Sonoma: Ron Capps Saturday summary

SONOMA, Calif. (July 31, 2004) - Ron Capps drove his green Skoal RacingSM Chevy Monte Carlo Funny Car to the No. 11 qualifying spot Saturday at Infineon Raceway after racing to a weekend-best performance of 4.972 seconds at 306.26 mph.

Capps used a Roland Leong tune-up to post the 4.972, 306.26 effort on his fourth and final qualifying run at the multi-purpose racing facility. Capps' Don Prudhomme-owned flopper overpowered the track on Saturday's first qualifying pass and the 14-time NHRA winner coasted to a run of 6.889 at 128.02.

"The track wouldn't hold anything in the first session," Capps said. "The air is pretty good, but the sun was on the track and that made it tough for the crew chiefs. Everyone calmed it down for the second session and we all ran better on the last pass. The 4.972 was pretty stout and it ran well over 300 mph, and when you can do that with the sun on the track, that's a great run. Roland (Leong) and the Skoal Racing guys are doing a terrific job."

For the second consecutive week, Capps will face veteran driver Whit Bazemore in the opening round of Funny Car eliminations. Bazemore qualified sixth. Capps is 9-16 in his career against Bazemore.

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