Topeka: Ron Capps final report

CAPPS MOVES INTO THIRD AFTER TOPEKA SEMIFINAL FINISH

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 23, 2010) - Ron Capps moved up to third in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings with his semifinal finish today at the 22nd annual NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

Racing the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing and with crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch by his side, Capps defeated Cruz Pedregon and Bob Tasca III en route to a semifinal matchup, with lane choice, against Robert Hight. Under an overcast sky and 80-degree temperatures, Capps and Hight launched with identical reaction times of .077 (.000 is perfect), but Hight snatched the victory with a round-quick 4.122-second elapsed time at 304.87 mph to Capps' losing 4.155/301.47.

"It was a great day," said Capps, who had qualified No. 5 for the event to Hight's No. 1. "Obviously, (Hight's crew chief) Jimmy Prock has a car with a great baseline and has proved it in the last few races (two wins in a row); they're running really well. To still be getting used to a new setup like Ace is right now and to run with those guys like we did, I'm excited for Ace and I'm excited for the NAPA team because we have a good hot rod.

"To get lane choice over those guys going into that round was big. This is such an even race track and a great race track. Today it was the best race track we've seen in a long time.

"I wish that was the final round because we knew that was going to be a big race. It's encouraging going to Chicago and to this whole swing of races coming up (seven races in the next nine weeks).

"Points aren't as important as they used to be several years ago, but just to move up a little bit is big for us."

Next up is the 13th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., June 4-6.

-source: dsr