Mathematically, each of the 10 drivers in the Funny Car class Countdown to the Championship playoffs of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series still has a chance to win the crown, with two events remaining in the season. Realistically, however, the chances for those in the bottom half are slim. No. 9 in points Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger Funny Car team are now focused on a strong finish to the year as they head to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s 10th annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.
“Our goal right now is to finish the year strong,” said Capps, who is 250 points behind his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan in first place, and 157 back of his other DSR teammate Jack Beckman in third. “When you get down to the wire with a few races left and you don’t have a chance to win the championship, you would like nothing better than to be able to take out one of your teammates’ opponents who has a shot at the championship. The primary goal right now is to do the best we can to help our teammates win a championship.
“(Crew chief) John Medlen and the NAPA guys are working hard to find just a little bit of consistency; we’ve had the performance,” added Capps, who is tied with Tony Pedregon with the most national-event victories at The Strip (three). “We stayed and tested in Maple Grove on Monday (after the Reading, Pa., race) and had a great test. John and the NAPA guys are making sure that we end the year strong for NAPA and our other sponsors.
“There’s two ways to look at it: It could be a short off-season or a long off-season. Either way, it always ends up being pretty short, because before you know it you’re right back at the drag strip testing in January. You don’t want to have a disappointing final two races to haunt you during the off-season.”
The 46th annual NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 11-14, will complete the 2010 championship chase.
“We’ve always had a great car,” said Capps. “Vegas is always a place I feel great going to. And, anybody who has followed NHRA drag racing knows that the final rounds in Pomona, and even Vegas, with the time change, could end up being run in the dark. There’s nothing better than driving a Funny Car under the lights.
“We’re trying to move up as many as spots as we can in the rankings. We don’t want to be standing at the far left of the stage at the year-end awards banquet. And we definitely feel we have a car that can finish in the top five.”
RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Age 45 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (7/25/96) and son Caden (7/1/01)
* No. 9 in standings after four of six races of the Countdown to the Championship
* Entered 2010 Funny Car Countdown in No. 5, after 17 events of the regular season (one win, two runner-ups, four quarterfinals, four semifinals, six first rounds)
* Is 250 points behind leader and DSR teammate Matt Hagan
* Has three national-event victories at The Strip: 2001 and 2005 at fall event, and 2009 at the spring event
* Was runner-up at The Strip in 2006 and 2007 at spring events
* Qualified No. 2 at 2009 fall event at The Strip, lost second round to Tim Wilkerson
* Has 31 event wins in 64 final rounds to his credit (30 national event wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel)
* Has nine career No. 1 qualifiers; none in 2010 so far
* His best season points finishes were seconds in Funny Car in 1998, 2000 and 2005
* Is tied with Tony Pedregon with longest qualifying streak among active Funny Car drivers: 84
* NAPA AUTO PARTS is primary sponsor for third straight season
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2005
* Races in Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream every year
* Capps’ career round win-loss record is 394-294
* His career quickest ET at 1000 feet is 4.023 seconds (Phoenix 2009)
* Capps’ career-best speed racing to 1000 feet is 314.09 mph (Houston 2010)
* (THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FOUR-WIDE RACE IN CONCORD): Capps’ career record against 14-time champion John Force is 22-42 in round wins. He’s won 14 of the last 20 meetings against Force, and has won five of the last seven first-round match-ups over Force. His final-round record against Force is 3-1
* Ended 2009 season No. 3 in the point standings
* Won class-best five events in 2009 - Pomona 1, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Topeka, Denver - in seven final rounds
* Has three U.S. Smokeless Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002
* Entered 2009 Countdown to 1 No. 2 in Funny Car “regular season” after leading standings in 12 of the first 14 events
* No. 8 in 2008 Funny Car points; two runner-up, five semifinal, four
quarterfinal finishes, 13 first-rounds
* No. 4 in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Led 2007 Funny Car point standings by as much as 154 points through 14 of the first 17 races of the season
* Third in 2006 final point standings, with class-best five wins
* Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first win for DSR in ‘05)
* 2005 Funny Car championship runner-up, eight points short of title
* A perennial fan favorite, Capps has driven and won in both Top Fuel and
Funny Cars since he began his pro NHRA career in 1995
* His career-best elapsed time (established during an event) is 4.694
seconds, set in 2005 in Dallas (racing to 1320 feet)
* His career-best speed is 331.61 mph (Pomona 1, ‘07) - racing to 1320 feet
* Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt Late Models, Mini-Sprints and Go-Karts
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