RON CAPPS HEADS INTO GAINESVILLE

LOOKING FOR MORE FLORIDA SUCCESS

Ron Capps, a two-time event winner, looks to build on the momentum started last month in the season’s opening round at this weekend’s 42nd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway here.

The 45-year-old driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing put together two solid runs before going out in the semifinal round of the NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline to eventual race winner Robert Hight, despite posting his best time of the race.

“The car is still very safe,” said the veteran Southern California driver.  “What I mean by that is there is still a lot left in it to go even quicker and faster. John [Medlen, crew chief] keeps getting more and more performance from the NAPA AUTO PARTS car; it was great to see him step up and improve so much from the second round to the third.”

Capps posted a 4.079-second/307.16 mile-per-hour pass in round three of the Winternationals (against Hight’s 4.070), improving upon his 4.134/306.67 and  4.117/306.40 from the first two elimination rounds in the inaugural race of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.

“I love getting up Sunday mornings and going racing,” he said.  “I just know it is going to be fun all season, including this coming weekend in Gainesville. This is a track I love – I’ve won here twice [2006 and 2007, with another final round appearance in 2000] and again look to put the NAPA AUTO PARTS car into a position of success.

There will be further challenges in Gainesville, the traditional East Coast opening event for the season.

“We have to be smart because you never know what the conditions will be like,” he said. “It could be cool and humid, it could be sunny and hot; you just never know, which really puts pressure on crew chiefs.

“And I have nothing but confidence in John and his ability to adjust. He showed it in Pomona when we had unusually cold and wet weather during qualifying, even losing a day to rain, and then no real data basis for Sunday’s race. Obviously, considering the numbers we produced, John met the challenge really well, especially in the first round.”

Capps comes into the weekend in fourth place of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship competition, 45 points behind Hight, the leader.