Quantcast
Jump to content

  • Welcome to Auto Parts Forum

    Whether you are a veteran automotive parts guru or just someone looking for some quick auto parts advice, register today and start a new topic in our forum. Registration is free and you can even sign up with social network platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn. 

     

Capps Clinches Third NHRA Funny Car Championship, First for Ron Capps Motorsports


NAPA

Recommended Posts

In a dramatic final round to close out the 2022 season, defending NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps clinched his third series title, and the first for Ron Capps Motorsports, on Sunday at the NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Capps drove the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra to a runner-up finish to win his second consecutive championship crown, becoming the first Funny Car driver to win back-to-back championships in 20 years.

Auto Club NHRA Finals

Starting the weekend ranked second in the point standings behind Robert Hight, Capps overcame a 61-point deficit to lock up the 2022 NHRA Camping World Series Funny Car title. The Southern California native qualified No. 1 with a 3.837-second blast at 337.33 mph, collecting six bonus points along the way in qualifying. Those bonus points moved Capps to just under two rounds behind Hight going into eliminations. 

Auto Club NHRA Finals

Capps defeated Jeff Arend and Tim Wilkerson in the first two rounds of eliminations. When Hight lost to Bob Tasca III in the second round, the door was open for Capps to take the title. Capps then won his semifinal match with Tasca, passing Hight for the points lead. Capps secured the championship when he made a clean pass in the final, losing with a 3.85-second pass at 333.16 mph to Cruz Pedregon’s 3.839-second effort. 

Auto Club NHRA Finals

Capps started the 2022 season as a team owner, forming Ron Capps Motorsports after winning the 2021 championship with longtime team owner Don Schumacher and Don Schumacher Racing. Even with the added challenges that come with the owner/operator role, Capps was able to come out on top yet again. 

Auto Club NHRA Finals

“Anything you put your mind to you can do with great people around you,” said Capps, who’s just the seventh Funny Car driver to win as many as three titles. “I can’t even begin to say what it feels like right now. This is for the NAPA AutoCare people, all the NAPA AutoCare owners – 6,000 strong – and for everybody at home that puts on a Ron Capps and NAPA jersey watching on the couch on Fox Sports; Gearwrench; and of course, Toyota coming on board. But my family more than anything, we have taken on a role this year that’s been unbelievable. I’m sure you’ve seen me age quite a bit in the last year or so.”

Auto Club NHRA Finals

Capps and the NAPA team wasted no time putting together an impressive championship defense campaign as they made a run for the 2022 title. Continuing under the tuning guidance of crew chiefs Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli and John Medlen, the newly formed Ron Capps Motorsports launched with a statement-making debut when they raced to a runner-up finish from the pole position at the 2022 season-opening NHRA Winternationals in February. While they came up just short of capturing the victory, Capps and his NAPA team didn’t have to wait long before finding the winner’s circle.  

Auto Club NHRA Finals

At the fourth race of the season, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas, Capps went wire-to-wire, driving his machine to victory from the top of the Funny Car ladder to score his 69th professional triumph and win No. 1 for Ron Capps Motorsports. Later that month, Capps was thrilled to announce a partnership with Toyota, becoming the manufacturer’s third Funny Car driver. Capps took ownership of the brand-new Toyota GR Supra Funny Car body at the Charlotte race, and had the distinct honor of becoming Toyota’s first driver to power the new body style to victory when he picked up his second win of the season in Bristol, Tenn. before piloting the Supra to its first No. 1 qualifier spot in Norwalk, Ohio a few weeks later. 

Auto Club NHRA Finals

Among Capps’ other season highlights were his big win at the Indianapolis race where he ran the table, notching the No. 1 qualifier honors and winning the Pep Boys All-Star Call Out specialty race before powering his NAPA Supra to victory to win his first U.S. Nationals trophy in more than 25 attempts. Capps then went on to score a pair of Countdown victories in Charlotte and Ennis, Texas, which helped to place him solidly into the championship hunt heading into the final two races of the season, and set up an epic three-way battle between Capps, Hight, and fellow championship hopeful Matt Hagan. For their efforts, Capps and the NAPA team never dropped below third on the Funny Car leaderboard throughout the entirety of the season.

Auto Club NHRA Finals

While Capps assumed the points lead after his semifinal victory at the Finals, he wasn’t immediately declared the champion. The points lead over Hight was so slim that a points deduction in the final round, caused by crossing the centerline or a similar infraction, would jeopardize the championship. Still, Capps gave it his all in the final round, making his quickest pass of eliminations in the runner-up effort. 

