Capps reaches quarterfinals in Phoenix

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 2 of 23
26th annual NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
Firebird International Raceway
Chandler, Ariz.
Feb. 19-21, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

CAPPS REACHES QUARTERFINALS IN PHOENIX

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 21, 2010) - In a day filled with rain delays and
on-track incidents, Ron Capps reached the quarterfinal round of Funny Car
eliminations at the 26th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.

The opening-round of Sunday's eliminations saw the pilot of the NAPA AUTO
PARTS Dodge Charger Funny Car defeat Gary Densham with a solid 4.097-second
lap at 307.65 mph before being dismissed in the second round by Tony
Pedregon. After taking the lead at the starting lights, Capps' day was done
when the car experienced tire shake, slowing him to a 4.911/216.06 to
Pedregon's winning 4.195/304.05.

Capps unofficially is now in third place in the point standings, following
the second race of the 23-event 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

"We're not sure what happened," said Capps. "Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch)
is looking at the computer trying to figure it out. It's very unlike the
NAPA car to shake where it did. It happens a lot of times with conditions
that get so good like they did, which really evens the competition out,
because everyone can throw what they want at the track. It was pretty darned
cool, overcast, rain-threatening, and we might have just missed it a little
bit. It's hard to say.

"That's the great thing about Ace. We won't unload the car for the next run
until he figures out why exactly it did what it did. And he always figures
it out. It makes me feel really good as a driver.

"Today was a hard day for everybody to get through. Heck, we ran the second
round at almost 5 p.m. The day just flew by.

"We have a couple of weekends off and we'll get ready for Gainesville."

The final rounds of Top Fuel and Funny Car eliminations have been postponed
until Monday morning because of lateness.

Next up is the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March
13-15, 2010.

***