Kent, WA  – With a stellar first half of the 2022 race season, Capps is ready to execute in Seattle when the teams return after a 2 year break because of the pandemic.

Capps explains the Seattle significance and this years swing, “This West Coast Swing has really flown by this season. We haven’t been up to the Pacific Northwest since before the pandemic, and we’re all excited to get back up that way. Seattle was the sight of my first NHRA win, and I can tell you with the Canadians coming down and with all of our fans up in the area, we always get such a great crowd, and it’s a great race.

“We open with the first qualifying session scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Friday, and we know how that track can be when conditions are prime; it’s as good as it gets. I know Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen will be ready to throw down. It’s such a great race for our team with NAPA hosting so many of our wonderful fans from Portland and the Seattle areas, and I’m looking forward to seeing so many people that we haven’t been able to see since 2019.”

Noteworthy: Capps won his first NHRA trophy in a professional class at the 1995 Seattle event while competing in the Top Fuel category
Capps has both Top Fuel and Funny Car wins from Seattle

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SONOMA, CA – Two-time and defending NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps has been on a roll throughout his rookie year as an NHRA team owner. In addition to his two trips to the winner’s circle and four No. 1 qualifiers, Capps has successfully advanced to the quarterfinals or beyond at each of the first eleven events of the 22-race NHRA season. The driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra was looking to keep his first-round win streak going strong at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, the first event of the second half of the year.

After powering to a blistering 3.846-second at 334.48 mph pass on Friday night, Capps felt confident his run would hold, and he’d be rewarded with a top-seeded starting position. Capps’ intuition was correct, and the pass earned him the No. 2 qualifying position on the 16-car Funny Car ladder. Unfortunately for Capps, John Force struggled throughout qualifying and ended up in the No. 15 qualifying spot, setting up a round-one meeting between the two winningest Funny Car drivers in the history of the sport.

In what was billed as NHRA’s ‘Funny Car Marquee Match-up,’ Capps and Force lined up side-by-side on Sunday morning, ready to battle for a bid to the second round. Capps launched first and drove his NAPA Supra down the track in 3.920 seconds, but it wasn’t enough to outpace Force, who clocked his first clean pass of the weekend – a 3.892 E.T. – to edge past and send Capps to the trailer after round-one for the first time all year.

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Sonoma, CA – As a native of central California’s San Luis Obispo, Capps considers Sonoma Raceway to be a home track.  Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team have successfully advanced to the quarterfinals or beyond at each of the first eleven events of the 2022 season, and look forward to extending their first-round win streak this weekend Capps is one of only two drivers in the class who can make this impressive claim.

“Sonoma is one of those events that I have circled on the calendar every year. Being from San Luis Obispo, Sonoma always feels like a bit of a home game for me. I have a ton of family that comes out and camps at the track all weekend, and it’s awesome to get to hang out with them every night after we’re done with racing for the day.” stated Capps.

Ron continued, “This will be my first time competing in Sonoma as a member of the Toyota family, and I can’t wait. I’ve always watched their involvement with this race in years past, so I’m excited I get to be a part of that this year. We have a lot of fun events with a few area wineries leading into the race weekend, and then I’ll attend the Eric Medlen charity dinner Thursday night. On Friday, I get to shoot a ‘Wingin’ it with Ron’ segment with my buddy Ben Flajnik from the Bachelor, so just a lot of fun things to look forward to before we even get to the actual racing portion of the weekend. And then, of course, one of the best Friday night qualifying sessions of the whole year is the Sonoma Friday night session, and if you haven’t been, you’ve got to check it out; it’s one of the fastest sessions you’ll see all season. We always have a large NAPA turnout at Sonoma, and we’ll hold our annual NAPA wine dinner on Saturday night, so just a lot going on this week and weekend, and it all just adds to why the Sonoma Nationals is always one of my favorite events every year.” Continue reading →

MORRISON, CO – In his rookie season as a team owner, defending NHRA Funny Car world champ Ron Capps has enjoyed a string of successes, including two wins, one runner-up, and four No. 1 qualifiers, and on Sunday at the NHRA Mile-High Nationals, the final event of the first half of the 2022 NHRA season, Capps checked another item on the list by extending his first-round win streak. Through the first eleven events of the year, Capps has advanced to the quarterfinals or beyond at each and is one of only two drivers in the loaded Funny Car category who can make that impressive claim.

