Ron Capps: "Having lane choice in Houston is key"

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 5 of 23
23rd Annual NHRA Spring Nationals
Houston Raceway Park
Baytown, Texas
April 9-11, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

RON CAPPS: "HAVING LANE CHOICE IN HOUSTON IS KEY"

CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 6, 2010) - Following a strong performance at the
Inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C., last week, Ron Capps is
eager to return to two-wide competition this weekend at the 23rd annual NHRA
Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

Capps, who drives the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger Funny Car for Don
Schumacher Racing, finished third in Concord and stands second in the point
standings behind leader John Force (89 markers back). His DSR teammates Jack
Beckman and Matt Hagan are third and fifth, respectively, with Ashley Force
Hood in fourth. It looks like it will be an ongoing DSR-versus-JFR (John
Force Racing) battle to the finish this season.

"Right now everybody is kind of taking a deep breath coming away from the
Concord four-wide race," said Capps, the Houston Funny Car champion in 2006
and 2007. "We're excited about getting back to 'normal' drag racing. And
going to a track where you've won before definitely plays a part in the
confidence of the team.

"Houston has been very, very tricky in the past. We've had some bumps and
some dips in the race track surface that really caused the crew chiefs to be
even more on their games as the drivers had to be able to navigate around
some of the tricky spots on the track.

"In the last two years, lane choice was so important that qualifying well
was a premium. You had to make sure you qualified in the top half of the
field. Right now I feel our NAPA Dodge is very capable of not only that but
of being No. 1 qualifier.

"We always talk about what the weather could and should bring and I think a
lot depends on that in Houston. The weather can change so quickly there. The
cream always rises to the top, for sure, especially with crew chiefs, and I
believe that, going to a track as tricky as Houston, it will be really good
to have a crew chief like Ed 'Ace' McCulloch."

As a driver, McCulloch was the 1993 Top Fuel champion at Houston Raceway
Park.

RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS:
* No. 2 in 2010 Funny Car points, after four events (one runner-up, one
quarterfinal, two semifinal)
* Has two wins in Houston in Funny Car: back-to-back in 2006 and 2007
* Qualified No. 14 in '09 Houston; lost first round to Ashley Force Hood
* Ended 2009 season No. 3 in the point standings
* Won class-best five events in 2009 - Pomona 1, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Topeka,
Denver - in seven final rounds
* Entered 2009 Countdown to 1 No. 2 in 2009 Funny Car "regular season" after
leading standings in 12 of the first 14 events
* Currently holds the national record racing to 1000 feet of 4.023 seconds
(Phoenix 2009)
* Qualified No. 1 three times in 2009 (Phoenix, St. Louis, Denver); none in
2010 so far
* Has nine career No. 1 qualifiers
* No. 8 in 2008 Funny Car points; two runner-up, five semifinal, four
quarterfinal finishes, 13 first-rounds
* Is tied with Tony Pedregon with longest qualifying streak among active
Funny Car drivers: 67
* 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 third 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
* 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 62 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 (racing to 1320 feet)
* His career-best speed is 331.61 mph (Pomona 1, '07) - racing to 1320 feet
* Capps' career round win-loss record is 380-278
* Capps' career-best speed racing to 1000 feet is 313.80 mph (Concord 2010)
* (THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FOUR-WIDE RACE IN CONCORD) Capps' career record
against 14-time champion John Force is 22-42 in round wins. He's won 14 of
the last 20 meetings against Force, and has won five of the last seven
first-round match-ups over Force. His final-round record against Force is
3-1
* Age 44 (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, April 9 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 2:45 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
SATURDAY, April 10 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15
p.m.
SUNDAY, April 11 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
 
TELEVISION:     
Saturday, April 10, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying
highlights at 10:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, April 11, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute
news magazine show, at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, April 11, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of coverage
starting at 8 p.m. (ET).
                   
SATELLITE:       
Friday, April 9, 9 - 9:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 18K (12060 MHz,
vertical) (Analog feed)
Saturday, April 10, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 18K (12060 MHz,
vertical)
Sunday, April 11, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET), AMC 1 / Transponder 18K (12060 MHz,
vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winnersą
interviews on Sunday.
 
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