Capps misses field for first time since 2004 in Topeka

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2007 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 8 of 23
O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals
Heartland Park Topeka (Kansas)
June 1-3, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

CAPPS MISSES THE FIELD FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2004 IN TOPEKA

TOPEKA, Kan. (June 2, 2007) - NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car
points leader Ron Capps failed to qualify in the top 16 at the O'Reilly NHRA
Summer Nationals for the first time since the second Chicago event of 2004.

Driving the Special Edition BRUT "Test Drive" Dodge Charger R/T, Capps also
snapped the longest active qualifying streak in the Funny Car class at 55
races. 

Qualifying was shortened to three sessions this weekend because of rain, and
Capps and crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch struggled to get the Brut Dodge to
hook up in any of the runs. Capps was not entirely disappointed, however, as
he knew coming in that the team, enjoying a 121-point lead and the Countdown
to the Championship resetting to 10-point increments after 17 events for the
top eight, would take this opportunity to test modifications to the car in
preparation for the upcoming six-event swing.

Unfortunately, the lack of four qualifying passes bit them, and Capps is on
the sidelines.

After experiencing tire shake and loss of traction in the single run on
Friday and today's first pass, producing a 9.738/82.20 and a 5.461/247.97,
his final attempt was no improvement, resulting in another tire-smoking
11.090/85.33.

"You can have a weekend with much worse results," said Capps. "You know,
John Force's team and Robert Hight, who is second in points coming in here,
missed a race. And some of the biggest names in the sport have not qualified
this year, including THE biggest name in the sport (John Force).

"So, yeah, it felt like somebody hit you with a baseball bat. It's the worst
feeling to smoke them that early and coast down there knowing you're not in
the show," he said of the final pass. "But, honest to God, from the heart,
it does not knock any of the confidence I have in our team.

"We made a decision to front-half our car prior to this race because of the
Bristol postponement and the upcoming grueling six-race swing. We've run
this car for some time, we've gone to a lot of final rounds, and put a lot
of runs on it. And Ace has a plan for everything he does. We're behind him
no matter what he does. We chose to put a new car together for this race,
and part of this Countdown, whether you want to call it the good side or the
bad side, is that it's going to basically reset all the points. And, if
you're one of the top eight, resetting the points by 10 is nothing in our
sport. We will most likely leave here with the points lead. And that's OK.

"And, to be honest with you, you wonder how those Nextel Cup guys can get
out of the car and just be OK with an OK car or top-five finish and I know
how they feel right now. It's OK. It's not the end of the world .

"I tell you, we have the best sponsors in the world. They were the first
ones over here patting us on the butt, telling us, 'No problem,' and they
mean that from the bottom of their hearts.

"Unfortunately, we're not going to gain those points. It just reiterates how
tough our sport is having to qualify every race and not have owners or
drivers points to get you in with a provisional."

As for the reason for the problems, "The conditions changed, which limited
our runs down the track," he said. "And that doesn't help when you have a
new car. We expected to get four runs to sort out what this car likes. Every
car is different and you have to find out what that new car likes and
doesn't like. Obviously, this one is a tad bit different from the last one.
I can't think of a better crew chief to have to figure out a car in the
least amount of runs and that's Ed McCulloch. So, I have no problem knowing
that we're going to go to Chicago and be just fine. I told the Brut guys I
really believe we're going to have the points lead going into Indy. I just
feel like we're going to do well through the whole swing. This is just a
bump in the road.

"I'm not just saying that. I really mean that from the heart."

Next up for Ron Capps is the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Route 66
Raceway, in Joliet, Ill., June 7-10.

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