Points leader Capps ready to roll at Gators

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Round 3 of 24
NHRA Gatornationals
Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway
March 13-15, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

POINTS LEADER CAPPS READY TO ROLL AT GATORS

CARLSBAD, Calif. (March 10, 2009) - Riding the wave of being undefeated so
far in the Funny Car class of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series, Ron Capps is ready to keep on rolling at this weekend's NHRA
Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

But the Funny Car veteran, who drives the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car
for Don Schumacher Racing, is well aware that this sport can be fickle at
times. He's been there before. In 2007 he led the point standings by as much
as 154 markers through the first 14 events before the new Countdown kicked
in. His points margin was then reset for the playoffs and he ended the
season fourth in the standings.

Which makes his and crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch's determination to win
their first Funny Car championship even stronger. They are not sitting back
and enjoying their recent successes. Instead, they're focusing harder on
winning every round.

"In our sport, any time you can have a streak it's amazing considering the
competition," said Capps, who leads the field by 97 points after only two
events. "If you had asked me after Pomona (season opener) if we had a chance
to go two in a row, I'd have said I don't know but I certainly felt
confident that we had a car that could do it.

"That's the great thing about NHRA drag racing. You never know what's going
to happen, so when somebody does go on a roll it makes it that more
impressive.

"It's kind of neat to approach this year with such single-mindedness," added
Capps. "When I say that I mean approaching every run literally like it's the
last run we're going to make. That, so far, has really paid off.

"Ace is a great leader. It's a different mindset for us to go into each race
like that, but obviously it's worked. I think that it's definitely put me a
little more at ease as a driver not having to worry about so many different
things down the road that a driver can worry about and just focus on each
run."

Capps was the Funny Car runner-up at the Gatornationals in 2000. He also won
the event in 2006 and 2007 and went on to win the following event in Houston
both years.

"When we won the Gators and went back to back and then won Houston I never
would have thought that could have happened," he said. "So, anything is
possible. What happens when you start running well is it puts pressure on
other teams that race against you. And I've been in the other position where
guys are hot and when it's your time to race them you definitely know it.
So, you approach the race a little bit differently. You know you have to get
after it, you know they're going to go down the track.

"I've been on both sides of the fence and I definitely like being on this
side. It's great exposure for NAPA because that's what we should have done
last year: given them at least a couple of wins. (Capps was winless in 2008,
the first year NAPA AUTO PARTS came on board.) We feel like we're making up
for lost ground and we are where we should be.

"One thing I've learned having won in Gainesville is that you take nothing
for granted, especially the weather. More than likely, the conditions are
not going to be mineshaft conditions unless you have a storm come in with
cool weather because we're at the part of March where we have some sunshine,
some humidity. If you look back at the elapsed times that won rounds when we
won those two races there, they weren't stellar. We took what the track
would give us and that's what I really love about racing with Ace. He knows
when to race the race track and not your opponent."

RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* No. 1 in 2009 Funny Car points, after winning the first two races of the
season in Pomona, Calif., and Phoenix
* Round win-loss record in 2009 is 8-0
* Gainesville FC winner in 2006 and 2007; runner-up in 2000
* Qualified No. 13 in 2008 Gainesville, lost first round to Cruz Pedregon
* No. 8 in 2008 Funny Car points; two runner-up, five semifinal, four
quarterfinal finishes, 13 first-rounds
* 2008 round win-loss record was 20-24
* Is tied with Tony Pedregon with longest qualifying streak among active
Funny Car drivers: 41
* No. 4 in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Led 2007 Funny Car point standings by as much as 154 points through 14 of
the first 17 races of the season
* NAPA AUTO PARTS is primary sponsor for second straight season
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2005
* Has three U.S. Smokeless Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002
* Third in 2006 final point standings
* Had class-best five wins in 2006
* Had three wins, four runner-up finishes in 2005 (St. Louis was his first
win for DSR in '05)
* 2005 Funny Car championship runner-up, eight points short of title
* Qualified No. 1 once in 2005, in Dallas; first time since Brainerd 2000
* Has eight career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006, '07 or '08. One in 2009
so far
* 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 27 event wins in 56 final rounds to his credit (26 national event
wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel)
* His career-best elapsed time (established during an event) is 4.694
seconds, set in 2005 in Dallas
* His career-best speed is 331.61 mph (Pomona 1, '07)
* Capps' career round win-loss record is 341-255
* Capps' career record against 14-time champion Force is 18-41 in round
wins. He's won 10 of the last 15 meetings against Force, and has won five of
the last seven first-round match-ups over Force
* Age 43 (June 20, 1965); born and raised in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
* Lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with wife Shelley and daughter Taylor (7/25/96)
and son Caden (7/1/01)
* Has tested for IROC Series and competed in Skip Barber Formula Ford, Dirt
Late Models, Mini-Sprints and Go-Karts

SCHEDULE:   
FRIDAY, March 13 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. & 2:30
p.m.
SATURDAY, March 14 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30
p.m.
SUNDAY, March 15 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at
11 a.m.

TELEVISION:    
Sunday, March 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, March 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will re-air 90 minutes of
qualifying highlights at 10 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, March 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a
30-minute news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET)
Sunday, March 15, ESPN and ESPN HD will televise three hours of coverage
starting at 3 p.m. (ET).
    
SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, March 13, 9 - 9:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 8K (11860
MHz, horizontal)
Saturday, March 14, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 7K (11840
MHz, vertical)
Sunday, March 15, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 7K (11840
MHz, vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners'
interviews on Sunday.

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