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Capps Finishes Third in Electrifying Four-Wide Nationals Final in Las Vegas
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 link hidden, please login to view team qualified ninth for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Elliott finished stage one in 10th and followed that up with an 11th-place result in stage two. The 28-year-old driver lined up fourth for an overtime restart in the final stage, driving to a third-place finish. It was Elliott’s second consecutive top-five result and his fifth top-five in the last six Cup Series races. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion ranks third in the points standings, just 55 markers behind the leader. Chase Elliott started ninth in Sunday’s rain-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway and was scored in the 14th position on lap 10 when he reported that his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was tight. As the run went on, he radioed that his Chevy’s handling was coming to him. Elliott was in 15th when green-flag pit stops started near lap 30. Crew chief Alan Gustafson called the driver of the No. 9 to pit road on lap 33 for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. He was back inside the top 15 once the field cycled through pit stops. By lap 62, he found his way to 10th where he remained to end stage one on lap 80.
After pitting for four tires and fuel during the stage break, Elliott took the green flag for stage two from the ninth position on lap 89. A chaotic restart shuffled the 28-year-old driver back to 15th, but as the run went on, he made up ground and climbed to 12th by lap 113. As green-flag pit stops were drawing near, Gustafson asked Elliott for feedback on the NAPA Chevrolet. After receiving positive comments from his driver, Gustafson radioed for Elliott to visit pit road on lap 119 for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. Once the pit cycle was complete, Elliott was back up to 12th and continued to close in on the cars ahead of him. By lap 143, he re-entered the top 10. He battled hard to remain in the 10th position, but another car just barely beat him to the line to finish stage two, relegating Elliott to 11th.
Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott reported that he really liked his NAPA Chevy’s balance. He brought the No. 9 Chevrolet to the attention of his pit crew for fuel and four fresh tires. A fast stop gained Elliott three spots on pit road. He started the final stage from the eighth position on lap 173. The early portion of the stage was plagued with cautions, with Elliott and the No. 9 team opting not to pit during the first few yellow flags. When the caution came out again on lap 198, Elliott pitted from the ninth position for four tires and fuel. Varying pit strategies put Elliott in the 20th position as the field lined up for the choose cone. He took the outside lane for the restart on lap 205 and powered his way back inside the top 15 on lap 208. Elliott continued his climb forward, reaching 10th less than 10 laps later. As the long green-flag run went on, he gained two more positions. Elliott was in eighth after a caution came out on lap 261, which sent the race into overtime. When pit road opened, Gustafson called Elliott in for right-side tires and fuel. Elliott was the fourth car off pit road, with the top nine cars all taking two tires. The 2020 Cup Series champion lined up on the outside of the second row for the overtime restart. He battled intensely in the final two laps to take the checkered flag in the third position.
The finish was Elliott’s second consecutive top-five finish and his fifth top-five in the last six Cup Series races. The Hendrick Motorsports driver leaves Kansas Speedway third in the Cup Series points standings, just 55 markers behind the leader.
Start / Finish: 9 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 412 pts. (-55)
Next Race: Sunday, May 12, Darlington Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN or SiriusXM
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By AutoZone
MEMPHIS, Tenn. , April 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO), the leading retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the Americas , will release results for its third quarter ended Saturday, May 4, 2024 , before market open on Tuesday, May 21, 2024
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By NAPA
Ron Capps and his
link hidden, please login to view Toyota GR Supra looked strong in qualifying at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, but the three-time Funny Car world champion didn’t have the Sunday eliminations results he was looking for after a final-round finish at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals two weeks ago. The No. 5 qualifier, Capps struggled to find traction on the starting line Sunday afternoon, leading to a first-round exit. Crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli tuned Capps to the quickest and fastest pass of Friday’s first qualifying session, a 3.877 E.T. at 335.40 MPH, to earn three bonus points. Capps had traction issues in the second session, but he came back on Saturday and ran a pair of 3-second passes, a 3.994 E.T. and a 3.901 E.T., to qualify fifth.
In Sunday’s first round of eliminations, Capps lined up against No. 4 qualifier Alexis DeJoria, No. 12 qualifier J.R. Todd, and No. 13 qualifier Buddy Hull to form the Funny Car Marquee Matchup. Capps drove into tire smoke after smashing the throttle pedal in his NAPA Auto Care machine
and wasn’t able to recover. He noted the team is still figuring out the characteristics of the new car they brought out earlier this month.
