Capps' semifinal Gators finish earns him second in points

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 3 of 23
41st annual NHRA GATORNATIONALS
Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway
March 12-14, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

CAPPS' SEMIFINAL GATORS FINISH EARNS HIM SECOND IN POINTS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 14, 2010) - A new day dawned today for eliminations
at the 41st annual NHRA Gatornationals, and Ron Capps and the NAPA Filters
Dodge Charger Funny Car team emerged as a top contender for his third
victory at this historic event.

Capps was on a tear en route to the semifinal round, first by defeating Del
Worsham in the opening stanza with a solid 4.072-second lap at 310.63 to
match his 4.070/306.81 No. 3 qualifying run, then took out 14-time champion
John Force with an even quicker and faster 4.066/312.35.

Enjoying lane choice in each round, Capps and crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch
then faced Bob Tasca III in the semifinal. Although Tasca nipped him at the
starting lights, Capps quickly moved into the lead, which he held until just
past the 330-foot mark of the 1000-foot race track, then struck the tires.
Tasca passed him for the win, posting a 4.125/308.85 to Capps' losing
4.562/216.76.

With that, Capps moved into second in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series Funny Car point standings, and will head to zMax Dragway in Concord,
N.C., for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, March 25-28.

"Running the NAPA Filters car, we wanted to repeat what we did in Topeka and
that was win with the special Adaptive One Brakes car. I tell you, after
that last qualifying run to get us third in qualifying, Ace made just a
great call but, more impressively, the 4.07 the first round and then the
4.06 when it warmed up in the second round, gosh! I really felt like we had
the car to beat, which we did.

"And talking with Ace, he feels like he didn't back the power down enough.
It just got a little bit warmer and we felt like the car was safe enough to
go down there.

"I always feel great driving this car, and this weekend was a prime example
of how really good of a race car I get to drive."

As for the importance of having lane choice today: "It was important maybe
first and second round," he said. "Everybody really thought the left lane
was going to be the lane this morning. As we saw in Top Fuel, guys started
smoking the tires so instantly that everybody started picking the right
lane. 

"Whatever happened with this morning's track prep, it threw some of the
teams a curve, so everybody with lane choice relegated themselves to taking
the right lane. And, in the semifinals, the lanes were both prepped very
good, so it was pretty even.

"Just because of the bumps in both lanes we chose the left lane; it seemed
to be a little easier. These Funny Cars can be upset by the bumps so easily
so we felt like the left lane was a better lane. Like Ace said, he didn't
think it was the track. We just missed it by a little bit.

"I tell you, we ran 312 mph on the second round. That's the top speed for
Ace and the NAPA guys and that's an encouraging sign going into Charlotte
where we very well could see cool conditions and record runs.

"Just a great weekend by the NAPA guys. We had a fun time with Michael
Waltrip coming and hanging out on Saturday. Going into the four-wide race in
Charlotte to be second in points is a big boost for the team.

³We understand how the Countdown is, so we're focusing on just winning races
for NAPA AUTO PARTS and then see where the points may fall when the
Countdown begins."

UNOFFICIAL FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS, after three national events:
1. John Force, 280
2. Ron Capps, 226
3. Jack Beckman, 219
4. Bob Tasca III, 205 (runner-up today)
5. Robert Hight, 181
6. Matt Hagan, 181
7. Tony Pedregon, 180
8. Tim Wilkerson, 177 (winner today)
9. Ashley Force, 149
10. Del Worsham, 128

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