NHRA NEWS: CAPPS HEADS TO NASCAR COUNTRY TO PROMOTE COUNTDOWN, MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS
NHRAıS RON CAPPS HEADING TO ŒNASCAR COUNTRYı TO PROMOTE COUNTDOWN, MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS Driver of the NAPA Dodge Charger R/T is a familiar face in NASCAR pits GLENDORA, Calif. (Aug. 19, 2010) Ron Capps, a familiar face in the NASCAR world from his multiple starts in Tony Stewartıs Prelude to the Dream Late-Model race at Eldora Speedway, will be on-site at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend to promote NHRAıs most prestigious event, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, and the six-race NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. ³Iıve had fans stop me at airports and restaurants to talk about the Countdown,² said Capps, who has 31 wins and eight top five finishes, but continues to seek his first championship title. ³Itıs definitely stirred up a lot of interest and Iım happy to talk to fans about it.² Bristol Motor Speedway, which sits adjacent to the famed Bristol Dragway where Capps claimed NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals titles in 2001 and 2006, will be hosting the NASCAR Nationwide Seriesı Food City 250 on Friday, Aug. 20 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Seriesı Irwin Tools Night Race on Saturday, Aug. 21. ³I always look forward to going to any NASCAR race Š (but) if you can pick one NASCAR race to go to, the Bristol Night Race is definitely the one you want to see,² Capps said. ³Iıve gotten to be friends with some of the drivers like, of course, my NAPA teammate Martin Truex, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint Bowyer, because weıve raced the Prelude to the Dream every year.² Capps, also widely known in NASCAR circles for the popular NAPA commercials he was featured in with Michael Waltrip, will make multiple media appearances on Friday, including appearing on ESPNıs pre-race telecast and SPEED Channelıs NASCAR Trackside show. He will also be introduced in the Bristol Motor Speedway Media Center. The driver of the NAPA Dodge Charger R/T for Don Schumacher Racing finished NHRAıs 17-race regular season in fifth place in the Funny Car category and with the points reset he will begin the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship trailing points-leader and 14-time NHRA Full Throttle Series world champion John Force by only 60 points. The NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship begins Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-6, with the 56th running of the worldıs most prestigious drag race, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil from OıReilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis (complete Countdown to the Championship schedule included below). Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA has 80,000 members and 140 member tracks nationwide. As the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States, NHRA presents 23 national events featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned bracket racing series provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels: the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; OıReilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com <http://www.nhra.com/> , or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/pages/NHRA/64205041409> , YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/user/nhra> and Twitter <http://twitter.com/NHRA> . * * * 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship Schedule Event Date Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil Sept. 1-6 Indianapolis OıReilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals Sept. 16-19 Charlotte, N.C. OıReilly Auto Parts Super Start Batteries Sept. 23-26 NHRA Fall Nationals Dallas Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals Oct. 7-10 Reading, Pa. NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Oct. 28-31 Las Vegas Automobile Club NHRA Finals Nov. 11-14 Pomona, Calif. -30-