Capps’ race day in Denver began from the No. 5 seed, a position he earned on the strength of his 3.961-second Q4 run, which held up to be the third-quickest pass of the session. The 70-time race winner lined up against Paul Lee in round one of eliminations, and despite encountering issues just passed halftrack, Capps was able to hang on for the win when his opponent suffered tire shake early into the run. The round win earned him a bid into the quarterfinals where he faced Bob Tasca. Looking to avenge his semifinal loss to Tasca from the previous event in Norwalk, Ohio, Capps was quick on the throttle and held the early lead until a loss of traction caused him to slow and Tasca was able to pull ahead for the win.

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Morrison, CO – Capps, “The Western Swing snuck up on us fast this year. We had a nice break in the action after Norwalk so the teams could get ready to head out West. When we talk about this time of the season, meaning the Western Swing, our August races, and the U.S. Nats, it’s such a crucial part of the year. We’re racing in the heat at these back-to-back events, and this is such a pivotal time as we start to gear up for the Countdown.”

“Starting the Swing in Bandimere is a challenge, but I feel confident because I know we have a team and crew chiefs that can adapt, no matter how challenging the conditions. And Denver certainly does have extreme conditions. We’re talking not only mile-high altitude, but it’s going to be very hot as well. It makes me so happy to have (crew chiefs) Guido (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen at the helm. Our NAPA AutoCare team has been so good this season and they were last year, too. We won the championship for a reason. They’re consistent and don’t make mistakes, and that gives you confidence.”

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NORWALK, OH – Starting from the pole position for the fourth time during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Series season, Ron Capps advanced to the semifinals on Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Norwalk Nationals. Capps’ Ohio outing marked the seventh time through the first 10 events of the year that he has reached the semifinals or better.

As the first Toyota GR Supra Funny Car pilot to start race day from the No. 1 seed, Capps faced Dale Creasy Jr. in the first round of eliminations. Capps scored his first win light of the day in dramatic fashion when both machines lost traction and Creasy’s car darted across the centerline and into Capps’ lane just as Capps had regained traction and was powering past, headed toward the finish line. Incredibly, the cars did not make contact and the NAPA Supra headed into round two unscathed. Against Cruz Pedregon, Capps’ holeshot advantage coupled with a 3.974 E.T. allowed him to lead his opponent from start to finish, setting up a semifinal battle with Bob Tasca III. Once again, Capps was machine-like on the tree, clocking his second .30-second reaction time of the day, but his lead was short-lived when Tasca pulled ahead and powered to the 1,000-foot beams first.

“Just a great weekend overall,” said Capps, already a two-time winner in 2022. “For (crew chiefs) ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen, and our entire NAPA AutoCare team to get a yellow hat for qualifying our Napa Toyota Supra No. 1, that’s just incredible. That’s our fourth No. 1 this year and those yellow hats show you just how good our race team is because going No. 1 has little to do with the driver. That’s what makes me extremely proud of our NAPA team.

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NORWALK, OH – Fresh off of an impressive win last weekend, two-time and defending NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps carried the momentum of his Bristol, Tenn. triumph into the NHRA Norwalk Nationals by qualifying his NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra in the No. 1 spot.

Capps earned the pole position – his fourth of the year, third at Summit Motorsports Park, and 33rd overall, on the strength of his Q2 run, which saw him power the NAPA Supra to a stout 3.901-second at 328.38-mph pass. By capturing the No. 1 seed, Capps became the first among the trio of TGRNA Funny Car drivers to qualify the newly-introduced Supra on the top of the Funny Car elimination ladder.

