Capps goes to first U.S. Nationals final round, NAPA takes regular season title
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Capps one win away from elusive U.S. Nationals title but earns top seed
for playoffs as seven DSR teams finish regular season ranked in top-5
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 4, 2017) - Don Schumacher Racing was able to complete a
successful 63rd annual NHRA U.S. Nationals but snapped its run of leaving the year's
biggest event with at least one nitro event trophy.
But the seven-team squad won't be leaving the track near Indianapolis empty handed.
Reigning Funny Car world champion Ron Capps advanced to the first final round of
his 22-year career with the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Powered by Pennzoil
team led by crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant Eric Lane and also won the regular-season
title to earn the No. 1 seed for the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff
that begins in two weeks near Charlotte.
"This race is such a big deal," Capps said. "Leaving here as the regular season
point leader going into the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship in Charlotte
is the silver lining on a cloud right now.
"We're just a little disappointed. We had a shot at winning Indy and it only comes
once a year. You get so involved in this whole week and weekend of this historic
race, over 60 years of coming here, you get up that far and to lose a close race
like we did hurts a little more than most races.
"But I've never been so happy so quickly after a loss like that because I know going
into the Countdown we've got our racecar back. We've really sort of struggled through
the West Coast Swing and trying some things, but then found a few things on the
way that I think are going to help us in the championship run"
"But man, just all year long to come here and then you've got wait another year
for a shot at it."
Capps' teammate, Jack Beckman, won Sunday's $100,000 Traxxas Nitro Shootout with
crew chiefs Dean Antonelli, John Medlen and Neal Strausbaugh with Terry and Doug
Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge. He is Beckman's third Shootout title and his fourth
in an all-star specialty race during the U.S. Nationals.
In Top Fuel, 10-time U.S. Nationals winner Tony Schumacher advanced to the final
round of the Top Fuel Shootout.
While Capps held his points lead, two-time reigning world champion Antron Brown
with the Mello Yello/Matco Tools/U.S. Army team fell to second and will be seeded
second for the Countdown, trailing regular season winner Steve Torrence, who won
his seventh title of the season on Monday, by 20 points.
His loss to Torrence in the second round was one of the closest of the day. Torrence's
time of 3.730 seconds at 327.59 topped Brown's 3.745 (322.50).
"It was a great race - and the best race of the second round," Brown said. "We gave
it all we got, and our heads aren't down.
"We are not done yet. This Matco Tools/U.S. Army team is going to dig hard and we
are going to test before we go to Charlotte. We are going to try and get our car
to work a little better early in the run, and that's our game plan: To work on
things and get better."
The following are DSR's results from U.S. Nationals and unofficial regular season
statistics:
TOP FUEL
Event winner: Steve Torrence (CAPCO Contractors
No. 1 qualifier: Clay Millican (Doug Stringer Racing) 3.663 sec.-track record, 329.10
mph
LEAH PRITCHETT, Papa John's Pizza
Crew chief: Todd Okuhara; assistant crew chief: Joe Barlam
MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: PRITCHETT (3.711 sec., 319.98 mph) def. Wayne Newby (no time)
Second round: PRITCHETT (3.732, 320.97) def. Pat Dakin (4.071, 221.45)
Semifinals: Steve Torrence (3.765 sec., 324.05) def. PRITCHETT (9.779, 81.04)
QUALIFYING
Qualified: No. 2
FRIDAY: 3.667 sec.-track record, 329.50 mph, (Session 1 of 5)
SATURDAY: 3.782, 312.13* (Session 2 of 5); 8.881, 8.087, (Session 3 of 5)
SUNDAY: 3.771, 316.45, (Session 4 of 5); 3.764, 322.11, (Session 5 of 5)
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ
W/L
2017 3rd 18 4 2 8
3 1 6 0 41-14
CAREER 87 5 3 19 16
43 7 6 75-77
Career best time, speed: 3.640 sec.-world record (2017 Brainerd); 331.53 (2017 Brainerd)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 10, lost in first round to Shawn Langdon
Career at Indy: Wins 0, Runner-ups 0, Poles 0
TONY SCHUMACHER, U.S. Army
Crew chief: Mike Green; assistant crew chief: Phil Shuler
MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: SCHUMACHER (3.736 sec., 319.98 mph) def. Terry McMillen (3.797, 319.98)
Second round: SCHUMACHER (3.734, 328.78) def. Doug Kalitta (3.757, 325.30)
Semifinals: Kebin Kinsley (3.772, 316.30) def. SCHUMACHER (3.801, 324.59)
QUALIFYING
Qualified: No. 4
FRIDAY: 3.735 sec., 327.82 mph, (Session 1 of 5)
SATURDAY: 3.747, 324.51, (Session 2 of 5); 3.680, 330.31, (Session 3 of 5)
SUNDAY: 4.754, 152.74, (Session 4 of 5); (Session 5 of 5)
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ
W/L
2017 4th 18 1 3 4
6 5 3 0 25-17
CAREER 474 83 64 75 131
114 83 8 802-383
Career best time, speed: 3.660 sec. (2017, Topeka); 332.51 mph (2016, Brainerd)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 4, won in championship round over Steve Torrence
Career at Indy: Wins 10-record (2000, 2002-04, 2006-09, 2012, 2016); Runner-ups
2 (2005, 1996);
Poles 4 (2005-07, 2014); All-star/Invitational event titles 1 (2005)
ANTRON BROWN, Mello Yello/Matco Tools/U.S. Army/Toyota
Crew chiefs: Brian Corradi, Mark Oswald; assistant crew chief: Brad Mason
MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: BROWN (3.726 sec., 324.44 mph) def. Scott Palmer (3.828, 300.46)
Second round: Steve Torrence (3.730, 327.59) def. BROWN (3.745, 322.50)
QUALIFYING
Qualified: No. 6
FRIDAY: 3.689 sec., 329.75 mph, (Session 1 of 5)
SATURDAY: 3.808, 312.42*, (Session 2 of 5); 3.694, 329.91, (Session 3 of 5)
SUNDAY: 4.860, 149.05, (Session 4 of 5); 3.744, 326.95, (Session 5 of 5)
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ
W/L
2017 2nd 18 4 6 2
6 0 2 0 44-14
CAREER 376 65* 53 76 99
80 49 3 667-308
* 49 TF/16 PSB
Career best time, speed: 3.667 (2017, Phoenix); 333.16 mph (2017, Topeka)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 5, lost in second round to Tony Schumacher
Career at Indy: Wins 3 (2000, 2004-PSM; 2011-TF), Runner-ups 0, Poles 4 (2009, 2011,
2012, 2013)
FUNNY CAR
Event winner: J.R. Todd (Kalitta Motorsports)
No. 1 qualifier: Matt Hagan (Don Schumacher Racing), 3.799 sec., 338.77 mph - track
records
RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T - regular season champion
Crew chief Rahn Tobler:; assistant crew chief: Eric Lane
MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: CAPPS (3.880 sec., 328.54) def. Alexis DeJoria (3.901, 331.94)
Second round: CAPPS (3.939, 300.60) def. Jim Campbell (6.609, 100.03)
Semifinals: CAPPS (3.940, 324.75) def. Jack Beckman (3.948, 322.81)
Final: J.R. Todd (3.923, 325.53) def. CAPPS (3.949, 325.53)
QUALIFYING
Qualified: No. 8
FRIDAY: 10.938 sec., 71.07 mph, (Session 1 of 5)
SATURDAY: 3.883, 329.67, (Session 2 of 5); 3.906, 308.57, (Session 3 of 5)
