Ron Capps was unable to fulfill his dream of winning the prestigious U.S. Nationals this weekend in Indianapolis, when the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car struck its tires at the hit of the throttle in his first-round match-up in eliminations against Melanie Troxel.
Both cars launched with nearly identical reaction times, but instant loss of traction slowed Capps to a losing 10.240-second pass at 78.68 mph to Troxel’s winning 4.128/301.00.
Capps completed the regular season of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series in No. 9 of the top 10 in points who will vie for the Funny Car crown in the Countdown to 1 playoffs, beginning in two weeks in Concord, N.C. He will enter the playoffs with a 100-point deficit to the leader.
“Obviously we didn’t have lane choice, so it was chosen for us,” said Capps, the No. 11 qualifier who posted the quickest pass of the final qualifying session on Sunday in the heat of the day. “I’m not sure what happened. The NAPA Dodge didn’t even come close to ever doing that this weekend.
“The NAPA guys are tearing it apart trying to figure it out. It just instantly came loose, and I kept an eye on Melanie to see if she was going to have problems so I could get back on the throttle. But they made a great run.
“You feel so disappointed. This is such a long weekend, besides the fact it’s a big race, one of the biggest. It really takes everything out of you. The highs and lows are very, very high and very, very low, and we have to pick up the pieces here and go on to the next race.
“We were hoping to be able to move up a couple of spots before the Countdown started, but our teammate Jack Beckman passed us and we know we’re starting ninth going to Concord. And all we can do is go to the next race, get ready for the Countdown, and let the clutch out first round of qualifying and see what happens.”
Next up is the inaugural NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, N.C., the first of the final six events in the Countdown to 1 playoffs.
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