NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The carryover of strong momentum and performances from the end of one year and into the beginning of the next can be a difficult thing to master when competitors are dealing with 10,000-horsepower Funny Cars.

But class standout Ron Capps and his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T team seem to have found the formula so far in 2016. Coming off a string of five straight semifinal appearances to end 2015, Capps has kept that groove and then some to open the new NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Capps won the opening race of the year in Pomona, qualified first in Phoenix, posted a runner-up finish in Gainesville and is second in the points as the NHRA powers back to Las Vegas, April 1-3, for the 17th annual Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It's always awesome for a lot of reasons,” Capps said of the fast start. “We ended the season very, very well in Pomona and actually we had a pretty darned good Countdown. All but one race we went to the semifinals, so we were very consistent. Del (Worsham) and Jack (Beckman) just had a much better Countdown.

“So end of the year, we just wanted to sort of take everything apart and put everything back together and worked on a few things and tune-up wise left it alone and sure enough we rolled out of Pomona No. 2 qualifier and ended up winning the race. We have a great hot rod now. I've got a lot of confidence now as a driver for sure.”

Richie Crampton (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners of the event that will be televised on FOX Sports 1, including three hours of live finals coverage starting at 5 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. It is the fourth of 24 events during the 2016 season and Capps couldn’t be more pleased as he continues his quest for a first Funny Car world championship.

Capps, who won twice in 2015, had no trouble with consistency in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship a year ago, finishing fourth in points after his string of semifinal finishes. That included a No. 1 qualifying run of 3.886 seconds in Pomona, which is the type of performance Capps knows is necessary to ultimately succeed in the highest form in Funny Car.

“I'm confident already in the car and (crew chief Rahn) Tobler already has just a very consistent car,” said Capps, who has 45 career wins. “But now he's turned up the notch a little bit when he had to and I think that's sort of been the difference. I really think during the Countdown, that's when it's going to count. You're going to have to throw the big numbers like Del and Jack did from time to time last year. Had we done that a couple times, we would be the champion. I think that was kind of the only missing thing we had as a team.”

Everything else about Capps’ team has been impressive and that doesn’t mean just this year. Capps believes one of the team’s biggest reasons for success and consistency is a continuity of a group that’s proven themselves multiple times over the years.

“We’ve been NAPA, I believe, eight years and pretty much had the same core group of guys,” Capps said. “It's been pretty nice every off-season to know you've got the same guys buckling you in, the same guys taking everything apart. That's always nice as a race car driver to know that everything's just kind of continuing on from the year before.”

The Funny Car class continues to get more impressive as well, and Capps will have to deal with the likes of John Force, Gainesville winner Robert Hight, defending world champion Worsham, Phoenix winner Tim Wilkerson, Alexis DeJoria, national record holder Beckman, Matt Hagan, Courtney Force, Cruz Pedregon and Tommy Johnson Jr.

It’s never an easy task, but Capps does take some luxury in the way of his strong relationship with Tobler.

“We've won a lot of races,” Capps said. “I've gotten to work with Roland Leong, Ed ‘The Ace’ McCulloch, the late Dale Armstrong, some pretty cool crew chiefs. Tobler, I really enjoy racing with him on the racetrack and then away from the track. There are not a lot of people at the racetrack I would go spend, you know, dinner out with, and maybe go see a concert that are crew chiefs.

“But he's one of those guys that I really enjoy being around. I think I've won more races with him than anybody as far as a crew chief than I've had in the past. He's just a lot of fun to be around.”

Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 1 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, April 2, at 1 and 4 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for noon on Sunday, April 3.

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call (800) 644-4444 or visit www.LVMS.com/tickets.