Joliet: Ron Capps preview

CAPPS TO RACE NAPA BATTERIES DODGE IN CHICAGO

CARLSBAD, Calif. (June 2, 2010) - Ron Capps will race the NAPA Batteries Dodge Charger Funny Car in this weekend's 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., as part of a month-long NAPA AUTO PARTS promotion. He'll be aiming for his first victory of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Consumers can visit a NAPA AUTO PARTS store or a NAPA AutoCare Center in June and get the following mail-in rebates: $20 rebate on the NAPA Optima Heavy-Duty batteries, $15 rebate on NAPA Legend 84-month batteries and $10 rebate on all NAPA LEGEND 75-month batteries.

"NAPA always has great promotions," said Capps, "so I hope our fans take advantage of these offers then come out to Route 66 Raceway to root for us this weekend.

"This is the start of four races in a row, and then we run into the three-race, back-to-back Western Swing, and before we can blink we'll be at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend," added Capps, who last won at Route 66 in 2005. "So, this is a crucial part of the season to make sure we stay in the top 10 in order to fight for a championship in the Countdown to 1 playoffs in the final six events of the year.

"Route 66 Raceway has proven in the past that it can hold national records, fast speeds and great elapsed times, and when they changed the date from the fall to June, the warm weather became a factor.

"One great thing about the track is that the crew chiefs can pretty much count on it being as good as it's going to get for the weather conditions. So that takes a little bit of a variable out.

"And, coming from Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.), where I think we saw only one car in the nitro classes smoke the tires on Sunday, we know how a track can be prepared. Heartland Park and the NHRA did a great job.

"I believe everyone learned something in Topeka. And that excites us as drivers, because we know we're going to be in the heat, we know we're going to a track that in the past held some great ETs, and we know the crew chiefs can throw a little more at it. It's reassuring to know that the crew chiefs won't have to deal with bumps and other aspects of a track surface that would cause them to have to slow the cars down for certain spots on the track.

"On top of that, the Chicago-area race is really big because our team owner Don Schumacher lives there, there's always a lot of customers of Schumacher Electric and other sponsors at the event, as well as a lot of local fans of DSR. And, although it's not always said, there's a little bit of extra pressure on the team to hand the trophy over to Don in the winner's circle that he could literally drive over to his house and put on the mantle.

"And that's something you always want to do as a driver."

-source: dsr