Ron Capps repeated as the Funny Car winner of the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals today, defeating Phil Burkart in the final round of eliminations.
This marked the driver of the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T’s first win of the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season, the second straight at the Gatornationals, the 23rd of his career in 46 final rounds (22 national-event wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel) and, with Tony Schumacher’s Top Fuel victory today, the sixth for Don Schumacher Racing at the Gatornationals.
In a race filled with drama, including cars hitting the wall on a questionable surface under cool conditions, Capps defeated Tony Bartone with a 4.787-second elapsed time at 326.08 mph in the opening stanza, then dismissed Tony Pedregon in the quarterfinal with a 4.885/322.58, and Kenny Bernstein in the semifinal round with another solid 4.857/322.58.
The final round saw Capps defeat Phil Burkart, who was making a cameo appearance at this event for team owner/crew chief Paul Smith. With a one-time sponsor on board, Burkart tore through the field, defeating Bob Gilbertson, Ashley Force and Jim Head to meet Capps in the money round.
Burkart launched first with a. 093 reaction time (. 000 is perfect). Capps responded with a. 103, but it was Capps first at the finish line with another steady, straight pass down the quarter-mile to take the win with a 4.773/323.27 over Burkart’s 4.876/316.75. Margin of victory:. 0937 of a second.
“The car was on a string all day, ” said Capps in the winner’s circle. “(Crew chief and four-time Funny Car winner here as a driver) Ed “Ace” McCulloch made this car unbelievable to drive today. It was treacherous and we saw a lot of people hitting the wall and just having a lot of problems. My Brut Revolution guys, I never doubt them. In Phoenix, the driver made a big mistake (his first-ever red light in the semis), and these guys told me I could go up there and make the same mistake here first round, and they’d be behind me. And that was huge for me. Because I needed some confidence, and they were right behind me. “
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