Seattle: Ron Capps Friday summary

KENT, Wash. (July 23, 2004) - After struggling during qualifying one week ago in Denver, 14-time NHRA winner Ron Capps green his green Skoal RacingSM crew rebounded to grab the No. 7 qualifying spot Friday at Pacific Raceways.

Capps powered his Roland Leong-tuned Chevy to a performance of 5.083 seconds at 298.98 mph to claim the No. 7 spot under burning temperatures in the Pacific Northwest. In his opening run of the weekend, the two-time Pacific Raceways winner recorded a run of 5.316 at 276.07 to begin qualifying.

"Today was a big change for a lot of crew chiefs and with the hot weather, it was tough to adapt," Capps said. "Low qualifier after the first session was 5.11 seconds, so you can see how tough the conditions are. We're sneaking up on the setup, and anytime you can run better than the previous run is an accomplishment. It's going to be a weekend where it's more attrition and getting through the day, not just low. E.T. of each round.

"You can tell the cars have definitely slowed down. It's hard to tell now because the temperature is pretty high. We probably won't know until we get to Sonoma where the temperatures will be a little cooler. It's very warm for what Seattle usually is. I love this place though. It could be 130 degrees out and I'd still love coming here."

Capps, the only driver to win at Pacific Raceways in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories, aims to move up in the Funny Car order when professional qualifying continues at noon and 3:30 p.m. (PT) on Saturday afternoon.

-www.snakeracing.com