Capps Riding Wind Of Success
Ron Capps, shown at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, is having an amazing NHRA season thus far. (Harry Cella photo)
JOLIET, Ill. — Funny Car veteran Ron Capps is having the kind of season a person usually only dreams about.
The NHRA star heads to the 15th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Route 66 Raceway riding the high of six straight final-round appearances and earning his second victory of the season, which tied him on the all-time wins list with NHRA legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits.
“Tying with Don Garlits for the amount of wins was a shocker,” Capps said. “You never even imagine as a kid growing up to be mentioned in the same sentence or the same breath as Don Garlits and the word wins. That was the biggest compliment.”
As the NHRA heads to the Windy City for the 11th stop of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season, Capps will try to continue his final-round streak as well as start a winning streak, but defending Funny Car winner Mike Neff will be doing his best to stop his streak and take back the No. 2 spot in the point standings from Capps.
Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and L.E. Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also 2011 winners of the event that will be telecast on ESPN2HD.
After a tough start to the season, championship tuner Rahn Tobler was added to the NAPA Auto Parts team and it has brought nothing but positive changes. Capps has moved up to second in the points standings, earned the title of quickest Funny Car driver in NHRA history thanks to his 3.964-second pass in Englishtown, N.J., and the team has one of the most consistent cars in the ultracompetitive Funny Car class.
“With the competition we have now and as good as you have to be in Funny Car, I feel like for sure I have one of the most consistent cars out there,” Capps said. “Really, right now, you could put that up as one of the most consistent cars in Funny Car history. I think there have only been two or three runs since Charlotte four-wide that the car hasn’t made it down the track under full power. That stat is even more impressive to me than even the six final rounds.”
Capps has a strong team at Don Schumacher Racing and knows that his Funny Car teammates are not only his biggest cheerleaders, but also his biggest competitors. In his six straight final rounds, he has lost two to his teammates; he knows that’s good for the sport and even better for his morale.
“For me, when I have to race one of my teammates, I have to elevate myself,” Capps said. “Even more than I do if I have to race John Force’s team or anyone else out there, I really feel like it just heightens everything for me as a driver.”
Capps has accomplished a lot in his career, but the one thing he thinks is missing is that elusive NHRA Funny Car world championship. He has finished in the No. 2 position in the championship points standings three times and knows that even though he has had a great career, the one thing he wants more than anything is the championship.
“I look at the trophies on my mantel and every one of them has a great memory of the guys that put the car together that made it happen,” Capps said. “All of that stuff is great. The accolades that come later on, that stuff is cool, but it’s still that championship ring that we are striving to get.”
Posted by NSSN Staff
on Jun 21 2012 Filed under Drag Racing, Latest Headlines, NHRA, Top Stories.
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