INDIANAPOLIS – One day after racing to a runner-up finish in the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout, three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps took his Carlyle Tools Toyota GR Supra to a quarterfinal finish at the NHRA U.S. Nationals Monday afternoon at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Though Capps hoped to add another milestone to his Indy history book, he held his ground in the points standings as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series moves into the Countdown to the Championship portion of the season.

Capps jumped straight to the top three in Funny Car qualifying on Friday evening when crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli tuned him to a 3.877-second pass at 331.69 mph to end the day as the provisional No. 2 qualifier. He lifted early in the second session on Saturday, then earned three bonus points in the third session when his 3.998 E.T. was the second-quickest performance of the session. Sunday brought the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout, which started in the fourth qualifying session.

Capps left together with Daniel Wilkerson before powering to a winning 3.939 E.T., which also came with another two bonus points for being the third-quickest pass of the session. In the second round of the Callout, which didn’t count towards qualifying, Capps improved to a 3.912-second pass at 333.33 mph to knock out Jack Beckman. With $80,000 on the line in the final round, Capps left the line before Austin Prock, but he slowed to a 4.048 E.T. at 302.01 mph while Prock won with a 3.873 E.T. Capps ended qualifying in the No. 3 position. Continue reading →

Indianapolis, IN – Ron Capps Racing returning to the bold black and “venom” green Carlyle Tools livery this weekend.  Capps first debuted the striking paint scheme at the season-opening Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. as part of a three-race campaign. The campaign highlights Carlyle’s recent rebrand, which reflects a new initiative geared towards reaching students and young technicians.

Seeking his fifth consecutive U.S. Nationals final round appearance after securing back-to-back wins from the pole in 2022 and ‘23, and a runner-up finish in 2021 and ‘24.  He ran a special Don Prudhomme ARMY tribute livery in 2024 one year after winning the series’ flagship event in the Hot Wheels car, which also honored his former boss. Capps’ 2023 triumph in the ‘Snake’ Hot Wheels car came 50 years after Prudhomme won the 1973 U.S. Nationals in Funny Car Capps’ 2022 triumph – his first at the ‘Big Go’ – came after more than two-and-a-half decades of attempting to achieve a U.S. Nationals win.

Capps’ 2024 final round outing was the 150th of his career.  Participating in the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout on Sunday, a specialty race-within-a-race, where Capps will start as the No. 3 seedCapps hopes to be the first Funny Car driver to claim multiple PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout titles after winning the first Callout in 2022. Continue reading →

BRAINERD, MN – Driving the NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps qualified in the top four and advanced past the first round on race day at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. While his bid for an eighth Brainerd victory came up short in the quarterfinals, Capps and the Ron Capps Motorsports team leave Minnesota confident and energized as they turn their attention to the upcoming NHRA U.S. Nationals, where the regular season will come to a close.

Capps was up in smoke early in the first qualifying session on Friday, but crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli went back to the drawing board for the second session and tuned Capps to a 3.92 E.T. at 330.39 mph. That performance was the third-best of the session and the day, giving Capps one bonus point. He slipped a few spots on the qualifying order after losing traction in the third session on Saturday, but he moved back up to No. 4 in the final qualifying round when he recorded a 3.907-second pass at 332.67 mph.

Capps went into race day paired up with second-generation Funny Car pilot Bobby Bode in the opening round of eliminations Sunday morning. Capps moved first and powered to a 3.861 E.T. at 333.91 – the second-quickest pass of the round – to defeat Bode. Capps left the line first again in the second round ahead of J.R. Todd, but he dropped a cylinder and started spinning the tires. Todd reached the finish line first while Capps followed with a 4.245 E.T. Continue reading →

Brainerd, MN – Ron Capps is seeking his third Brainerd final round appearance in four years after powering to victory from the pole in 2023, and a runner-up finish in 2022.  With seven Brainerd triumphs, Capps is the second-winningest Mission Foods Series driver at the Minn. facility, trailing only John Force who has 11 wins there.

The three-time Funny Car world champ starts the weekend ranked fourth in the point standings with two races remaining before playoff positions are set.

“Brainerd is a unique race in and of itself, but for the teams, it’s always an event that you circle on the calendar because you want to make sure, performance-wise, you have a race car that’s ready to go for battle heading into the playoffs. By the time you leave there, you want to feel confident knowing that you can go win the U.S. Nationals,” explained Ron.  “You don’t want to go into Indy and be searching for a tune-up at the biggest NHRA event of the year, but at the same time, you don’t want to overlook Brainerd because it is one of those tracks that can hold anything under good conditions. It surely can catapult you, confidence-wise, when you have a good race in Brainerd into Indy, and overall, it’s probably the most fun event we have on the circuit. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – California native Ron Capps posted a strong showing at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, highlighted by his fifth career Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory on Saturday and a season-best speed in Sunday eliminations. Coming off a runner-up finish at Seattle, the veteran driver of the NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car qualified No. 7 and came out swinging on race day before falling just short in a close quarterfinal battle with rookie Spencer Hyde. With just two events left in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season, Capps and his NAPA Auto Care team are building momentum at the right time.

