Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals
Pomona, Calif.
(Nov. 6-9)
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Ron Capps Skoal Racing Funny Car |
Reports: Sunday Pre-race |
Pomona, Sunday: The 2003 NHRA racing season came to a close a little earlier than Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. would've preferred during the Auto Club Finals Sunday at Pomona Raceway.
The drivers of Don Prudhomme's Skoal Racing Funny Cars experienced traction problems in their first-round races and lost, Capps to Gary Scelzi and Johnson to Cory Lee. Capps finished eighth in POWERade Series standings with 1105 points, followed by Johnson in ninth with 1051 points.
"The (tire) shake came back," said Johnson of his Blue Camaro, "and I had to pedal it. I had no idea it would do that. We haven't had the shake for several races. It's very frustrating.
"I am ready to start testing for next year right now."
Johnson, the No. 8 qualifier (4.862 at 314.02), had a respectable 4.925-second time at 314.97 mph, considering he was on and off the throttle, but Lee covered the quarter-mile in 4.822 at 316.82 mph.
"We had a tough time, too," echoed Capps after his Green Camaro lost to Scelzi, 4.817 at 323.66 mph to an early shutoff 8.607 at 95.17 mph. "Todd (Okuhara, crew chief) was really searching to find a gremlin. He made a whole lot of changes but the car just wasn't responding. We knew Scelzi would run a low 4.70 or high 4.80, but our car shook and I pedaled it. By then, he was pulling away so I shut it off.
"We are excited about 2004," concluded Capps, who began the day from the 13th position. "I can't wait to get it started."
Pomona, pre-race: Twenty-two races have been completed, eight different Funny Car drivers have won at least once, and Tony Pedregon has already clinched the championship.
That's all old news for Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr., drivers of Don Prudhomme's Skoal Racing Chevrolets. The real news is the Auto Club Finals remain, so there's one more opportunity to put one of the team cars into the winner's circle.
Final positions in the NHRA POWERade Series top 10 are also up for grabs, with Capps and Gary Scelzi currently knotted for sixth place (1084 points) and Johnson 10th (1018), but a mere 11 points behind No. 9 Dean Skuza and 26 behind No. 8 Tim Wilkerson.
Nevertheless, Capps admits to being ready for a break in the action.
"At a certain point in the season if you are not in the championship hunt – like we were in 1998 and 2000 – you begin to feel like you're missing something," said Capps. It's just that time of the year," said Capps, driver of the Green Camaro. "We want to finish as strong as we can.
"As a driver, you want to stand up as close to the front of the stage as you can during the Awards Ceremony because the higher you the finish, the closer you are."
Capps and Johnson both stayed an extra day in Las Vegas to test following the ACDelco Nationals (Oct. 26) and it was worth it, Capps noted. "It was a good test session," he said. "We tested some parts that Todd (Okuhara, crew chief) wants to use next year, so we'll likely be using them when we go preseason testing in January.
"But we definitely aren't forgetting about the Finals. We want to win this one for our sponsors," added Capps, from Carlsbad, Calif. "We'll also have a lot of friends and family watching."
A winner at Phoenix in February, Capps was runner-up at Englishtown, N.J., in May. He does have one win at Pomona, that coming in the season-opening Winternationals in 1998.
Johnson, driver of the Blue Camaro, was a finalist at the first Chicago race in May. He has mixed feelings about the campaign closing.
"Part of me doesn't want it to be over, but I am kind of glad this is the last race," Johnson said. "I have mixed emotions because we have some unfinished business. If we win the race, it will be a good way to end it. Otherwise, we can clean the slate and get ready for 2004.
"I'd like to improve on my Finals finish last year when I was runner-up," added the Indianapolis resident. "Finishing second was good, but winning would be great. I think we are running better now than we were a year ago. We are close to getting it to run pretty well. There's no reason why we can't win the Finals."
Johnson could move up two positions in the standings with a good performance.
No matter where he finishes, things will be changing for Johnson before he gets strapped into his Blue Chevy next year. He and his fiancée, Top Fuel driver Melanie Troxel, are getting married Dec. 31.
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