Pomona: Ron Capps Thursday summary

Capps Qualifies Skoal Racing Green Chevy in 10th Spot on Thursday

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2004) -- Ron Capps started the 2004 NHRA season in spectacular fashion when he drove his Don Prudhomme-owned Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to the No. 10 position with an effort of 5.136 seconds at 228.04 mph.

Capps, who qualified No. 1 at the historic event in 1999, was on a solid pass until he suffered a fiery explosion in his green Skoal Racing Funny Car. Capps was uninjured and the new Monte Carlo body suffered no damage.

"It's kind of a bummer that happened on the first run with the new Monte Carlo body," Capps said. "It was running great. (Tim) Wilkerson was outside my window and we were a tad bit ahead of him and there was really no sign of anything going on. Then I saw a flash of flame and then it lit up real big.

"After that, my focus was getting the car stopped. The car kept going towards the guard wall. This new mold is a lot stronger than in years past and as hot as it got, it didn't ruin the body at all. We're looking to go out tomorrow and make a better pass."

Capps aims to improve on Thursday's effort when qualifying resumes on Friday at 3 p.m. The Skoal Racing Funny Cars also will have two qualifying attempts on Saturday afternoon.

The K&N Filters Winternationals will be televised on ESPN2. On Saturday, Feb. 21, ESPN2 will broadcast two hours of qualifying highlights at 10 p.m. (ET), and on Sunday, Feb. 22, they will show two hours of final eliminations at 10 p.m. (ET).

-www.snakeracing.com