Joliet: Ron Capps Saturday summary

JOLIET, Ill. (May 22, 2004) - Ron Capps, one of 13 NHRA drivers to have earned victories in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories, drove his green Skoal RacingSM Chevy Monte Carlo to the No. 15 qualifying position Saturday at Route 66 Raceway.

Capps, who entered Saturday's only qualifying session not in the field, stepped up, powering his green Chevy flopper to a weekend-best performance of 4.870 seconds at 323.12 mph to claim the No. 15 qualifying spot. Prior to that run, Capps best elapsed time of the weekend was 4.986 seconds. The fourth and final Funny Car qualifying session was canceled as a result of thunderstorms.

"The car shook really hard when it left the line," Capps said. "I pedaled the car and it pinned me back like I just left the starting line again. It ran so hard to the finish line and I was real happy to see that 4.870 E.T. With the rain and all, it's great that we got in the show."

Capps will battle veteran Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore in the first round of Funny Car eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday. Capps has a 9-14 career record versus Bazemore. It marks the second straight week the duo will meet in the first round of eliminations.

-sr-