Capps finishes NHRA season in third place

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 6 of 6 in Countdown to 1 playoffs
Round 24 of 24 for season
45th annual AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.)
Nov. 12-15, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

CAPPS FINISHES NHRA SEASON IN THIRD PLACE

POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2009) - Ron Capps reached the semifinal round today
at the 45th annual NHRA Finals before he was defeated by Ashley Force Hood.
He ended up third in the final 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
point standings, having earned the most class victories this season, five.

En route to the semifinal, Capps dismissed Bob Tasca III in the opening
round with a 4.312-second elapsed time at 236.67 mph, then disposed of his
Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan in the second round, with a
4.144/310.48.

Force Hood was there for the taking after she launched with a .143 reaction
time to Capps' .086 (.000 is perfect), but the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny
Car lost traction, allowing Force Hood to take the win with a 4.133/307.09
pass, while Capps followed with a losing 4.775/248.25.

"We were still on a mission to try to stand on the podium at the awards
banquet in second place," said Capps, who missed out on his fourth runner-up
season finish by 48 points,"and not just to earn the Full Throttle money,
although all of the NAPA team guys make a commission on the prize money.

"It would have been nice after winning five races this year to finish
second. It was a legitimate goal for us today. Nobody really talked about it
but I knew we were all thinking about it, and so when we got down to the
semifinals and we looked around, it was Tim Wilkerson, myself and Ashley all
battling for second. Basically, whoever went the farthest was going to
finish second. 

"We ended up third and that's OK. It almost felt like today we had our own
little Countdown going on to see who was going to be in second. I didn't
know it went back that far, but Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) said we had a
chance of either finishing second or as bad as seventh, it was that tight
points-wise.

"The lane just didn't take it. We put a little more primary clutch on it and
it didn't want to hear about it. Now, looking back, Wilkerson did the same
thing, and so did Larry Dixon (in Top Fuel) up in front of us. That's part
of the deal. We didn't have lane choice and we chose the left lane and got
outrun."

Capps wrapped up his and the NAPA team's tough season: "It's like playing
golf. When you're in a foursome with a bunch of buddies every shot makes
somebody happy. If you chunk it and it doesn't go anywhere it makes the guy
you bet money on happy, and if you have a great shot it makes you happy. So,
I think it applies here that we had a great season, even though it was
frustrating. We led the standings by as much as 140 points at one time, and
I want to stress that, had there been no Countdown we would have kept on
charging and we probably would have won three or four more races, at least,
and we probably would have stretched that lead out. That's just the way it
is with the Countdown. Like it or  not, that's the way it's going to be.

"Congratulations to our Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher on
capturing his seventh Top Fuel championship today."

FINAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Robert Hight, 2547
2. Ashley Force Hood, 2481 (runner-up today)
3. Ron Capps, 2433
4. Tim Wilkerson, 2430
5. Jack Beckman, 2406
6. Tony Pedregon, 2403
7. Del Worsham, 2352
8. Bob Tasca III, 2326
9. John Force, 2268
10. Mike Neff, 2235 (winner today)
11. Matt Hagan, 1139
12. Cruz Pedregon, 1103

***