Auto Club NHRA Finals

“I’m sure there were some upset people on the starting line – everybody thought I was going to shut off,” Capps said. “And I had planned on it if I didn’t see Cruz. I hugged the wall all the way down. I hope everybody appreciates that I ran it through the finish line because that was a hard decision to make. It was for the fans. I did the longest burnout I’ve done in a long time – for the fans. I can say honestly we didn’t go out there and shut it off.”

Auto Club NHRA Finals

While the NAPA team’s season-long battle for the crown culminated in the ultimate prize on Sunday, the day had a slight bittersweet feel to it, as it marked the end of co-crew chief John Medlen’s time on the NHRA tour as a full-time crew chief. 

Auto Club NHRA Finals

“To send Medlen off and to send one of these (Wallys) to his cabin in Georgia, it’s going to be phenomenal,” Capps said. “He means so much to us.”

Capps and team will continue under the leadership of Antonelli, who Capps knew for many years before the two started working together at the start of the 2021 season. 

Auto Club NHRA Finals

“We both grew up crew guys – I met him as a crew guy at John Force’s,” Capps said. “We feel like two kids playing marbles in the field. It’s phenomenal that we can go have fun and do this.”

Following their Sunday afternoon championship celebration, Capps and the NAPA team will be honored on Monday evening at the NHRA Awards Ceremony in Temecula, Calif.

Start / Finish: Qualified No. 1 / Defeated by Cruz Pedregon in the finals
Points Earned: 151
2022 NHRA Camping World Series Points Standing / Total: No. 1 / 2,682 pts.

NAPA Racing:

link hidden, please login to view
Ron Capps: 
link hidden, please login to view

Ron Capps Motorsports: 
link hidden, please login to view

The post

link hidden, please login to view
appeared first on
link hidden, please login to view
.

link hidden, please login to view

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By NAPA
      Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Josh Berry made his third start for Hendrick Motorsports as the fill-in driver of the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Chase Elliott continues to recover from a fractured tibia. It was Berry’s fifth career NASCAR Cup Series start. He rolled off the grid from the 21st position and took the opening stage to adapt to superspeedway-style racing in the Next Gen car, ending stage one in 28th. The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native improved to 11th in stage two. During the final stage of the race, Berry was battling inside the top 10 when he was involved in a multi-car incident on lap 190. The team made repairs and Berry was able to rebound for an 18th-place finish.
      Josh Berry qualified 21st for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. It was Berry’s third race filling in for the injured Chase Elliott as he continues to recover from a fractured tibia. Berry took the green flag for his first Cup Series superspeedway-style race and used the opening laps to get a good feel for his Chevrolet. The 32-year-old driver was scored in 20th when the first caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 11. Opting not to pit, Berry lined up in that same position after choosing the top lane and battled inside the top 25 once the race resumed. Berry got shuffled to the back of the main pack on lap 42, but was undeterred from the loss of track position as he made his way back up to 28th to close out the stage at lap 60.

      During the stage break, Berry reported to the team that the NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was a little free on entry, but the balance got better on the longer run. Interim crew chief Tom Gray called the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Berry took the green flag for stage two from the 26th position on lap 68 and continued his forward progress, settling in behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in the 21st position. Berry was running in 15th when teams began making scheduled green-flag pit stops on lap 127. The driver of the No. 9 stayed out until Gray called him in for a fuel-only stop on lap 138. Back out on the track, Berry made his way to as high as ninth before taking the green-and-white checkered flag in 11th to end stage two.

      The No. 9 team made a stop for four tires and fuel under the stage-ending caution, sending Berry back out to start the final stage in 17th. After beginning the stage in the top lane, he made a move to the bottom and used that to his advantage to work his way to 10th on lap 182. Berry continued to race inside the top 10 until a multi-car incident occurred on lap 190, collecting the No. 9 Chevrolet. The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular was able to drive the NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet away and brought it to pit road for repairs. The team worked hard over the course of two pit stops to fix up the front-end damage, and Berry lined up 25th for the lap 200 restart. Less than 10 laps later another incident brought out the yellow flag, giving the team another opportunity to work on the No. 9. Berry was scored in the 23rd position for the restart on lap 216 and reported early in the run that the NAPA Auto Parts Camaro felt better after the most recent repairs. He battled hard in the final stint of the race, climbing his way back inside the top 20 and ultimately scoring an 18th-place finish in the 260-lap event.

      “I thought it was a solid day for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy,” Berry said. “I feel like we definitely improved. We got up there in the top 10 and we were pretty solid before that wreck. After that, the car was just a little too damaged to be too aggressive. All-in-all, we finished the race, learned a lot and had some fun.”

