Capps Battles Through Difficult Midwest Nationals Weekend

Ron Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team battled through a challenging weekend at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, overcoming three consecutive traction-plagued qualifying attempts to make the field before falling to Austin Prock in the opening round of eliminations Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway. Capps leaves St. Louis sixth in the Countdown to the Championship standings with three races remaining in the six-race playoff.

Capps arrived at the third of six Countdown to the Championship events looking to capitalize at a track where he has enjoyed considerable success throughout his career. The four-time St. Louis champion is the winningest Funny Car driver in facility history, having earned his first Funny Car victory at the inaugural event in 1997 while driving for Don “The Snake” Prudhomme.

Prior to the start of qualifying, Capps was recognized on the starting line as one of “Gateway’s Greatest,” honoring his long history of success at the St. Louis-area facility.

Once qualifying began, Capps and crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli faced an immediate challenge. The NAPA Auto Care Funny Car lost traction early in Friday’s opening session, forcing Capps to lift. Tire smoke followed again in the second qualifying session, leaving the three-time world champion outside the 16-car field going into Saturday. The struggles continued in the third session, when Capps smoked the tires immediately after the launch and shut the car off. With one qualifying opportunity remaining, Capps sat No. 18 and faced the pressure of needing a clean run to earn his place in Sunday’s field. In the final qualifying session, Capps kept the car hooked up and charged straight down the groove to a 3.994-second pass at 327.35 mph. The run moved him safely into the field, ultimately placing him No. 13 and setting up a first-round meeting with Prock.

The NAPA Auto Care team stepped up considerably in eliminations. Capps left the starting line with a .063-second reaction time and powered to his quickest run of the weekend, a 3.937-second pass at 322.11 mph. Prock, however, posted a 3.872-second effort to advance.

“This St. Louis event always has a say in the championship, and it’s been such a great track for me personally and our team in the past,” Capps said. “With NAPA Auto Parts being a sponsor and McKay NAPA Auto Parts being such a big part of this area, we really felt great coming in here, especially coming off the last two races. We had one of those weekends where we just didn’t qualify well, and the drama of getting into the field on the last run showed me the moxie that our team has continued to have. Having the pressure of the championship and all that was huge and the guys never wavered. That just reminded me how good our team is. Losing first round was a punch in the gut. We just need to go win the next three races.”

The weekend also marked another prominent event for Capps’ longtime partner NAPA Auto Parts, which served as title sponsor of the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Capps’ NAPA Auto Care Funny Car carried additional OE TurboPower branding throughout the weekend as part of a NAPA supplier partnership.

Through 17 races this season, Capps has three victories, one runner-up finish and four No. 1 qualifying positions. The next stop in the Countdown is the Stampede of Speed featuring the NHRA Texas FallNationals, Oct. 16-18, at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.

Start / Finish: No. 13 / def. in first round
Points Standing / Total: No. 6 / 2,240 pts. (-162)

Next Race: October 16-18, NHRA Texas FallNationals
How to Watch or Listen: FS1, NHRA.TV

NAPA Racing:@NAPARacing
Ron Capps: @RonCapps28
Ron Capps Motorsports: @TeamRonCapps