Regaining points lead on Capps' hit list for Brainerd

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 16 of 24
28th annual NHRA NATIONALS
Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway
Aug. 14-16, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

REGAINING POINTS LEAD ON CAPPS' HIT LIST FOR BRAINERD

CARLSBAD, Calif. (Aug. 11, 2009) - Ron Capps is bent on regaining the Funny
Car points lead he's held throughout the majority of this year's regular
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season. After 2007, the year in which
Capps entered the inaugural Countdown to 1 playoffs as the points leader
without an earned advantage, NHRA began awarding 20 bonus markers to the
leader going into the Countdown, and Capps wants those points this time.

Three national events remain before this year's Countdown begins for the
final six races, and this weekend's NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.)
International Raceway is key towards Capps achieving that goal. The driver
of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car is just 11 markers behind leader Tony
Pedregon and a third victory for him at this facility would return him to
the top of the roster.

"Those 20 points are equivalent to one round win," said Capps, "and on top
of that there's increments of 10 points for every driver behind the leader
in the points. So, if you can add 20 points before you even go to Charlotte
for the first race of the Countdown, that's huge. We lost the championship
in 2005 by eight points, so we know how important the points are.

"Having the points lead going into the Countdown also gives you a little
more confidence and more media coverage for the sponsors. So, there are
other advantages to leading the standings besides just the 20 points.

"Coming into Brainerd this weekend, everybody's got their batteries
recharged after two weeks off following the Western Swing (three events in a
row in Denver, Seattle and Sonoma, Calif.)," added the two-time Brainerd
Funny Car champion, who also leads the class with five victories this
season. "It's a grueling part of our tour. It's always nice to get a couple
of weeks off and then go to Brainerd. It's a fun race.

"It's also turned into a very pivotal race the last few years, especially
with the Countdown. It follows the Western Swing where points have been
shuffled so much. The drivers have had two weeks off to relax and now they
have to start thinking about where they're at, where they want to be, when
the next three races will be over, and about racing in Brainerd.

"Brainerd could be hot and humid and over the years the new owners have done
a great job of making improvements to the facility. We've seen clouds come
in like last year and cool down the temperature of the track. If that
happens again, we could see record-breaking conditions.

"Anything can happen in Brainerd. I've been lucky enough to win there more
than once, so it's a special place for me as a driver. On top of that my
wife Shelley's whole family is from that area. So we have a lot of good
friends and family coming to watch."

RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* No. 2 in 2009 Funny Car points after winning class-best five in six final
rounds of the first 14 races of the season (Pomona, Calif., Phoenix, Las
Vegas, Topeka, Denver)
* Round win-loss record in 2009 is 29-10
* Qualified No. 16 in 2008 Brainerd, lost second round to Jack Beckman
* Brainerd winner in 1998, 2001; runner-up in 1997
* No. 1 qualifier in Brainerd in 2000
* 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: 54
* 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 nine career No. 1 qualifiers, none in 2006, '07 or '08. Three in 2009
so far (Phoenix, St. Louis, Denver)
* 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 30 event wins in 59 final rounds to his credit (29 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 362-265
* Capps' career record against 14-time champion Force is 20-41 in round
wins. He's won 12 of the last 17 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, Aug. 14 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 2:45 and 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Aug. 15 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:15 a.m. and 2:15
p.m.
SUNDAY, Aug. 16 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at
11 a.m. 
 
TELEVISION:      
Saturday, Aug. 15, ESPN2  and ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying
highlights at 6 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Aug. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m.
(ET).
Sunday, Aug. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of
eliminations at 10 p.m. (ET).
            
SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, Aug. 14, 8:30 - 9 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 17K (12040 MHz,
vertical)
Saturday, Aug. 15, 7:30 - 8.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 17K (12040 MHz,
vertical)
Sunday, Aug. 16, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 17K (12040 MHz,
vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winnersą
interviews on Sunday.

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