      Start / Finish: 21 / 18
      Next Race: Sunday, March 26, Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
      How to Watch or Listen: FOX, PRN and SiriusXM
      NAPA: 
      link hidden, please login to viewChase Elliott:  link hidden, please login to viewHendrick Motorsports:  link hidden, please login to viewNo. 9 Team:  link hidden, please login to view The post
      link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
      link hidden, please login to view
    • By NAPA
      Tanner Reif came away with a 12th-place finish in the General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway on Friday night, as he made his first start for Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) in the No. 16
      link hidden, please login to view Chevrolet SS.
      He battled a vibration and handling issues in the race, which marked the season opener for the ARCA Menards Series West. The event, with 32 entries, also served as a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series.

      After starting 20th on the grid in Friday’s race, Reif steadily worked his way forward. He was up to 15th by Lap 11 and 13th on Lap 18. He was on the verge of breaking into the top 10 throughout the second half of the race, but could not gain additional ground and was 12th at the checkered flag.
      Reif expressed confidence that the team will have a fast NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet at the next ARCA West race at Irwindale Speedway, where he scored one of his two series wins as a rookie last year and where BMR has collected 17 wins.

      “The NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet ran hard and the crew worked as hard as they could, but we just had a couple of things we couldn’t work out on the car,” Reif said. “It had a vibration and was off pace. Just because we had some adversity tonight doesn’t mean it will continue. I think we can make up these points and win a couple of races this year.”
      Start / Finish: 20 / 12
      Next Race: Saturday, April 1, Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, Calif.
      How to Watch or Listen: Live on FloRacing and Tape-Delay CNBC (Sun., April 23, noon ET)
      Tanner Reif:
      link hidden, please login to view
      NAPA Racing:  link hidden, please login to view
      Bill McAnally Racing:  link hidden, please login to view The post
      link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
      link hidden, please login to view
    • eManualonline.com - Save 5% OFF on orders Over $50, Use Code Blaze. Ends 12/31/22.
    • By NAPA
      Defending NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps is leaving Gainesville Raceway with the confidence that he has one of the quickest cars in the class yet again after a second-round exit at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals. The driver of the link hidden, please login to view Toyota GR Supra laid down the second-quickest pass of the event in the first round of Sunday eliminations before going up in smoke in the quarterfinals. 

      Capps and tuner Dean “Guido” Antonelli made a statement in Saturday qualifying, where Capps recorded the third-quickest pass of Q3 before laying down a 3.874 E.T. at 333.25-mph in the final session to claim the first No. 1 qualifier award of his sophomore season as a team owner and driver. It was Capps’ seventh pole position since forming Ron Capps Motorsports. 

      “(In the) last session, Q4, to go to the top and get the yellow hat is something we take very seriously,” Capps said. “It’s important to us to be able to fend off such great competition to steal the pole.”

      Racing in front of a packed house on Sunday morning, Capps in his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra fired off a 3.855-second pass at 334.57-mph to defeat Terry Haddock and set what was then low E.T. of the event. In the second round, Capps left first against fellow Toyota driver Alexis DeJoria but lost traction just after leaving the starting line. 

      “We felt great about race day,” Capps said. “(The weather) warmed up before second round and when I got back from the run and it smoked the tires, I told Guido how spoiled I was because we haven’t done that in a long, long time. We made a small clutch adjustment that caused us to smoke the tires, but we’re very, very happy with everything and I can’t wait to get going to the West Coast.”

      Capps, a veteran of the NHRA nitro ranks, started the season with a new look and new body on his Toyota GR Supra Funny Car. There were personnel changes with the retirement of co-crew chief John Medlen after the Ron Capps Motorsports team won its first world championship as an organization at the end of the 2022 season. With one race under their belts, Capps and company are now ready to continue chasing Capps’ third consecutive world championship, and fourth overall, as the NHRA Camping World Series moves on to Phoenix.

      “This last off-season was one of my favorites,” Capps said. “We had an extra month, and as an owner, it gave us a little more time to get everything together. Starting the season off with the Gatornationals was something I think the fans really love, and now I’m super excited to head West and get that string of West Coast races started. Couldn’t be happier with the way we started our season here. Test session went great on Tuesday. We brought out our brand-new 2023 Toyota GR Supra Funny Car body, and everything went according to plan.”

      The early-season West Coast swing will begin March 24-26 at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.
      Start / Finish: Qualified No. 1 / Defeated by Alexis DeJoria in the quarterfinals
      Points Earned: 62
      2023 NHRA Camping World Series Points Standing / Total: No. 6 / 62 pts. (-52)
      Next Race: March 24-26, NHRA Arizona Nationals, Chandler, Ariz.
      How to Watch or Listen: FS1; 
      link hidden, please login to view NAPA Racing:
      link hidden, please login to viewRon Capps:  link hidden, please login to view
      Ron Capps Motorsports:  link hidden, please login to view The post
      link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
      link hidden, please login to view

×
  • Create New...