Capps misses one round, qualifies No. 9 in Reading

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
ROUND 19 OF 23
TOYO TIRES NHRA NATIONALS
MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY
READING, PA.
Race Dates: Sept. 16-18, 2005

READING , Pa. (Sept. 17, 2005) - Ron Capps and the Brut Dodge Stratus Funny
Car team overcame the loss of the night qualifying round on Friday after
NHRA erroneously claimed the car had an oil leak and qualified No. 9 today
in the heat and humidity at Maple Grove Raceway.

In today's first session of Funny Car qualifying, Capps came in 11th with a
4.850-second elapsed time at 314.61 mph, then bettered that run later in the
day with a 4.824/316.23. This final pass placed him No. 9 and matches him
against No. 2 in the standings Robert Hight in first round of eliminations
on Sunday.

"The unfortunate part is we lost a run," said Capps, "so Ace (crew chief Ed
McCulloch) is essentially one run behind most crew chiefs here, but we get a
huge match-up with Robert Hight in the first round."

With five races remaining in the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series,
Capps came into this event in third place, just 35 points behind Hight and
36 points out of first place. The results of this first round could make a
major impact on the championship chase.

"There's two ways to look at it," Capps continued. "It can either be a
positive or it can be a negative. At this point, we're going to have to make
it a positive. We have no choice."

Capps is not concerned that he doesn't have lane choice. "These lanes are
pretty even here," he said, "so I don't think lane choice is going to be
that big a deal. 

"It's going to be an exciting race. I'm glad to be a part of it."