SEMIFINALS APPEARANCE BY CAPPS LEADS TEAM MOPAR® FUNNY CAR DRIVERS AT NORWALK
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Norwalk, Ohio (June 29, 2008) – Team Mopar® driver Ron Capps advanced to his fourth semifinals appearance of the season and posted the best showing of the four HEMI®-powered Funny Car drivers who competed today in the eliminations rounds at the Second Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
Capps matched up with his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jerry Toliver and the Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge Charger R/T team in the opening stanza. He fought through a rough pass of 5.68/241.41 to capture the round win in his NAPA Charger after both he and Toliver smoked the tires on their HEMI-powered Funny Cars.
Capps left no doubt in his second round win against Del Worsham, recording a solid pass of 4.936/301.13 to advance to the semis against Tony Pedregon. The DSR team member came up short in his battle with the defending Funny Car champ, posting a losing pass of 5.084/284.09 to Pedregon’s 4.967/291.82. His semifinals run moved Capps to one point out of seventh-place in the NHRA Funny Car points standings.
“You get that late in the day and you’re in the semifinals, you begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is the final,” said Capps, “and you just expect to be in the final when you've gone that far.”
Capps added, “We’re excited to have a weekend off. I'll spend it with the family going down the road in the motor home and then we'll go to Denver , where Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is one of those crew chiefs who can adapt, and Denver is a place where you have to adapt, so it's something we look forward to.”
Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger R/T driver Jack Beckman had an exciting but disappointing run in a first-round match with Cruz Pedregon. Beckman seized the advantage off the starting line but both he and Pedregon struck the tires, leading to a pedalfest in which Pedregon pulled away for the win. Monster Energy Dodge Charger R/T and Kenny Bernstein Racing driver Tommy Johnson also had the better reaction time in his opening round battle with Tim Wilkerson (a .054 reaction time to Wilkerson’s .073) but struck the tires shortly thereafter and watched as Wilkerson drove away with the win.
Next up is Mopar’s marquee event, the 29th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. The Mopar Big Block Party, held on the streets of downtown Golden, Colo. , will start the festivities on Thursday, July 10. NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series action will take place on July 11–13 at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison , Colo.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Moparlogo.jpg" alt="Moparlogo" align="right"borders="0"/>
Norwalk, Ohio (June 29, 2008) – Team Mopar® driver Ron Capps advanced to his fourth semifinals appearance of the season and posted the best showing of the four HEMI®-powered Funny Car drivers who competed today in the eliminations rounds at the Second Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
Capps matched up with his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jerry Toliver and the Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge Charger R/T team in the opening stanza. He fought through a rough pass of 5.68/241.41 to capture the round win in his NAPA Charger after both he and Toliver smoked the tires on their HEMI-powered Funny Cars.
Capps left no doubt in his second round win against Del Worsham, recording a solid pass of 4.936/301.13 to advance to the semis against Tony Pedregon. The DSR team member came up short in his battle with the defending Funny Car champ, posting a losing pass of 5.084/284.09 to Pedregon’s 4.967/291.82. His semifinals run moved Capps to one point out of seventh-place in the NHRA Funny Car points standings.
“You get that late in the day and you’re in the semifinals, you begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is the final,” said Capps, “and you just expect to be in the final when you've gone that far.”
Capps added, “We’re excited to have a weekend off. I'll spend it with the family going down the road in the motor home and then we'll go to Denver , where Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is one of those crew chiefs who can adapt, and Denver is a place where you have to adapt, so it's something we look forward to.”
Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger R/T driver Jack Beckman had an exciting but disappointing run in a first-round match with Cruz Pedregon. Beckman seized the advantage off the starting line but both he and Pedregon struck the tires, leading to a pedalfest in which Pedregon pulled away for the win. Monster Energy Dodge Charger R/T and Kenny Bernstein Racing driver Tommy Johnson also had the better reaction time in his opening round battle with Tim Wilkerson (a .054 reaction time to Wilkerson’s .073) but struck the tires shortly thereafter and watched as Wilkerson drove away with the win.
Next up is Mopar’s marquee event, the 29th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. The Mopar Big Block Party, held on the streets of downtown Golden, Colo. , will start the festivities on Thursday, July 10. NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series action will take place on July 11–13 at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison , Colo.
