an 11 year old girl who was absolutely thrilled to meet and get an autograph from Erica Enders and Ashley Force. In all likelihood both those drivers, and the sport, will have a fan for life simply because they took a few moments to be kind to a kid. On the other hand, I'd bet that the kid who got snubbed by Jack Morris has quite a different view today of baseball players in general and Jack Morris in particular.
And it's precisely that type of attitude that caused me to quit watching and following professional baseball and football more than a decade ago after being a NFL and MLB season ticket holder for more than a dozen years.
We all know and appreciate the accessability the fans have to the drivers in NHRA. Same holds true with other racing series like the World of Outlaws sprint car teams. I have an 11 year old girl who was absolutely thrilled to meet and get an autograph from Erica Enders and Ashley Force. In all likelihood both those drivers, and the sport, will have a fan for life simply because they took a few moments to be kind to a kid. On the other hand, I'd bet that the kid who got snubbed by Jack Morris has quite a different view today of baseball players in general and Jack Morris in particular.
willy
Nitro Member
I found Scott to be very cool.
1994 - Topeka. Kalitta's had hero cards that had both T/F's on it with "World's Fastest Father/Son"..I got both of them to sign that.
Ron is one of the coolest guys there is, in or out of drag racing. I've gotten to talk to him when he's just at home being Ron and he's no different. My friend and I were talking to him Friday night after qualifying and he would stop our conversation to take a picture or sign an autograph because that's who he is. Antron Brown is very similar in that vein. By the way, Ron also signed a very warm clutch disc for me Friday night that I shall cherish for a long time.
Darryl
Nitro Member
At the same time there are many out there that 'get' the fans. A few years ago I took my wife to see the Lakers play, when Abdul Jabbar was still active, and she took a Laker's warm up jacket to be signed. We were let in early (won't tell you how good those 3rd row, center court tickets were) and a few of the Lakers were still out practicing. AC Green was shooting free throws at one end of the court and when my wife approached him with the jersey he VERY politely said, 'Mam, I'm at work right now but as soon as I get a break I'd be glad to sign that for you'. True to his word he shot free throws for about another 10 minutes and then came over and sat next to my wife and signed that jacket.
Jabbar...that was another story...but he was extremely polite in his refusal. My wife was just in awe standing next to him with no handers around. She's 5'8" and he's 10' 12"!
Jabbar...that was another story...but he was extremely polite in his refusal. My wife was just in awe standing next to him with no handers around. She's 5'8" and he's 10' 12"!
Mad Mark
Nitro Member
I guess this a perfect time for my Ron Capps story.
My buddy Big Ray never liked Ron. When I finally asked what he had against Capps, he said one year at Topeka back when he was running Roger Primm's T/F car he said he asked him for his autograph. Ron said he would right after he got back, ducking into the trailer. Ray said he never came back. He told me this story I don't know how many times. Then he confessed once, "Well we had been drinking quite a bit that night." So maybe things were a little fuzzy.
A couple a years ago at Topeka my buddy Russ & I told Ron this story. Ron laughed and said he would never turn anybody down for an autograph. So he signed one of his Brut handout cards for him. It went something like this...
To Big Ray-
Sorry I didn't sign a picture for you. Missed you at the races.
Ron Capps
PS- take a shower!!!
We framed it & gave it to Ray. He said he was touched and is now a big fan of Ron.
My buddy Big Ray never liked Ron. When I finally asked what he had against Capps, he said one year at Topeka back when he was running Roger Primm's T/F car he said he asked him for his autograph. Ron said he would right after he got back, ducking into the trailer. Ray said he never came back. He told me this story I don't know how many times. Then he confessed once, "Well we had been drinking quite a bit that night." So maybe things were a little fuzzy.
A couple a years ago at Topeka my buddy Russ & I told Ron this story. Ron laughed and said he would never turn anybody down for an autograph. So he signed one of his Brut handout cards for him. It went something like this...
To Big Ray-
Sorry I didn't sign a picture for you. Missed you at the races.
Ron Capps
PS- take a shower!!!
We framed it & gave it to Ray. He said he was touched and is now a big fan of Ron.
DLB
Nitro Member
I usually have a younger boy that goes with us, and he likes getting the drivers autographs.
