SEATTLE HAS BEEN GOOD TO FUNNY CAR POINTS LEADER CAPPS
KENT, Wash. (July 18, 2007) - NHRA Funny Car points leader Ron Capps is eager to return to the Pacific Northwest for this weekend's Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals, the fifth event of the six-race back-to-back swing that began in Englishtown, N.J., June 22.
Since then, the driver of the Brut "Test Drive" Dodge Charger R/T for Don Schumacher Racing has solidified his hold on first place, and is 154 markers ahead of Robert Hight. His goal now is to settle in to maintain a spot in the top eight to be eligible for the Countdown to the Championship playoff, which begins after the next four races, at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.
With a Top Fuel win at Pacific Raceways in 1995, his NHRA pro racing rookie year, a 1998 victory in the Funny Car class (defeating John Force), plus a Funny Car runner-up finish in 2001 and last year, Capps is looking forward to his visit here.
"Seattle has always been very good to me," he said. "To get a win here in Top Fuel in my rookie year and to beat guys like (Kenny) Bernstein and Cory Mac (McClenathan), was unbelievable.
"This place has always been a great place to go to. I have been lucky enough to win in Funny Car here in 1998 and I've been close to winning a couple of times since then, including in the final round last year when I was runner-up to my teammate at the time Whit Bazemore."
His other runner-up finish in 2001 was also to Bazemore.
"The characteristics of the track make it challenging, with the bumps it's had in the past," Capps added. "These have been addressed several times, so it's a lot better. Also, the news that they're going to redo the whole place and that they've already started, is a plus.
"The Seattle race is unique, because it's one of the few places we race at where NASCAR does not, so we're very proud of that. And, for some reason, I always have great mojo at this event.
"We're back at sea level and good weather conditions, and that helps the drivers and the crew chiefs after we've been up on the mile-high mountain in Denver (runner-up last Sunday).
"Every time we show up in Seattle we know the power of these nitro engines is probably as high as it's going to get at any circuit we go to. The weather conditions and the atmospheric conditions make that happen. It's just a matter of whether or not the track can hold it."
Capps has the most Funny Car victories of any other driver this season, three. In fact, Don Schumacher Racing has won the most Funny Car events this season, six of 13: three for Ron Capps, two for Gary Scelzi and one for Jack Beckman.
In other DSR stats: All seven Don Schumacher Racing team drivers, with the exception of Antron Brown (who is ninth in Pro Stock Motorcycle, just three points out of eighth) are in the top eight in points in the Countdown to the Championship after 13 events:
* Ron Capps, first in Funny Car
* Gary Scelzi, fifth in Funny Car
* Jack Beckman, seventh in Funny Car
* Tony Schumacher, fifth in Top Fuel
* Richie Stevens Jr., eighth in Pro Stock
* Angelle Sampey, second in Pro Stock Motorcycle
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* 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, two first-round finishes and a DNQ in first 13 races
* Leads Robert Hight in rankings by 154 points
* Two wins in Seattle: 1995 in Top Fuel, 1998 in Funny Car. Two runner-ups: 2001 and 2006 in FC
* No. 3 qualifier in Seattle in 2006, runner-up to Whit Bazemore
* 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 (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, 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, July 20 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3 and 6 p.m.
SATURDAY, July 21 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, July 22 – Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