SUNDAY: 3.871, 330.55, (Session 4 of 5); 4.053, 262.13, (Session 5 of 5)
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ
W/L
2017 1st 18 6 3 2
4 3 0 0 39-12
CAREER 501 56* 532 91 102
181 21 19 666-426
* 55 FC/1 TF
Career best time, speed: 3.839 sec. (2017, Phoenix); 333.58 mph (2017, Phoenix)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 3, lost in semifinals to Del Worsham
Career at Indy: Wins 0; Runner-ups 1 (2017); Poles 0; All-star/Invitational event
titles 3 (1998-99, 2002)
JACK BECKMAN, Terry and Doug Chandler's Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T - won Sunday's
Shootout
Crew chiefs: Dean Antonelli, John Medlen, Neal Strausbaugh
MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: BECKMAN (3.890 sec., 327.03 mph) def. Tommy Johnson Jr. (3.925, 329.34)
Second round: BECKMAN (3.878, 327.35) def. Del Worsham (4.132, 252.90)
Semifinals: Ron Capps (3.940, 324.75) def. BECKMAN (3.948, 322.81)
QUALIFYING
Qualified: No. 5
FRIDAY: 3.900 sec., 330.08 mph, (Session 1 of 5)
SATURDAY: 4.869, 157.98, (Session 2 of 5); 3.859, 333.16, (Session 3 of 5)
SUNDAY: 3.872, 331.77, (Session 4 of 5); , (Session 5 of 5)
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ
W/L
2017 4th 18 2 2 4
8 2 0 0 29-16
CAREER 270 26 27 49 81
80 21 7 361-237
Career best time, speed: 3.825 sec., (2016 Pomona 2); 334.15 mph (Seattle 2016)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 2, lost in first round to Dave Richards
Career at Indy: Wins 1 (2015); Runner-ups 2 (2008, 2013); Poles 1 (2015);
All-star/Invitational event titles 3 (2007, 2013, 2015)
TOMMY JOHNSON JR., Terry and Doug Chandler's Riley Kids Dodge Charger R/T
Crew chief: John Collins; assistant crew chief: Rip Reynolds
MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: Jack Beckman (3.890 sec., 327.03 mph) def. JOHNSON (3.925, 329.34)
QUALIFYING
Qualified: No. 12
FRIDAY: 9.922 sec., 76.00 mph, (Session 1 of 5)
SATURDAY: 10.777, 79.36, (Session 2 of 5);11.027, 84.08, (Session 3 of 5)
SUNDAY: 4.000, 324.98, (Session 4 of 5); 3.988, 324.20, (Session 5 of 5)
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ
W/L
2017 5th 178 1 4 5
3 5 1 0 29-17
CAREER 416 16* 28 58 101
169 15 44 365-355
* 14 FC/2 TF
Career best time, speed: 3.837 sec. (Phoenix 2017); 332.02 mph (Sonoma 2017)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 5, lost in semifinals to Matt Hagan
Career at Indy: Wins 0; Runner-ups 1 (2002); Poles 2 (2000, 1999)
MATT HAGAN, 80th Anniversary Mopar/Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T
Crew chief: Dickie Venables; assistant crew chief: Michael Knudsen
MONDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: Jim Campbell (5.008 sec., 164.83) def. HAGAN (10.951, 77.59)
QUALIFYING
Qualified: No. 1
FRIDAY: 3.799 sec., 338.77 mph - track records, (Session 1 of 5)
SATURDAY: 3.848m 336.23, (Session 2 of 5); 3.821, 337.83, (Session 3 of 5)
SUNDAY: 3.918, 331.45, (Session 4 of 5); 3.905, 329.83, (Session 5 of 5)
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ
W/L
2017 3rd 18 3 1 6
4 4 4 0 31-15
CAREER 210 25 23 34 66
60 30 4 296-181
Career best time, speed: 3.802 sec. (2017,Topeka); 338.85 mph (2017, Topeka)
INDY BY THE NUMBERS
A year ago at Indy: Qualified No. 1, won in championship round over Del Worsham
Career at Indy: Wins 1 (2016); Runner-ups 0; Poles 5 (2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)
TOP FUEL STANDINGS
2017 COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP
(Reset for six-race playoff; wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers in CAPS)
1. Steve Torrence (7) 2,100 ----
