NHRA - CAPPS EXPECTING A LITTLE 'DEJA VU' IN VEGAS

CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 10, 2007) - NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps is expecting a little "deja vu" and perhaps a bit of a distraction this weekend at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. The driver of the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T enters this event following back-to-back season victories, the same as in 2006, and will be watching over his brother Jon as he makes his professional Funny Car debut at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Capps will not be distracted, however, from focusing on maintaining his win streak, something he wasn't able to cash in on at last year's event, where he was runner-up to Cruz Pedregon.

"We were on a two-race winning streak, kind of like we are on right now," said Capps, whose best career win streak is two in a row. "We almost made it three in a row. "Right now it's a very, very eerie feeling as far as the points go. We won Gainesville and Houston last year and went into Las Vegas with the possibility of going three in a row and we made it all the way to the final round and lost to Cruz Pedregon. I think Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is still kicking himself for going into tire smoke in that round. We hadn't smoked the tires in so long at that point.

"There was a lot on the line at the time. We were starting to extend the points lead out and here we are again in kind of the same boat," added Capps, 83 points ahead of Tony Pedregon after four events. "I know we have the Countdown to the Championship to look forward to and being in the top eight. I tell you, the more and more we get into the season, the more difficult it looks to get into that top eight. It's not going to be an easy task at all.

"Ace had told me early in the season that all we can do is show up at each race and try to win every race, and all the points will come with it. That's the plan right now.

"Vegas is going to be a strange weekend. We definitely missed racing against the John Force team in Houston. They're going to come back and they have a mission. They have a mission not only to get into the Countdown, but there's a lot of inspiration and a lot of emotion that's going to be going on with John Force Racing. I can tell you, we're all glad to have them back and it's going to be nice to get back to some kind of normalcy, although it will never be the same without Eric Medlen.

"It's also going to be an exciting event because I have my brother debuting in the professional Funny Car class. When we won in Gainesville, we ran against (Jon's crew chief) Paul Smith in the final round (with Phil Burkart driving), and that's the car Jon is driving. It's his hometown and some big things are happening for him. He's worked his tail off, and I kind of feel like a parent. I'm going to have a little bit of a distraction going to the starting line and watching my brother run."

Capps is still seeking his first Funny Car championship.

RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:

* Leading 2007 Funny Car point standings after back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Houston, one semifinal and one quarterfinal finish in first four races * Leads Tony Pedregon in rankings by 83 points * Runner-up to Cruz Pedregon at 2006 event here, qualified No. 6 * Has two career wins at The Strip: LV2 in 2001 and 2005 * Third in 2006 final point standings * Had class-best five wins in 2006: Gainesville, Fla., Bristol, Tenn., Topeka, Kan., Houston and Englishtown, N.J. * Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first win for DSR in '05), won at Chicago 2 at Route 66 Raceway and Las Vegas 2 * 2005 Funny Car championship runner-up, eight points short of title * Qualified No. 1 once in 2005, in Dallas; first time since Brainerd 2000 * Has seven career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006 * A perennial fan favorite, Capps has driven and won in both Top Fuel and Funny Cars since he began his pro NHRA career in 1995 * His best season points finishes were seconds in Funny Car in 1998, 2000 and 2005 * He has 24 event wins in 47 final rounds to his credit (23 national event wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel) * His career-best elapsed time (established during an event) is 4.694 seconds, set in 2005 in Dallas * His career-best speed is 331.61 mph (Pomona 1, '07) * Capps' career record against 14-time champion Force is 17-38 in round wins. He's won nine of the last 11 meetings against Force, and has won the last four first-round match-ups over Force * Age 41 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif. * Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (10) and son Caden (5) * Is featured, along with son Caden and the Brut Revolution racing crew, in a number of Brut ads appearing in mainstream magazines, such as People, Sports Illustrated, etc. * New to Don Schumacher Racing in 2005 after eight years with Don Prudhomme. * Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt Late Models and Go-Karts * Is the subject, along with teammate Tony Schumacher, in the behind-the-scenes TV series, American Dragster, airing on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, April 13, PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3 and 6 p.m. SATURDAY, April 14, PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at noon and 3 p.m. SUNDAY, April 15, Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION:

Saturday, April 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 6 p.m. (ET). Sunday, April 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, April 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).