Capps and NAPA team look for first U.S. Nationals win as Countdown begins
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES Round 18 of 23 Round 1 of six in Countdown to the Championship 56th annual U.S. Nationals O'Reilly Raceway Park Clermont, Ind. Sept. 3-6, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net CAPPS AND NAPA TEAM LOOK FOR FIRST U.S. NATIONALS WIN AS COUNTDOWN BEGINS CARLSBAD, Calif. (Aug. 31, 2010) - While his mentor and former crew chief (now Don Schumacher Racing team consultant) Ed "Ace" McCulloch has won the U.S. Nationals six times in his driving career (once in Top Fuel, five in Funny Car), Ron Capps is still looking for his first. And, with the Countdown to the Championship also beginning this weekend in Clermont, Ind., there's an air of awe yet confidence in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car camp as Capps and the team target their first NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series crown. "I'm always very confident coming into a national event," said Capps, who starts the playoffs from No. 5. "Even in the past when we would arrive at the U.S. Nationals, the biggest race we have on the NHRA schedule, I have always felt I was in the best possible place to win Indy for the first time. But, for whatever reason, I always fell short. "If you talk to any race car driver or any athlete, he or she will tell you it's the big moments that you want to be a part of, those moments that define you as a race-car driver and a competitor. And you can't deny the fact that winning Indy is almost as important as winning a championship. "This race is always challenging," added Capps, who has one victory so far this season and 31 in his career. "I look at Ed McCulloch, who has been my mentor and has won Indy six times, and my DSR teammate Tony Schumacher (eight times), and they're almost nonchalant when they talk about winning it that many times. "And, here I am, willing to give almost anything to be able to win it. It's difficult sometimes when you start putting yourself in the position of saying to yourself, Boy, I need to win it, I have to win it, because it's such a big race. "So, whenever you get to Indy you can say what you want, you can say it's just another race - a driver can talk himself almost into anything but, the fact is, Indy is huge. And this year it's bigger than it's ever been because it's our first race of the Countdown. "You have to get off to a great start. You don't use any mulligans for this Countdown. You have to come out of the box swinging. Oh, and by the way, it's the U.S. Nationals. Everything is elevated, teams bring out new paint schemes, major announcements are made, and it's probably as big as it has ever been in my career." RON CAPPS QUICK FACTS: * No. 5 in 2010 Funny Car points entering the Countdown, after 17 events of the regular season (one win, two runner-ups, four quarterfinals, four semifinals, six first rounds) * Is 60 points behind leader John Force * Has never won or been in a final round at U.S. Nationals and has no No. 1 qualifiers at event * Qualified No. 13 at 2009 U.S. Nationals, lost first round to Cruz Pedregon * Has three U.S. Smokeless Showdown titles: 1998, 1999 and 2002 * Has 31 event wins in 64 final rounds to his credit (30 national event wins in Funny Car, one in Top Fuel) * 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 Funny Car "regular season" after leading standings in 12 of the first 14 events * Qualified No. 1 three times in 2009 (Phoenix, St. Louis, Denver); none in 2010 so far * Has nine career No. 1 qualifiers * His best season points finishes were seconds in Funny Car in 1998, 2000 and 2005 * 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: 80 * 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 * Third in 2006 final point standings, with class-best five wins * 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 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 394-290 * His career quickest ET at 1000 feet is 4.023 seconds (Phoenix 2009) * Capps' career-best speed racing to 1000 feet is 314.09 mph (Houston 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 45 (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, Sept. 3 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 5:30 p.m. SATURDAY, Sept. 4 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 3 and 6 p.m. SUNDAY, Sept. 5 - FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. MONDAY, Sept. 6 - Pre-race ceremonies, 9:30 a.m. FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 10 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours and 30 minutes of qualifying coverage at 11:30 a.m. (ET). Sunday, Sept. 5, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. (ET). Monday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise five hours of eliminations coverage at 1 p.m. (ET). SATELLITE (Digital SD feed): Friday, Sept. 3, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3/ Transponder 21K Saturday, Sept. 4, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 21K Sunday, Sept. 5, 8- 8:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 21K Monday, Sept. 6, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET) - AMC 3 / Transponder 21K (12120 MHz, horizontal; Data Rate: 18.295441161 Mbp; Symbol Rate: 13.235 Ms; FEC: ¾; Bandwidth: 18 Mhz) Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners' interviews on Monday. ***