“Man, these weekends are tough,” said Capps, a four-time winner at zMAX. “I was so excited for Guido. We unloaded and went to No. 1 qualifier. It shows the hard work that our NAPA Auto Care team did testing Monday after Vegas. I’ve talked time and time again about how we have
to get ahead of the competition. Guido and our team could easily go off of what we ran last year, and we would probably win races and have a shot at a championship, but we’re looking to be better and that’s the sort of thing I love about this team.”
Capps, who’s in his third year as a driver and team owner, pointed out the off-track highlights of an otherwise challenging weekend.
“Obviously, Vegas was such a great race Friday through Sunday, and then you get to Charlotte and all the NASCAR fans came out and we almost sold the place out every day,” Capps said. “It was just an incredible crowd, and we love doing [these Four-Wide races]. We love especially doing it earlier in the year. We see the same fans when we come back in the Countdown for the second race of the playoffs.
“Had a blast all weekend with our Toyota crossover event, and then having my NAPA teammate, Christian Eckes, come hang out with us on Friday, which was a lot of fun,” Capps continued. “I was hoping to take the Wally to NAPA headquarters on Tuesday, but I’m looking forward to hanging out with my NAPA teammates, Brad Sweet, Chase Elliott, and Christian Eckes. It’s a fun event we do every year at headquarters, and then we’ll focus on going to Chicago.”
The Ron Capps Motorsports Funny Car team will have a few weeks away from the track before the next stop on the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule, the Route 66 Nationals, May 17-19, at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., outside Chicago.
Start / Finish: No. 5 / def. in first round
Points Standing / Total: No. 6 / 274 pts. (-125)
Next Race: May 17 – 19, Joliet, Ill., Route 66 NHRA Nationals
How to Watch or Listen: FS1,
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By NAPA
Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified third for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway The 28-year-old driver finished stage one in the third position and followed that up with a fourth-place result in stage two Elliott took the lead for the first time of the race in the final stage, pacing the field for a total of 64 laps After an overtime finish, Elliott ultimately took the checkered flag in the third position – part of a 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports during the organization’s 40th anniversary weekend at Martinsville The 2020 premier series champion is now sixth in the Cup Series points standings, only 51 points behind the leader Chase Elliott and the No. 9 UniFirst team qualified third for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway during a special 40th anniversary weekend for Hendrick Motorsports. Driving the ruby red No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Elliott held steady inside the top five throughout the entirety of the caution-free first stage. He took the green-and-white checkered flag in the third position at lap 80, collecting eight valuable stage points in the process.
During the stage break, the 28-year-old driver reported that his UniFirst Chevrolet fired off tighter than he anticipated. To help, the team made an air-pressure adjustment during its pit stop for four tires and fuel. He lined up fourth to start the second stage and continued to run inside the top five. Elliott was scored in the fifth position when the caution came out on lap 113. He relayed to crew chief Alan Gustafson that his Chevrolet was a little better than the last run. The team opted not to pit, and Elliott restarted from the fifth spot on lap 119. He remained there until he made the pass for fourth with three laps left in stage two. That’s where the Dawsonville, Georgia, native would finish the second stage, collecting an additional seven stage points.
Under the stage-ending caution, Elliott relayed that his UniFirst Chevrolet was tighter to start that run. A fast stop for four tires and fuel gained the driver of the No. 9 two spots on pit road, allowing Elliott to fire off for the final stage from the front row. Taking the green flag in second on lap 193, the 2020 Cup Series champion powered to the lead and remained there through the lap-204 caution. Elliott continued to hold point for several laps until the No. 11 caught up to him. The two battled side-by-side until Elliott settled into the second position on lap 258. He held steady in the runner-up spot until green-flag pit stops got under way. After pitting for four tires and fuel on lap 298, Elliott worked his way by the No. 11 as green-flag stops continued, putting himself in position to assume the lead once the field cycled through pit stops. However, Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron passed Elliott prior to pit stops concluding. Byron eventually took over the top spot with Elliott not far behind in second. An incident on the track with less than five laps remaining brought out the yellow flag and sent the race into overtime. Elliott lined up beside Byron for the final restart of the race. He gave it his all in the final two laps, ultimately taking the checkered flag in the third position – Elliott’s second consecutive top-five finish.
