Ron Capps said it’s sometimes difficult for him to completely focus on his job when he comes to Infineon Raceway because he has so many friends in attendance.
Tell that to his competitors.
Capps, a native of San Luis Obispo, defeated Tim Wilkerson in the Funny Car finals of the FRAM/Autolite NHRA Nationals on Sunday for his first victory of the season and the third of his career at Infineon. Capps also won here in 1997 and 2010, as he became the first Funny Car driver to win back-to-back races at Infineon since John Force won three straight from 1990 to 1992.
“They’re there to have fun and have a good time,” Capps said of his friends. “But they have to remember I don’t go to their jobs with a cooler and pop a beer. This is my job, so it’s a fine line.
“My family’s done a great job reminding everyone that (I’m) here working. But we’re going to have fun now.”
Antron Brown defeated teammate Tony Schumacher in the Top Fuel finals to give Don Schumacher Racing a sweep in the nitro categories. Greg Anderson won the Pro Stock final in what was the 100th final-round appearance in his career, and LE Tonglet won Pro Stock Motorcycle for his third victory of the season.
Capps’ last Funny Car win came last year at Infineon with John Medlen as his crew chief. But after a subpar start to the 2011 season in which Capps had a 3-4 final eliminations record in four events, Medlen was replaced by longtime tuner Tim Richards—who retired after the 2008 season. San Jose Mercury News
Brown powered his Matco Tools dragster to an elapsed time of 3.883 seconds and a top speed of 314.61 miles per hour to defeat Schumacher (3.919, 311.41), who was seeking his first victory of the season.
Afterward, the two exchanged an embrace and warm but spirited words. According to Brown, it went like this:
“That was a great drag race,” Schumacher said with a smirk. “But you know what? We’ll get you next time.”
Said Brown: “I’ll be there, brother.” San Francisco Chronicle
Anderson took his third Pro Stock win of the season and 68th of his career with a 6.562 at 210.28 in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP while Edwards ran 6.576 at 210.14 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries GXP in the runner-up effort.
“I’m just having a blast right now,” said Anderson, who has now won at this track four times. “It’s fun to race in our class right now because it’s a killer. Everyone is so close; anyone can win once the race starts. It’s a great feeling to come out on top at the end of the day. I feel honored to race with the guys I am racing with now. I didn’t have a great day as a driver, but somehow, we found a way to win each round. It was a great drag race with Mike, and he’s a great champion. I respect him a lot. Somebody had to win today, and today was our day.”
With the runner-up finish Edwards moved into the series points lead, 15 ahead of Jason Line, who lost in the semifinals. Anderson moved to third with the victory. All three drivers clinched berths in the Countdown with their performances this weekend.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, defending world champ Tonglet beat defending event winner Michael Phillips. Tonglet ran 7.001 at 189.76 on his Autolite/Nitro Fish Suzuki to claim his third win of the season and hold off Phillips, who finished in 7.016 at 192.63 on his The Racers Edge Suzuki.
“We’ve been running really good, and the season has been up and down, and we’re trying to find that happy medium right before the Countdown starts,” Tonglet said. “We want to be consistent at every track. That’s our goal, and that’s what it takes to win a championship.” NHRA.com
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