2. ANTRON BROWN (4) 2,080 -20
3. LEAH PRITCHETT (4) 2,070 -30
4. TONY SCHUMACHER (1) 2,060 -40
5. Doug Kalitta 2,050 -50
6. Brittany Force (1) 2,040 -60
7. Clay Millican (1) 2,030 -70
8. Terry McMillan 2,020 -80
9. Scott Palmer 2,010 -90
10. Shawn Langdon 2,000 -100
FINAL 2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO REGULAR SEASON
(Official after U.S. Nationals; 18 of 24 events: wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers
in CAPS)
1. Steve Torrence (6/7) 1,667
2. ANTRON BROWN (4) 1,599
3. LEAH PRITCHETT (4) 1,563
4. TONY SCHUMACHER (1) 1,220
5. Doug Kalitta 1,126
6. Brittany Force (1) 1,105
7. Clay Millican (1) 1,080
8. Terry McMillen 770
9. Scott Palmer 698
10. Shawn Langdon 647
FUNNY CAR STANDINGS
2017 COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP
1. RON CAPPS (6) 2,100 -----
2. Robert Hight (2) 2,080 -20
3. MATT HAGAN (3) 2,070 -30
4. JACK BECKMAN (2) 2,060 -40
5. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. 2,050 -50
6. Courtney Force 2,040 -60
7. John Force (1) 2,030 -70
8. J.R. Todd (2) 2,020 -80
9. Tim Wilkerson 2,010 -90
10. Cruz Pedregon 2,000 -100
FINAL 2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO REGULAR SEASON
1. RON CAPPS (6) 1,530
2. Robert Hight (2) 1,344
3. MATT HAGAN (3) 1,280
4. JACK BECKMAN (2) 1,275
5. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (1) 1,229
6. Courtney Force 1,072
7. John Force (1) 1,007
9. J.R. Todd (2) 959
8. Tim Wilkerson 902
10. Cruz Pedregon 730
DSR RAISES $70,000 FOR RILEY HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN'S RILEY KIDS
Don Schumacher Racing with a lot of help from their friends raised more than $70,000
for Riley Hospital for Children and the Riley Kids during the U.S. Nationals.
It started Friday with the 12th annual DSR Open House that raised $40,000 and DSR
partner Pennzoil added $10,000 to that total to take the amount to $50,000.
On Saturday, "Papa John" Schnatter, founder and chairman of Papa John's Pizza, and
DSR owner Don Schumacher presented donations of $10,000 each to Riley Kids.
Also on Saturday, Schnatter and Schumacher donated another $10,000 each to the Infinite
Hero Foundation program as part of this year's Charity Challenge series that pits
Schnatter and his cherished 1971 Camaro Z28 against Leah Pritchett in DSR's 2017
Dodge Challenger Drag Pak.
Unfortunately, Schnatter was under the weather and unable to race Pritchett during
the U.S. Nationals but that didn't stop Schumacher and him from fulfilling their
season-long commitment.
So far this year, the Charity Challenge has raised $80,000 for Infinite Hero and
$20,000 for Riley Kids with the last Charity Challenge race schedule for next month
near Dallas.
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional
NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by eight-time world champion
Tony Schumacher, the Matco Tools dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron
Brown and the Papa John's Pizza Top Fuel dragster driven by Leah Pritchett; and
in Funny Car, 2016 world champion Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger
R/T; 2011 and 2014 world champion Matt Hagan in the 80th anniversary Mopar/ Express
Lane Dodge Charger R/T, and 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite
Hero Foundation Dodge and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr., both
of which are funded by Doug and Terry Chandler.
DSR has won 314 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Wolf (wolfj@shoeracing.com), 702.524.1368
Leah Vaughn (vaughnl@shoeracing.com), 618.516.1988
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