CARLSBAD, Calif. - Now that Ron Capps, crew chief Ed “Ace” McCulloch and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car crew have a semifinal finish under their belts at the last event in Las Vegas, they’re aiming for their first season win at the NHRA Southern Nationals this weekend at Atlanta Dragway.
Capps, who has 25 national-event wins to his credit in 52 final rounds, has never won the Southern Nationals, although crew chief McCulloch has three Funny Car victories, second only to John Force’s seven. Capps does, however, have three runner-ups at this track, in 1995, 2000 and 2001.
“Atlanta is one of the tracks that I have not won at, but I’ve been to several finals and I’ve always done well there in the past,” said Capps, who’s focused on moving up in the point standings out of the No. 10 spot and winning his first event of the year.
“At this point of the season, as weird as the season has started off, our semifinal result at Vegas was a huge boost for the team. There is no better time than right now (to win our first race). NAPA’s headquarters is located in Atlanta, and there are many corporate sponsors located in that area. So it’s a very big race for the NHRA drag-racing community.
“I have a lot of friends in NASCAR who are coming over from Charlotte,” added Capps, “and it’s a really pivotal race every year. You can guarantee that it’s going to be warm, and probably tricky. Any time we see heat on the track, we take it seriously. The drivers and crew chiefs are kind of battling the track conditions a little more than usual this year. And, on top of that, they’re trying to learn these new cars with the added weight on them (an extra 100 pounds was added to the Funny Cars for 2008).
“So, now that we’ve got our hot rod back, I’m excited about the races coming up, including the St. Louis race right after this one. And this is when I like to make NAPA proud to have signed up to be on the side of our race car. We have great things to come with NAPA AUTO PARTS, and we just want to give them the success on the track they deserve.”
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