“I said last night that it was going to take a bit to figure this car out, get it trimmed out to where (crew chiefs) ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen felt comfortable,” said Capps, who enters race day ranked third on the Funny Car leaderboard. “Bristol was about as demanding a race day that we’ve seen all year with the bumps in the track, and the heat and humidity. It would have been a very steep learning curve had we not had the help from Del Worsham’s team and the Yella Fellas on what they’ve learned all season long. We definitely would not have had the success we’ve had right away; the win in Bristol and the first pole for the GR Supra, which is awesome.”

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NORWALK, OH – Just five days since becoming the first Toyota driver to power to victory aboard the new GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps appears to be on track to earn his first No. 1 qualifier with his TGRNA machine.

During Friday’s second qualifying session at the NHRA Norwalk Nationals, Capps drove the NAPA AUTO PARTS Supra to a blistering 3.901 second at 328.38-mph pass under the lights at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The run held up to be the quickest Funny Car lap of the day and earned the two-time and defending series champion three bonus points and the provisional No. 1 qualifier position. Two more qualifying sessions are scheduled for Saturday, but with temperatures forecasted in the 90s, Capps seems to be in a good spot to maintain his position at the top of the timing sheets.

“Obviously, we are running well now,” said Capps, who took delivery of his new Supra Funny Car earlier this season during the Charlotte NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. “I knew it would take a little bit of time and a couple of races for (crew chiefs) ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen and our NAPA guys to start trimming out the GR Supra body. They were just trying to massage it and see what it likes.

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Norwalk, OH –  Capps hitting his stride in his first season as team owner.  “I love this part of the season, the summer months with these back-to-back races. I have so many great memories of being able to travel with the kids out to the Norwalk race. The Bader family always puts on a great show, and I’m especially happy about the fact that we will have four qualifying sessions this weekend. We’ll have a Friday night session and the conditions and weather look fantastic so, I think we’ll see a lot of great racing.

“We’re coming off of a win from Bristol in very demanding conditions. Our NAPA AutoCare team has been very busy during these couple of days in between Bristol and Norwalk getting everything ready to go for this weekend. We’ve got a lot of great NAPA and GearWrench guests coming out, which is awesome. I flew home after Bristol, celebrated my birthday with the family, and now I’m taking my son, Caden, who’s on summer break, and bringing him to Norwalk with me so I’m very much looking forward to this weekend.”

Norwalk Event Highlights: 2016 event champion, Three-time runner-up (2011, 2013, 2014), Two-time No. 1 qualifier (2019, 2021)

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BRISTOL, TN – Two-time and defending NHRA Camping World Series Funny Car champion and new team owner Ron Capps was able to check several boxes on Sunday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. By defeating Tim Wilkerson in the final round, Capps became the first Toyota Funny Car pilot to race to victory aboard the newly-debuted GR Supra, scored his sixth Bristol Dragway triumph, tying him with Tony Schumacher as the winningest driver in the history of the facility, nabbed the second win for Ron Capps Motorsports, and achieved a milestone victory, picking up the 70th win of his career.

Capps’ Sunday triumph was hard-fought. Starting race day from the ninth seed – uncharacteristic for the NAPA team which is used to qualifying in the top half of the field, Capps faced No. 8 qualifier Paul Lee in the first round. Capps launched hard and his NAPA Funny Car started dropping cylinders before giving way to a nasty explosion through the finish line beams. While he was able to get the round win, the boomer damaged the Supra body, causing the NAPA AutoCare Center crew to have to switch bodies during the quick turnaround time between the first and second round. While it was a thrash, the NAPA team successfully overcame the setback and threw down against their round two opponent, clocking low E.T. of the round to defeat No. 2 ranked Robert Hight. The round-two victory set up a battle between Capps and Alexis DeJoria, with the two vying to have the opportunity to represent Toyota in the final round. Once again, Capps ran low E.T. of the session, putting himself in position to have a shot at racing to become the first TGRNA pilot to drive to victory aboard the new Toyota Supra.

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