Capps ready for another winning streak after getting Route 66 title before Western Swing opens with Mopar Mile-High Nationals

Published July 20, 2017

All DSR Teams Want To Sweep the Western Swing, Who Will Make it happen?

Denver – Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Funny Car team led by crew chief Rahn Tobler started out the second half of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season perfectly 10 days ago near Chicago.

But the veteran team understands that it remains a long row to hoe if the Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T Powered by Pennzoil is to be contending for another world championship at the November season-finale in 11 events.

When Capps slipped past DSR teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. in Terry Chandler’s Make-A-Wish Dodge at Route 66 Raceway on July 9 it marked his team’s sixth event title of the year and the most NHRA Wally Trophies he has won in one season. And 11 races remain beginning with this weekend’s Mopar Mile-High Nationals near Denver.

He’ll begin qualifying Friday evening with the points lead and 186 ahead of teammate Matt Hagan.

The race at Bandimere Speedway in mile-high altitude carved into a mountainside opens the annual three-week Western Swing that follows with a trip outside San Francisco in the wine country of Sonoma County and concludes with a jaunt up the coast to Seattle.

“It’s the one race where you have extreme conditions with the altitude, and it can be hot,” he said of Bandimere where he won in 2009 and was runner-up twice (1998, 2007). “We’ve lost some close races there, but I always feel we have a shot when Tobler is our crew chief.

“Every driver will tell you they want to sweep the Western Swing once in their career,” he said, adding only seven drivers have accomplished that including once in Funny Car when John Force did it in 1994.

“The conditions are so diverse on the Swing: high altitude and hot in Denver, sea level at Sonoma and then up to Seattle with all those trees that produce so much oxygen,” said Capps, who enters Denver with a 35-7 record in eliminations and eight final-round appearances.

His hottest streak last year was in June when he won three of four events. He got an earlier start this season when he won both races in May and then both in June. It was the first time in his 22-year career that he won three straight titles and then added a fourth.

“It’s been a remarkable season so far thanks to Tobler, Hop (assistant Eric Lane), the NAPA AutoCare Centers crew and everyone back at the fab and machine shops,” Capps said. “One of the great things about Tobler is that he always is looking ahead and not behind regardless of how we ran.”

It’s been an especially busy year for Capps with added responsibilities as the reigning world champion, among the activities was attending the July 12 ESPN ESPY awards where he was nominated for the Best Driver Award, which went to Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton.

“Man, that night was so cool. Just being nominated was a surprise and getting to be around the best athletes in the world is a lifetime experience.”

The native of San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California left his home near San Diego early last week with his family for vacation time with family and friends.

After a brief respite of camping, he’ll fly to Denver this week for the 38th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals before flying back to rejoin his family on vacation and then drive the motorhome north for the following week’s race at his home track of Sonoma Raceway. After the second stop on the annual three-week Swing, he’ll return his family to Carlsbad, Calif., then fly to Seattle for the 16th race in the 24-race season.

The Mile-High Nationals kicks off 6 p.m. (MT) Thursday with the annual Mopar Block Party at Golden, Colo., when downtown is closed for a free car show, Mopar and other displays, food vendors, live music and autograph session from 6:45-7:45 featuring Capps and DSR’s other Mopar drivers.

Unexpected water workout helps Top Fuel driver Pritchett prepare for busy week near Denver and NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals

– Leah Pritchett faces one of her busiest weeks of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season this week in the Denver area, and she knows the demands of racing in mile-high altitude can be taxing after debuting in a Top fuel dragster at Bandimere Speedway a year ago.

The driver of the Papa John’s Pizza/Mopar dragster for Don Schumacher Racing is a workout-aholic.

Her passion for wake surfing is one means of training when weather allows in Indiana, but she got a little bit more than she planned on Sunday night.

“We went about a mile out into the lake where the water was like glass for better surfing,” said Pritchett, who is No. 2 in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series points after 13 of 24 events. “We were so focused on surfing that we forgot to keep an eye on the gas gauge.”

Needless to say, their engine sputtered and became silent leaving them drifting far from shore.

“Man, we pushed and pulled the boat for about an hour in the dark. My arms and legs got a great workout.

“I know my Papa John’s crew won’t let me run out of nitro this weekend at Bandimere.”

