Ron Capps enjoyed another perk today that comes with being the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader. After qualifying the Brut “Test Drive” Dodge Charger solidly in the field in No. 5 for the ProCare Rx NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J., he and crew chief Ed “Ace” McCulloch held a mini-test session in the final qualifying pass during the heat of the day.
Capps quickest qualifying pass of the weekend, a 4.775/319.90, came Friday night. His other passes produced a 4.971/300.46, a 4.932/305.22, and a tire-smoking 9.757/86.56 in the aforesaid “testing” round.
“We all had a talk, ” said Capps, who entered this event with a 140-point lead in the standings. “Ace was real conscious about wanting to try to see what the track would hold. One great thing about being in the field is having the chance to do what we did this afternoon.
“There was probably no chance anybody was going to move up to battle for the top four positions, because of the heat. But one thing we wanted to do was to find out whether at this time of day tomorrow, if we got after the car and the clutch a little bit more than usual, it would hold. It’s still a newer car for us, so that’s the mindset we were in.
“Having such a great first half of the year gives us this opportunity of being able to try things like that. That’s what we did and it didn’t make it.
“We know the car is consistent when Ace wants it to go down the track. It will be good for race day. It’s nice to be able to have the luxury to try something. They say it’s going to be six degrees warmer tomorrow. I always feel great about our team when race days are a bit warmer, especially having Ace as a crew chief. “
Capps faces Tim Wilkerson in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday.
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