Capps sidelined with mechanical glitch in Pomona first round

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 1 of 23
CARQUEST AUTO PARTS WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA (CALIF.) RACEWAY
FEB. 10-13, 2005


POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 13, 2005) - The adrenaline rush that Ron Capps no doubt
was experiencing as his crew began to start up the all-new Brut Dodge Funny
Car for his first round of eliminations for Don Schumacher Racing quickly
fizzled when oil began to spew out of the car.

Anticipating a strong run against his teammate Whit Bazemore, the team, led
by crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch, was clearly disappointed as the car was
pushed off the line and Bazemore earned a "bye" run to the finish line.

The car had given no indication that a problem existed.

"It could have leaked this morning," said a dejected Capps, who had
qualified No. 9 for his first event of the year at the CARQUEST Auto Parts
Winternationals. "I probably wish it would've in the warm-up. But, on the
bright side, it's a good thing it didn't happen during the run because it
split the oil tank, which is right next to the fuel tank. They're kind of
side by side, and it split the little seal in there and out it came. As soon
as they started the car the oil just started gushing out the front.

"There's no way to tell when that's going to happen. It's a bummer,
especially when you see those guys next to us go out there and run a  4.81
(Capps had qualified with a 4.794). We were looking forward to that race.

"It's just a weird day. We were very excited, more so just to see what the
car was going to run," he added. "We felt like we left a lot on the table
yesterday with the .79. And Ace was as confident as ever. And when he has
that look in his eye first round it gives me a big boost of confidence.

"It was going to be a neat run, but there's nothing you can do about it. You
can't beat yourself up, you can't beat the guys up and all you can do is put
it behind us.

"We're going to be fine. It's a long year."

In NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points, Capps ended up with 32
points and is tied for 14th place.

Next up is the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway in
Chandler, Ariz., on Feb. 25-27.