Pritchett, who has won three titles this year with the team led by crew chief Todd Okuhara and assistant Joe Barlam, faces one of her busiest racing weekends of the season at the track near Denver as it marks the 80th Anniversary of Mopar, which will be featured on her dragster.

“I stepped up my training for Bandimere and that was before I get my unplanned workout on the lake,” said the 29-year-old native of Southern California where she graduated from Cal State San Bernardino with majors in marketing and communications.

“We have a lot of celebrating planned with Mopar and Pennzoil on the mountain and I guarantee I won’t run out of breath – or nitro – so I can blowout those 80 candles.”

Pritchett flew to Denver early Wednesday to deliver some Papa John’s Pizza with Pennzoil representatives to Christopher’s Dodge in Golden, Colo., the hamlet 9 miles north of Bandimere where she will join five other DSR Mopar drivers for the annual Mopar Block Party that is free to all fans.

Before the Mopar Block Party begins at 6 p.m. with an autograph sessions beginning at around 6:30 and visits to the Papa John’s and Pennzoil displays on the main drag in Golden, she will have participated at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals press conference at Elway’s Cherry Creek in Denver where DSR and Mopar teammate Matt Hagan’s special 2017 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car will be unveiled along with both drivers’ firesuits for the race.

Bright and early Friday morning at 7:30 a.m., Pritchett and Hagan will be at the Shell station at 5350 Wadsworth Bypass (Wadsworth & 62nd Avenue) in Arvada, Colo., for a two-hour radio remote on” Your Morning Show with Willie B” on KBPI at 106.7 FM and KBPI.iheart.com.

On Saturday, Pritchett and other DSR drivers will be at Bandimere in DSR’s Army/NAPA hospitality tent on pit road for the annual Donuts at Willie B’s Garage live radio show, which begins at 9 a.m. (MT) and is free to the public. She and Hagan also will match-race Dodge Demons throughout the day.

The Mopar Mile-High Nationals kicks off the annual three-week Western Swing that follows Denver with races at Sonoma, Calif., near San Francisco and concludes near Seattle.

Beckman hopes Chandler’s Infinite Hero Dodge can continue success it enjoyed on June Swing into Western Swing that begins near Denver

– During the four-race June Swing in June, Jack Beckman and Terry Chandler’s Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team claimed two of the titles. As the NHRA heads west, the team hopes to transition their success into the three-week Western Swing.

The annual Western Swing kicks off at this weekend’s 38th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals near Denver with races following at Sonoma, Calif., and near Seattle.

“I get asked a lot from friends, from fans and they say, ‘Hey, listen. We want to pick a race to go to that we’ve never been to, do you have any recommendations?’ And Denver is always right at the top of my list,” Beckman said.

“You’re not going to see record-breaking elapsed times you see at the sea level tracks, but it doesn’t matter. It’s so completely unique in every aspect of the facility. From the fact that it’s carved into the side of the mountain, from the point that it’s a mile above sea level, meaning that none of our tune-up data from the 20 other tracks seems to apply there, and the fact that it’s family-owned and has been there for five decades.

“Every single aspect of that facility is perfect for drivers and a nightmare for crew chiefs. They have no other data to apply to that facility except from past years racing there. But for the fans and the drivers, it’s a spectacle that no other facility can offer.”

The goal of every NHRA team is to “sweep the Swing,” by winning all three of the races in the three-race series and Beckman and the Infinite Hero Dodge nearly did it two years ago.

The team won at Denver then later won in Sonoma, Calif., two years ago before coming up short in Seattle.

“After the June Swing, which is four in a row, this is a piece of cake. For our crew members, who are driving the rigs from race to race, the added marathon element of the Western Swing is the number of miles they have to cover between races and the terrain that they’re going over.

“During the June Swing, the tracks are closer in proximity and it’s a bit of a friendlier tow. It’s really tough on the crew guys to have to hustle this stuff up and down the highway, service it, race it, then repeat. From a driver’s standpoint, I can’t wait.”

Johnson looks forward to Mopar Mile-High Nationals as NHRA kicks off three-race Western Swing at premier Bandimere Speedway

– After a weekend off from racing, the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series kicks off the annual three-week Western Swing with the 38th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals, and Tommy Johnson Jr. is ready to race Terry Chandler’s Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car on the mountainside of Bandimere Speedway near Denver.

