Capps qualifies No. 14 in Sonoma

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 15 of 24
FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma, Calif.
July 24-26, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

CAPPS QUALIFIES NO. 14 IN SONOMA

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25, 2009) - After aborting Saturday night's qualifying
run under ideal conditions because of a mechanical problem, NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps made it into
the 16-car field for Sunday's eliminations at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA
Nationals by recording a respectable pass of 4.232 seconds at 289.07 mph
today.

Entering the final two rounds of qualifying, the driver of the NAPA AUTO
PARTS Dodge found himself outside the top 12 with just these last two
chances remaining to get himself into the 16-car field to race on Sunday. He
and crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch stepped up to the challenge and squeaked
into No. 14 in their final try. Today's earlier round produced a
4.789/199.17. 

Cappsą only Friday pass was a 4.215/288.95, which was good for No. 5 at the
time, but it dropped him to 13th following the second session.

"Obviously, that would have been a great run for more than one reason,"
Capps said of the lost Friday night opportunity. "It would have definitely
put the pressure on somebody else and not for us to get in the show today.
We were also excited to see what we could have run under those near-perfect
conditions.

"That being said, these are gut-check weekends that, I believe, bring teams
together closer and win championships. The track was difficult to get down
today, so for Ace to go up there and make that run and get the car down the
track was just a great call.

"I was quite nervous, because it's my daughter Taylor's 13th birthday, and
we're having a big party for her afterwards and I surely didn't want to go
up there in a bad mood.

"We have a pretty pivotal match-up tomorrow,˛ he added. Points leader Capps
faces No. 2 in the standings and No. 3 qualifier Ashley Force Hood in
Sunday's opening round.

***