Qualifying in top half is key to winning season for Capps

(Note: Go to www.brutracing.com for all Ron Capps and Brut Dodge show-car
appearances for Phoenix and Gainesville, Fla. See also special fan
offer at Phoenix at the bottom of this release.)

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 2 of 23
CHECKER SCHUCK'S KRAGEN NHRA NATIONALS
FIREBIRD INTL RACEWAY
CHANDLER, Ariz.
Race Date: Feb. 24-26, 2006

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

QUALIFYING IN TOP HALF IS KEY TO A WINNING SEASON FOR CAPPS

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 21, 2006) - The 2005 Funny Car championship runner-up
Ron Capps and the Brut Dodge Stratus Funny Car team are starting off the
2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season in a solid position after their
runner-up finish at the season-opening event at the Auto Club Raceway at
Pomona (Calif.) Feb. 12.

This weekend's Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird
International Raceway should see even a stronger performance from the Brut
Dodge team as most of those pesky early-season glitches were hopefully dealt
with at Pomona. 

Despite his No. 10 qualifying spot at Pomona, Capps pulled off a second
series of steady winning passes to reach the final round, which he lost by a
mere six feet to Robert Hight. That's OK, he says. Collecting points and
data for the rest of the season towards his first Funny Car crown is key,
and qualifying higher is still at the top of the list.

"It's something that we really worked on as far as improving on qualifying
points," he said. "You never really worry about exactly where you qualify as
long as you have lane choice in the first round, and that means qualifying
in the top half. That's the most important thing. Otherwise, you can really
win from anywhere in the field, but you definitely want to have that choice
first round.

"It's not very good for the stress level, trying to sleep at night not
knowing which lane you're going to be in. It could be a lane ruined by a
dragster in front of us. You just never know and you want to have that
choice.

"Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) felt like he left a lot on the table in
qualifying in Pomona and he found a pretty significant piece of the tune-up
that he just hadn't messed with all weekend because the car had been going
down the track. He felt like it probably would have gained us a tenth of a
second or so in qualifying. When he said that I was really excited and I
slept very well Saturday night.

"And he was right. In the first round of eliminations it was almost 10 mph
an hour faster and all day Sunday we were at quite a bit faster speed.

"I love hearing those kinds of things, from Ace especially, because when he
says he's found something pretty significant going into race day, it just
gets you excited as a driver.

"It's an exciting part of the season when you can leave the Winternationals
with good results. The off-season is like forever, so to get out of there
with a final-round loss was great. We would have loved to have won the race,
of course, but we earned the points and are second in the standings.

"Phoenix, where we went to the finals after a disappointing Winternationals
last year, was a big rebound for us. It's all about the conditions changing
and crew chiefs adapting and I feel so comfortable in the car right now that
we can pretty much roll into anywhere and Ace has a pretty good handle on
what he wants to do on the car in whatever conditions.

"We're very hard on ourselves," he continued. "We don't need any criticism
because we are our best critics. We had a meeting after Pomona and everybody
was real excited and in a good mood. Ace was in a great mood, even though we
lost, and we just talked about what we have to do next.

"The Brut Dodge crew gives Ace the absolute best car to tune , with nothing
falling off, no leaks, for a lot of runs now. In testing we went down the
track just about every run and at Pomona it didn't smoke the tires one time.
And we lay out a battle plan for the driver as well and we go right down the
road. The Brut Dodge guys are excited. They're working well together and
it's a great time right now."

Capps was runner-up to John Force last year at Firebird, winner here in
2003, runner-up to Force in 2000, runner-up again in 1998 (Chuck Etchells)
and No. 1 qualifier here in 2000.

SCHEDULE:
On Friday, Feb. 24, professional qualifying sessions are at 3:30 p.m. and 6
p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 25, pro qualifying continues at 12 noon and 2:30 p.m.
On Sunday, final eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION:
On Feb. 25 qualifying rounds will air from 8-10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Eliminations are scheduled to air on Feb. 26 from 7-10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Eliminations show will repeat on Feb. 28 from 3-5 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* Second in 2006 Funny Car point standings after a runner-up finish to
Robert Hight at season opener
* Has 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
* Qualified No. 1 once in 2005, in Dallas; first time since Brainerd 2000
* Qualified No. 7 in Phoenix in 2005, runner-up to John Force
* 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 17 event wins in 38 final rounds to his credit
* His career best elapsed time (established during an event) is 4.694
seconds, set in 2005 in Dallas
* His career best speed is 329.02 mph (Chicago 2, '05)
* Age 40 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (9) and
son Caden (3)
* Is the subject, along with son Caden and the Brut racing crew, of 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

***

BRUTŪ Funny Car driver Ron Capps is signing a limited number of BRUTŪ Shave
kits for giveaway to BRUTŪ and NHRA fans. How do fans get one? They have to
be one of the first 10 people each day to bring an original receipt showing
the purchase of any BRUTŪ product from their favorite store, like
Albertsons, to one of the BRUTŪ kiosks* at the Firebird International
Raceway February 24-26. Limit is one BRUTŪ Shave kit per family/receipt.
Receipt must show store name, product name, price, and date of purchase.
 
*kiosks open at 9 am Friday and Saturday; 8 am Sunday