“Denver can be a struggle,” Johnson said of the track’s mile-high altitude. “There are so many changes that have to be made to the car for this once-a-year event. I love the challenge of it.”

Unlike other tracks on the NHRA circuit, not are higher in the thinner air than Bandimere Speedway that sits at 5,860 feet.

“It’s just a beautiful facility and I’ve always enjoyed racing there. I’ve raced there for many, many years. The Bandimere family is a great family and they always put on such a great event. I go into the Denver race with a positive attitude. A lot of people dread going to Denver but I look forward to it. It’s one of the races that’s very unique and offers a different opportunity for success there.”

The 2017 season has been very successful for Don Schumacher Racing, especially its Funny Car program.

DSR’s Dodge Funny Cars have won 12 of 13 this season including Johnson’s win at Las Vegas.

“Being involved with Mopar starting way back in the ’90s with the Top Fuel car, and having such a long history with Mopar, it would mean a tremendous amount to win the Mopar Mile-High Nationals this year,” Johnson said.

“Especially with the way all of our Dodge Chargers have been running this year in Funny Car – winning 12 of 13 events. There’s no reason to stop now and I think the crown at Denver is the royal jewel for Mopar and Dodge to be able to win the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.”

Western Swing kicks off in a big way for two-time Funny Car champion Hagan, who will unveil a new scheme Thursday in Denver

– This weekend’s Mopar Mile-High Nationals is one of the most unique events on the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.

And for Mopar-backed driver and two-time Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan, it is one of the busiest.

Hagan, the driver of Don Schumacher Racing’s Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, will unveil a new paint scheme Thursday at the event press conference that he will race in this weekend’s Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

“I’m excited for the fans to see our new look,” he said. “There’s a lot going on this weekend, but it’s all good. I’ve had a nice little break the past week and I’m ready to get back out there and get going.”

Thursday night is the annual Mopar Block Party in downtown Golden, Colo., that is free to the public and features an autograph session, live music, special display vehicles and Mopar race cars.

Before qualifying on Friday, Hagan and Don Schumacher Racing teammate Leah Pritchett will participate in a radio remote at the Shell gas station (5350 Wadsworth Bypass in Arvada) from 7:30-9:30 am (MT).

Hagan will be behind the wheel of his Dodge Charger R/T where the team led by crew chief Dickie Venables will try to tame the mountain at Bandimere Speedway that sits roughly a mile above sea level in a picturesque setting but presents unique challenges to the 11,000-horsepower nitro machines.

“There’s so many changes that have to be made to these cars just to get them to run up there,” Hagan said. “It’s a tough, tough race. But it’s one we really want to win for the folks at Mopar that support us. So there’s a little bit of added pressure there.”

NHRA kicks off Western Swing this weekend and three-time champion Brown hopes to sweep for the second time with Matco Tools team

– Antron Brown has his name in the NHRA Mello Yello Series history books for many reasons outside of being the three-time and reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion.

One of those reasons is that he is one of only seven professional drivers to complete the grueling three-week Western Swing that races in the mile-high altitude in Denver before heading to sea-level in Sonoma, Calif., and finishing up near picturesque Seattle.

In 2009, Brown and the Matco Tools team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald won the three consecutive events and no driver has accomplished the feat since.

“It’s tough,” Brown said. “The conditions and the changes that these crew chiefs have to make in three weeks is what makes it so difficult. Brian and Mark are the best of the best and we’ve done it before and we’d love to do it again.”

But Brown faces some tough competition in Don Schumacher Racing teammates Leah Pritchett and Tony Schumacher along with points leader Steve Torrence.

“It’s getting tougher every year to win one race, let alone three in a row,” he said. “We’ve been to six finals this year and came away with two wins. The competition is just incredible, just wait until the Countdown playoff starts after the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day.”

With 13 of 24 Mello Yello Series events complete, the Matco Tools team have racked up six final round appearances and 29 round wins. They have set career best elapsed times and speeds for Brown this year with a 3.667-second run near Phoenix and a 333.16-mph lap in Topeka this season.

“No doubt, we’re having a good season but there’s a lot more racing left to do and we just want to continue to get better every weekend. We have to keep pushing, keep getting faster and remain consistent. That’s what it’ll take.”

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