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CARLSBAD, Calif. (Aug. 7, 2007) - After admitting that the Brut Funny Car team and crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch did take advantage of having clinched a spot in the top eight for the Countdown to the Championship by doing some race-day testing, Funny Car points leader Ron Capps says he's ready to race in this weekend's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.
With only two national events remaining before the next phase of the Countdown begins for the top eight in points at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend, the driver of the Brut "Test Drive" Dodge Charger R/T aims to stay at the top of the heap as he prepares to battle for his first Funny Car championship.
"With only two to go before Indy, this race is very, very important for a lot of teams," says Capps, a two-time Brainerd winner, in 1998 and 2001. "For us, we were able to clinch a spot in the Countdown and that was huge, because we were able to try some things that we've been wanting to test.
"We sacrificed a few bad races results-wise for trying some things that we're going to need to try for the Countdown when it starts. So, now we're back to our normal deal. We're ready to race to win.
"We have a special interest in getting a win in these next two races. I've been very lucky to have won Brainerd twice," adds Capps, who is 101 points ahead of Robert Hight entering this weekend's event. "It's a track that plays tricks on crew chiefs and drivers. You've got to be ready. The crew chiefs have to deal with the humidity, the heat, and it can really throw some curve balls at them. And any time we have conditions that change that quickly, I know I've got one of the best crew chiefs in the business to adapt to those conditions.
"This whole Brut Dodge team is excited about the Countdown, and we're going into it with a great, positive approach. And I can't think of a better place where we'd rather get to right now than Brainerd.
"What we've got to do now is get this new Brut 'Test Drive' body a win," says Capps, who has won three national events this year. "We haven't given it a win through the summer months. We have two races left to do this, because we go back to the blue Brut Revolution car in Indianapolis."
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship at Seattle event
* Leading 2007 Funny Car point standings after back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Houston, another win in St. Louis, three runner-up, two semifinal, two quarterfinal, four first-round finishes and a DNQ in first 15 races
* Leads Robert Hight in rankings by 101 points
* Has two Funny Car wins in Brainerd: 1998 and 2001
* Was runner-up in Brainerd in 1997 and low qualifier in 2000
* No. 3 qualifier in Brainerd in 2006, lost first round to Bob Gilbertson
* 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 (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, 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, Aug. 10 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 2:45 and 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Aug. 11 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:15 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, Aug. 12 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Sunday, Aug. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 12:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Aug. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Aug. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, Aug. 10, 9:30 – 10 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 20 K (Downlink frequency: 12100 MHz, vertical, analog)
Saturday, Aug. 11, 8 – 8:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 20 K (Downlink frequency: 12100 MHz, vertical, analog)
Sunday, Aug. 12, 7 – 7:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 20 K (Downlink frequency: 12100 MHz, vertical, analog)
RON CAPPS: WE'RE READY TO RACE IN BRAINERD
CARLSBAD, Calif. (Aug. 7, 2007) - After admitting that the Brut Funny Car team and crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch did take advantage of having clinched a spot in the top eight for the Countdown to the Championship by doing some race-day testing, Funny Car points leader Ron Capps says he's ready to race in this weekend's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.
With only two national events remaining before the next phase of the Countdown begins for the top eight in points at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend, the driver of the Brut "Test Drive" Dodge Charger R/T aims to stay at the top of the heap as he prepares to battle for his first Funny Car championship.
"With only two to go before Indy, this race is very, very important for a lot of teams," says Capps, a two-time Brainerd winner, in 1998 and 2001. "For us, we were able to clinch a spot in the Countdown and that was huge, because we were able to try some things that we've been wanting to test.
"We sacrificed a few bad races results-wise for trying some things that we're going to need to try for the Countdown when it starts. So, now we're back to our normal deal. We're ready to race to win.
"We have a special interest in getting a win in these next two races. I've been very lucky to have won Brainerd twice," adds Capps, who is 101 points ahead of Robert Hight entering this weekend's event. "It's a track that plays tricks on crew chiefs and drivers. You've got to be ready. The crew chiefs have to deal with the humidity, the heat, and it can really throw some curve balls at them. And any time we have conditions that change that quickly, I know I've got one of the best crew chiefs in the business to adapt to those conditions.
"This whole Brut Dodge team is excited about the Countdown, and we're going into it with a great, positive approach. And I can't think of a better place where we'd rather get to right now than Brainerd.
"What we've got to do now is get this new Brut 'Test Drive' body a win," says Capps, who has won three national events this year. "We haven't given it a win through the summer months. We have two races left to do this, because we go back to the blue Brut Revolution car in Indianapolis."
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship at Seattle event
* Leading 2007 Funny Car point standings after back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Houston, another win in St. Louis, three runner-up, two semifinal, two quarterfinal, four first-round finishes and a DNQ in first 15 races
* Leads Robert Hight in rankings by 101 points
* Has two Funny Car wins in Brainerd: 1998 and 2001
* Was runner-up in Brainerd in 1997 and low qualifier in 2000
* No. 3 qualifier in Brainerd in 2006, lost first round to Bob Gilbertson
* 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 (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, 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, Aug. 10 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 2:45 and 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Aug. 11 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:15 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, Aug. 12 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Sunday, Aug. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 12:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Aug. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Aug. 12, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, Aug. 10, 9:30 – 10 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 20 K (Downlink frequency: 12100 MHz, vertical, analog)
Saturday, Aug. 11, 8 – 8:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 20 K (Downlink frequency: 12100 MHz, vertical, analog)
Sunday, Aug. 12, 7 – 7:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 11/ Transponder 20 K (Downlink frequency: 12100 MHz, vertical, analog)