Every driver we have every encountered has obliged, except for one. Jason Line. We were in Bristol VERY early before there were many people at all there. We were strolling through the pits just checking stuff out, and Jason was standing there talking to some folks behind his pit. After he finish, and my little buddy offered his pen and book to him, he just looked at him, turned and went inside.
A couple hours later though, as he walked through Nitro Alley, Jeg stopped in the middle of everyone to give him an autograph, so he quickly forgot the other guy.
DLB
Every driver we have every encountered has obliged, except for one. Jason Line. We were in Bristol VERY early before there were many people at all there. We were strolling through the pits just checking stuff out, and Jason was standing there talking to some folks behind his pit. After he finish, and my little buddy offered his pen and book to him, he just looked at him, turned and went inside.
A couple hours later though, as he walked through Nitro Alley, Jeg stopped in the middle of everyone to give him an autograph, so he quickly forgot the other guy.
DLB
vegasnitro
Nitro Member
A couple of weeks ago at the Palms autograph session before the Vegas race, the drivers got a much bigger crowd than was anticipated. The session was supposed to last until 830PM, but at that time, there was still a heck of a line. Ron had somewhere else to be (he didn't say where) and you could tell it was killing him to leave with all those folks in line. Being a man of action, Ron autographed all the hero cards he had in front of him and went down the line and handed them out to all the folks that were still in line. He had to go, but he still made sure everyone got a Ron Capps autograph and handshake on his way out the door.
mw6789
Nitro Member
A few years ago we did a deal with Todd Bodine when I was in the Chevrolet business and he was running a Monte Carlo in Busch. I asked him one time if he got tired of people wanting his autograph. He told me that the older guys told him he would get tired of it, but that it made his head swell when somebody wanted his autograph--especially kids. He told a real nasty story about a former Miller beer car driver being real ugly to a kid one day over an autograph. I know celebrities in any kind of business probably get sick of all the attention, but the other side of the coin is those autograph seekers buy the records, go to the races, watch the movies, etc. that made them famous. Everybody has good days and bad days--I have dozens of stories both good and bad about drag racing folks (some are both good and bad about the same person). One of my guys worked for Mark Martin Ford, and said Mark was one of the most accomodating NASCAR guys he had ever seen. He told a real nice story about Mark signing an autograph for a soldier that had just returned from Iraq--all the while with his plane ready to leave the airport and running late for a race. Sometimes we all forget that our "heros' are just like us--HUMAN. Bottom line is the tremendous popularity of a John Force or a Richard Petty is in large part to the way they treat their fans. And the fact that they never seem to forget from whince they came or how they got there
Ya know I think autographs are just one of those things. A driver or star could sign them 1000 times but the one time they don't it gets all over about how bad or rude they are. Now sure there are people who are better or worse about them then others. I personally have never had a bad experience but unless they're stnading at the rope signing I just can seem to bother them. It's amazing how rude and badgering some fans can be about getting an autograph though.
I always feel like they would rather be someone else than right there and that I'm wasting their time. Granted its nothing that they say or do that makes me think that just me I guess.
Ya know maybe someday, someone besides the bill collectors will ask for my autograph
I always feel like they would rather be someone else than right there and that I'm wasting their time. Granted its nothing that they say or do that makes me think that just me I guess.
Ya know maybe someday, someone besides the bill collectors will ask for my autograph
Rajunz
Nitro Member
How can anyone not be a fan of Ron Capps, the guy is just cool, plus he has a real cool crew chief too.
Here's a true story. One year in Houston when Ron and Tommy were both driving Skoal cars, they were both in the souvenir trailer signing autographs. This hot chick came up and ask them to sign her shirt, she wanted one on each boob. Tommy signed it, but Ron refused to sign it there! He signed the sleeve.
Oh yeah, now that Melanie is part of the equation, I'm pretty sure that Tommy would probably refuse too!
Here's a true story. One year in Houston when Ron and Tommy were both driving Skoal cars, they were both in the souvenir trailer signing autographs. This hot chick came up and ask them to sign her shirt, she wanted one on each boob. Tommy signed it, but Ron refused to sign it there! He signed the sleeve.
Oh yeah, now that Melanie is part of the equation, I'm pretty sure that Tommy would probably refuse too!