Elliott’s result was also part of a 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports. Byron won the race with Kyle Larson finishing second. Following the third-place finish, Elliott and the No. 9 team are sixth in the Cup Series points standings, just 51 markers behind the leader.
“Congrats to William (Byron) and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Rick and Linda (Hendrick), Jeff (Gordon), Jeff (Andrews), Chad (Knaus) and all the people that put this together for us,” Elliott said. “They have an unbelievable program and I think we are all proud to call it home. It was awesome hosting over 1,000 people from Hendrick today – employees and their families. Glad one of us could get it done. Obviously, I wish we could have got it done, selfishly, like anybody would. But it is nice to have a good couple of solid weeks and be in contention for a win. We haven’t been in contention to win one for a while, so (it was) kind of nice to get to that last restart when it actually mattered. So, enjoyed that aspect and certainly hungry for more.”
Start / Finish: 3 / 3
Points Standing / Total: 6th / 258 pts. (-51)
Next Race: Sunday, April 14, Texas Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN or SiriusXM
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By NAPA
As he celebrated 30 years as a professional drag racer, Funny Car superstar Ron Capps was looking forward to a long race day on Sunday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park. The three-time world champion entered eliminations in the No. 11 position on the ladder but made an early exit against Blake Alexander in the first round of competition.
Aboard his brand-new link hidden, please login to view Toyota GR Supra, Capps battled to gain a favorable spot on the ladder among a stacked Funny Car field. Typically, teams at this elite level within the sport will go through several test sessions with a new car before throwing it into the intensity of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competition, so Capps, crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli, and the Ron Capps Motorsports team knew that they would experience some trial and error. His first qualifying effort went up in a puff of smoke, but his second attempt showed more promise as he powered to the finish line with a run of 4.020 seconds at 310.34 MPH. A loss of traction in the third qualifying round forced Capps to shut off early, marking the first time in 20 events for him to begin eliminations from the bottom half of the field.
“Building into the race we had the excitement of the 30 years. Having fans come up throughout the weekend and saying, ‘Happy Anniversary’ and things like that, it was fun,” began Capps as he recalled his weekend. “I always try to keep our NAPA fans updated as much as we can about what goes on with our team. We brought out a new chassis. It’s something we built in the off-season. Rather than testing first, we decided to do it in race conditions and that’s hard to do. But it reminds me a lot of our NAPA Auto Care people because I love this process of trying to take something and be the best with something so new. It’s like pulling your car into an AutoCare Center, you have a dash light blinking and technicians can attack that problem, and they don’t just snap their fingers and fix it. It’s a process, especially with today’s cars, as they try to figure out what the problem is. I love watching my NAPA Auto Care guys do the same thing. The car didn’t go down the track in the first run and to watch how many hours they put in trying to figure things out, it was really impressive.”
As Capps lined up against No. 6 qualifier Alexander, hopes were high as he has defeated Alexander seven out of the eight times they’ve faced each other in the first round of eliminations. Despite getting the starting line advantage, Capps ultimately came up short. Both cars lost traction early in the race resulting in a bit of a pedal fest to the stripe, but Alexander was able to get there first.
“There’s an upside and a downside to bringing a new chassis out at a race. It’s a gutsy move. But a couple of races down the road, I know that we are going to be much better because of it. And that’s also part of me having the utmost confidence in Guido and our NAPA Auto Care team. We didn’t qualify in the top half of the field, so we didn’t have lane choice. As we sat in the staging lanes, seeing dragsters winning only in the left lane made me pretty nervous and sure enough we got put in the right lane. That’s part of not qualifying in the top half. We still felt like we could beat them and that’s the confidence we had going up there. But it just wouldn’t hold, and we lost traction. I feel like I could have done a better job pedaling it. I should win those races, but we didn’t. But I feel like we’re going to have a great car for Vegas.”
Capps is currently fifth in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series points as he heads to the next stop on the tour, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 12-14, where he is a six time winner at the facility.
Start / Finish: No. 11 / def. in first round
Points Standing / Total: No. 5 / 170 pts.
Next Race: April 12 – 14, Las Vegas, NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
How to Watch or Listen: FS1,
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