Capps’ qualifying effort started with a 3.927-second pass at 330.96 mph, which put him No. 4, then he lost traction in Friday’s second qualifying session. In the third session on Saturday, which also counted as the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge, Capps left on rookie Spencer Hyde to win on a holeshot, with Capps’ 3.908 E.T. at 330.31 mph edging out Hyde’s 3.902 E.T. The pass also moved Capps into the top half of the field in the No. 7 spot. In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge final round, Capps left together with Matt Hagan but pulled ahead to win with a consistent 3.904-second run at 324.20 mph. It was Capps’ fifth career Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win and his second of the season. He also solidified his No. 7 qualifying position. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – Ron Capps powered to victory on Saturday at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, picking up his second Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Aboard the NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, the three-time Funny Car world champ clocked a winning 3.904-second at 324.20 mph run to defeat Matt Hagan in the final round of the Mission Foods-backed race-within-a-race. For their efforts, Capps and the NAPA team were rewarded with a $10,000 purse and three championship bonus points, which will be added to their total when the playoffs begin in early September.

Capps secured his spot in the specialty race when he advanced beyond the quarterfinals at last week’s Northwest Nationals near Seattle, where he finished as the event runner-up to Hagan in his fourth final round appearance of the season.

“I’m so happy for Toyota,” said Capps, who now has five overall Mission #2Fast2Tasty wins, including his triumph from the Phoenix race earlier this year. “It was a big matchup last week against Hagan – Toyota versus Dodge. So, to have a repeat here and get the win for Toyota, with the support they’ve given drag racing, especially here, it was really cool. We’re so fortunate to have such great support from all our partners. We have a huge contingent of NAPA people here, over 600 of them, so for NAPA, Toyota, Carlyle, Revchem, it was great to get that win today.” Continue reading →

Sonoma, CA – Capps advanced to the final round at the 2024 event, so with friends and family looking on, he wants to make this years race a win! He returns to Sonoma after having powered to a runner-up finish at Pacific Raceways last weekend and will compete in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge on Saturday.

Ron is ranked fourth in the Funny Car standings with three races of the regular season remaining. Less than two competition rounds separate the No. 2 through 4 ranked drivers.  The NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra will carry a special decal this weekend celebrating the AAA Mountain West Group’s 125th year of service. The Ron Capps Motorsports team will host employees of the AAA Mountain West Group through their partnership with NAPA.

Sonoma marks Capps’ 75th race as an NHRA team owner. As a native of central California’s San Luis Obispo, Capps considers Sonoma Raceway to be a home track. Continue reading →

KENT, WA – Ron Capps and his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team added another strong finish to their 2025 campaign with a final-round appearance at the Muckleshoot Casino & Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals. Competing at Pacific Raceways, a venue rich in history for the three-time world champion, Capps delivered a string of consistent runs to reach his fourth final round of the season and the 156th final round of his decorated career.

Capps opened the weekend by battling through challenging track conditions during qualifying. He lost traction in Q1 on Friday and Q3 on Saturday, but he made up for it with standout performances in the other two sessions. In Q2, he laid down a 3.951-second run at 328.78 mph, which was the third-quickest of the session and earned him a bonus point. He closed qualifying with his best pass yet, a 3.917 E.T. at 326.87 mph in Q4, again collecting a bonus point and securing the No. 4 starting position heading into race day.

Eliminations began with Capps making his quickest run of the weekend, a stout 3.886 E.T. at 334.48 mph, to defeat Hunter Green, who ran into issues early. In the second round, Capps stayed on point with a 3.909-second pass at 333.41 mph to outrun Daniel Wilkerson’s 3.942, sending him to the semifinals while also clinching a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at the upcoming NHRA Sonoma Nationals. In the semifinals, Capps won a thrilling side-by-side race against Spencer Hyde, posting a 3.915 E.T. to Hyde’s close 3.918-second effort. Continue reading →

Kent, WA – Capps will compete in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday. Ron qualified for the race-within-a-race thanks to his Norwalk performance, which saw him advance to the semifinals.

Seattle begins the second half of the 2025 season ranked fourth in the Funny Car standings. A 209-point deficit separates him from the No. 1 ranked driver with four races remaining before a regular-season champion is crowned.

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

Capps on Seattle, “Seattle holds a lot of great memories, and it’s always going to be a special place for me seeing as that’s where I won my first race as a rookie in Top Fuel. And then of course, going back and winning multiple times in Funny Car just adds to it and makes it a place we love to go. Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Ron Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra team posted a strong showing at the NHRA Norwalk Nationals, advancing to the semifinals and posting consistent, quick passes throughout the weekend at Summit Motorsports Park. After qualifying third with a stellar 3.908-second run on Friday night, Capps powered through eliminations running low E.T. of two of the three rounds. Crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli and the Ron Capps Motorsports team expertly managed the hot conditions, inspiring Capps as the warm summer months continue.

Capps kicked off qualifying on Friday with a 4.014-second pass at 320.89 mph to put him No. 5 on the qualifying sheet after the first session. Later that evening, Capps made the third-fastest run of the session, a 3.908 at 325.06, lighting up the night sky as he sped down the track and earning one bonus point. He picked up two more bonus points in the third session on Saturday when he posted a 4.039 E.T. at 272.34 mph, the second-quickest pass of the session. Capps hazed the tires in the final session, but his Friday night performance was enough to put him No. 3 on the final qualifying order. Continue reading →