Capps qualifies No. 13 in rescheduled Richmond

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 21 of 23
TORCO RACING FUELS NHRA NATIONALS
Virginia Motorsports Park
Dinwiddie, Va.
Race Date: RESCHEDULED to Oct. 13-15, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

CAPPS QUALIFIES NO. 13 IN RESCHEDULED RICHMOND

DINWIDDIE, Va. (Oct. 14, 2006) - Ron Capps lost some ground in the NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship chase by qualifying 13th
for the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park
today, while John Force qualified third. Force now leads Capps by six points
going into Sunday eliminations.

Capps, driving the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T, clocked his best pass
in the final qualifying round: 4.848 seconds at 283.73 mph, on a run that
was heading towards a 4.7-second pass and a spot in the top half of the
field until it hiccuped at the finish line.

His other passes at this rescheduled event (from last weekend's rainout)
produced a 4.867/302.21, a slow 12.529/78.01 and a 4.995/233.80.

"It was going to run a high 4.7 and that's exactly what Ace (crew chief Ed
McCulloch) and (team consultant) Dan Olson tried to do," said Capps, who
also receives support from Knoll Gas-Torco Race fuels. "It was on a pretty
good run, but It sneezed down there. It made a move and it spun the tires,
and when you do that these engines are not very happy. It still ran 283 mph,
and it had great (incremental) numbers before that.

"To be honest with you, the run earlier on Saturday, in the left lane, would
have been a 4.7 for sure and it would have moved us up, but I just let the
car get the best of me and it got out of the groove a llittle bit, and it's
crucial here to keep it in the groove.

"You've got to be as on top of your game here as you're ever going to be,
because there are small bumps out there and they throw you in either
direction.

"I saw two cars in front of us move over next to the wall (in Saturday's
first run), so I was actually ready for it, but it still pushed me over
there. Knowing what it was going to do and still not being able to control
the car and have it move around like it did tells me it's going to be a
handful on Sunday. There's not one car that's gone straight down the groove.

"There are going to be some races won and lost by being able to keep the car
planted in the center of the lane."

Before that last run moved Capps up in the field, it looked like it was
going to be a Capps vs. Force first round of eliminations. "I took the turn
off and (announcer) Alan Reinhart told me that I messed up his eliminations
ladder because we would have had Force first round," said Capps. "I said,
Boy, at this time of year during the week you might say, Boy, I'd love to
meet up with Force or (third-place Robert) Hight first round and maybe make
a move in the points. But what it really comes down to is that you really
don't want to see one of those guys until later on Sunday.

"We won't have lane choice tomorrow, but I feel a lot better.

"We just need to go up there and concentrate on our lane and when Ace
reaches in the windshield and points at me Sunday morning, I know I'll feel
good."

Capps faces Scott Kalitta in first round of eliminations on Sunday.

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