Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis, Ind.
(Sept. 1-6)
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Ron Capps Skoal Racing Funny Car |
Reports: Monday Sunday Saturday Friday Pre-race |
Indianapolis, Monday: Ron Capps drove his green Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to a first-round finish Monday at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and in doing so, moved up one spot in the Funny Car points standings.
After qualifying in the No. 10 position in the strongest Funny Car field of the season, Capps was matched up against No. 7 qualifier Phil Burkart Jr. in the opening round of eliminations. Capps, a 14-time NHRA winner, used a starting line advantage to take the early lead on Burkart before his Skoal Racing flopper overpowered the I.R.P. quarter mile and slowed to a pass of 5.804 seconds at 177.37 mph. Burkart raced to the win with a performance of 4.927 at 312.93.
"We were the first pair of Funny Cars to go down the track," Capps said. "Qualifying bit us and that's why we were in the first pair. You don't have the luxury of watching any other cars go down the track when you go out first. We were looking for a low 4.90, but (Phil) Burkart stepped up and ran better than us."
Indianapolis, Sunday: Ron Capps will attempt to claim his first career U.S. Nationals victory on Monday after the 14-time NHRA winner qualified his green Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo in the 10th position Sunday at Indianapolis Raceway Park
The three-time Skoal Showdown winner capped off qualifying on Sunday afternoon with a performance of 4.995 seconds at 313.37 mph behind the wheel of his Roland Leong-tuned Chevy Funny Car. Capps' best run during qualifying came under the lights at I.R.P. on Saturday evening when he powered to a performance of 4.878 at 316.97, good enough to qualify him in the 10th position in the strongest Funny Car field of the season where 24 cars attempted to make the 16-car field.
"This has been a typical Indy weekend," Capps said. "I'm not sure that the fastest car is going to win on Monday. We made a good run in the heat of the day on the final pass. What is going to win is not beating yourself."
Capps will match up against No. 7 qualifier Phil Burkart Jr. in round one of Funny Car eliminations at 11 a.m. (CT) on Labor Day. Capps is 4-1 in his career against Burkart.
Indianapolis, Saturday: Veteran Funny Car pilot Ron Capps blasted his green Skoal RacingSM Chevy Monte Carlo to the No. 9 qualifying spot Saturday at Indianapolis Raceway Park after racing to a run of 4.878 seconds at 316.97 mph under the lights at IRP.
Entering the day, Capps was on the outside looking in on the 16-car Funny Car field at drag racing's 'Super Bowl' event, and Capps and crew chief Roland Leong responded to the pressure with two solid passes. The 14-time NHRA winner opened Funny Car qualifying with an run of 5.006 seconds at 305.29 mph and followed that up by using a Leong tune-up to record the 4.878, 316.97 effort to claim the ninth qualifying spot.
"The guys did a great job today," Capps said. "I knew that Roland (Leong), Todd (Okuhara) and the crew would come through. Going into both sessions not being in the show and then to make two solid runs, I'm really happy with the way the car ran. Now we can work on our race-day tune-up during the heat of the day on Sunday."
Indianapolis, Friday: Ron Capps opened qualifying at the 50th running of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in the No. 20 spot Friday at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
The three-time Skoal Showdown (1998, '99, 2002) winner drove his Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to a pass of 6.434 seconds at 139.60 to claim the No.20 qualifying position.
"We ran pretty well during testing here at I.R.P. last week," Capps said. "We've got a good baseline and I'm confident that Roland (Leong), Todd (Okuhara) and the gang will get the car where it needs to be on Saturday."
Indianapolis, pre-race: How does the old saying go? "You don't get old being no fool?" Ron Capps is certainly no fool and with nearly a decade of driving experience behind him, the popular driver is arguably the most respected Funny Car pilot in the business.
Capps hopes he can use his experience and driving prowess Labor Day weekend when the NHRA stages its Super Bowl event of the 23-race NHRA POWERade Series schedule, the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Capps has encountered his share of success during the Nationals, never qualifying lower than ninth since joining Don Prudhomme Racing in 1997 and earning the $100,000 bonus in the Skoal Showdown three times in seven tries. Having been tutored by the likes of Prudhomme, a seven-time U.S. Nationals winner as a driver, and current tuner Roland Leong, Capps knows what to expect when he rolls into Indy.
"I've been surrounded by some pretty experienced people with the likes of Snake (Don Prudhomme), Roland, Dick LaHaie, Dale Armstrong, and Ed McCullouch; they've all done well at Indy in the past," Capps said. "You can't replace experience. I learned a long time ago how to approach this race. I was pretty much in awe the first couple times I came to Indy. It's such a big race, it's long, all the fans and sponsors are there. You have to pace yourself and concentrate on focusing on different points of the weekend. I've been lucky enough to tap into the experience that has surrounded me."
Capps and the green Skoal Racing Funny Car crew spent two days testing at I.R.P. to gather crucial data and familiarize themselves with the drag strip at the famed multi-purpose racing facility to ensure a solid outing at drag racing's marquee event.
"The Indy test provided us with a couple of different scenarios," Capps said. "Tuesday, we spent some time just testing, and on Wednesday, we spent our day on what Roland would call practicing. That is making what we have better. It's tough to try new things during the race and this was the perfect opportunity for that. We're happy with what we have going into the U.S. Nationals."
Real happy is what Capps and crew hope to be feeling late in the afternoon on Monday with a "Wally" trophy in hand and a trip to the Indianapolis Raceway Park winner's circle to cap off the challenging two-weeks that make up the U.S. Nationals.
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