BRADENTON, FL – One year after missing out on qualifying for the Funny Car field at the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout, three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps charged to victory at the second annual running of the independent event at Bradenton Motorsports Park. It was a motivating preseason performance for Capps, who qualified No. 4 in the eight-car field before taking his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra to the final round to face reigning event champion and reigning NHRA world champion Austin Prock. Capps turned on the final win light with a 3.87-second pass at 330.47 mph.

Capps began his PRO Superstar Shootout outing with a series of test passes early in the week before going into Thursday’s lone qualifying session. Sporting a fresh look on his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, Capps laid down a 3.868-second pass at 327.19 mph to sit fifth. Three more sessions followed on Friday, with Capps recording a 3.92 E.T. at 323.66 in the first session of the day. He lost traction in Q3, but crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli loaded up a stout 3.828-second blast at 333.49 in the final session to move up to the No. 4 position.

Qualifying positions went out the window for race day, though, as the PRO Superstar Shootout uses random chip draws to randomly determine the pairings for eliminations. In the first-round chip draw on Saturday night after qualifying, Capps drew second-generation driver Daniel Wilkerson. Continue reading →

BROWNSBURG, IN – USA Compression returns for another season with the championship-winning Ron Capps Motorsports (RCM) team, it was announced today. As one of the nation’s leading providers of large horsepower compression services for infrastructure applications involving natural gas and crude oil, the ongoing partnership with three-time NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series champion Ron Capps and his 12,000-horsepower nitromethane-fueled Funny Car is a match made in high horsepower heaven.

The Dallas-based organization has supported Capps and his quest for win lights and Wally trophies since 2015. When the second-winningest Funny Car racer in NHRA history announced he was leaving his longtime home at Don Schumacher Racing to launch RCM in 2022, USA Compression followed suit, supporting Capps in his privateering venture. With the upcoming NHRA season fast approaching, Capps is thrilled to share that USA Compression has signed on for another year and increased its associate-level sponsorship to include support at all 20 races on the 2025 schedule. Continue reading →

Brand signs associate sponsorship deal with 3X NHRA Champion Ron Capps

BLUEFIELD, VA — Blue Wolf is pleased to announce its support of three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps for the 2025 season of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Formulated to tackle the toughest cleaning jobs, Blue Wolf cleaning products are trusted by professional mechanics, car detailers, as well as consumers who want professional strength cleaning power. The deal with Ron Capps Motorsports expands the brand’s presence in American motorsports which already includes partnerships in NASCAR.

“We are excited to be working with Ron Capps and look forward to growing Blue Wolf in new markets,” said Sean Lester, President and Co-Owner of Blue Wolf.

While Blue Wolf is new to the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the brand has been around since 1986. “Blue Wolf has always been the best kept secret in the Appalachian region. We are excited to introduce Blue Wolf to NHRA fans through our relationship with Ron Capps,” said Jeff Cline, Vice President and Co-Owner of Blue Wolf. Continue reading →

POMONA, CA – Three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps added another semifinal finish to his 2024 scorecard Sunday afternoon at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. Following two final-round appearances in the three previous races, the late-round finish helped Capps and his NAPA Auto Care team finish the season ranked third in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship points standings.

Capps had traction issues in the first qualifying session on Friday before the second planned session was rained out. Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli made up for it on Saturday, though, as Capps in his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra fired off a track-record 3.821-second pass at 332.75 mph to take the provisional No. 1 spot. He also collected four bonus points for making the quickest pass of the session. In the final session, he smoked the tires and coasted across the finish line.

Qualified No. 2, Capps met up with fellow Californian Jeff Diehl in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations. He recorded a 3.842 E.T. at 332.18 mph to get past a tire-smoking Diehl. Capps then got a bizarre second-round win when Chad Green crossed the center line in front of him, negating Green’s win light and sending Capps to the semifinals. There, Capps grabbed a .004-second advantage on the starting line over Jack Beckman, but he went up in smoke while Beckman charged on to get the win. Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS – Three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps was in the mix for a late-season win at the NHRA Nevada Nationals Sunday afternoon with the third-quickest pass of the cutthroat Funny Car quarterfinals. Capps faced the quickest driver of the round, though, with Jack Beckman defeating Capps in a side-by-side race between two top five drivers. Still, Capps moved up one spot to third in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings at the penultimate race of the season at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Capps, who reached the final round at the last two consecutive races, started off qualifying with the third-quickest pass of the first session, a 3.860 E.T. at 330.96 mph, to earn one bonus point. He had problems late in the run in the second session and lost a cylinder late in the third qualifying attempt, but still posted a 3.946-second pass. Capps then drove into tire smoke in the final qualifying session and coasted through the finish line, settling into the No. 7 qualifying position going into Sunday.

On race day, Capps met up with fellow Toyota driver Alexis DeJoria in the opening round. The two drivers left the line together, but DeJoria went into tire smoke while Capps powered to a 3.917 E.T. at 318.77 mph to get the win. Capps in his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra left just ahead of Jack Beckman in the second round and charged to a 3.878 E.T. at 330.88 mph. It was the third-quickest pass of the round, but Beckman was quicker with his winning 3.853 E.T. Continue reading →

ENNIS, TX – In a rematch of the 2022 Texas NHRA FallNationals Funny Car final round, three-time world champion Ron Capps came up .011 seconds short to four-time world champion Matt Hagan Sunday evening at the Texas Motorplex. It was the second consecutive final round for Capps and his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra after taking runner-up honors in St. Louis. Capps, who won the 2022 edition of the FallNationals, maintained his fourth-place position in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car points standings with just two races left in the season.

Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli got a solid baseline in the first qualifying session with a 3.947 E.T. at 320.15 mph to sit No. 8. In the primetime, throw-down second session on Friday night, Capps recorded a 3.862-second pass at 331.44 mph. It was the fastest pass of the season for Capps and the Ron Capps Motorsports team, moving him up to the provisional No. 5 spot. The third qualifying session on Saturday was a tricky one for Capps and many of his Funny Car competitors, but he stepped back up in the final session. His 3.899-second blast at 329.62 mph was the quickest pass of the session, earning three bonus points for the No. 5 qualified Capps.  Continue reading →

MADISON, IL – For the third consecutive year, Funny Car driver and team owner Ron Capps raced to the final round Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis. Capps, already the winningest Funny Car driver at St. Louis, came up one win-light short of a fifth Midwest Nationals triumph in the final round against Jack Beckman. The late-round finish at the third of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship races moved Capps and his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra team up one spot to fourth in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series standings.

All-day rainstorms on Friday kept Capps and his Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli-tuned hot rod in the pits until Saturday, which included just two qualifying sessions. In the first session, Capps started drifting towards the centerline, so he lifted early to a 4.025-second pass to sit ninth. He charged hard to a 3.878-second blast at 333.33 mph in the second session, the third-quickest pass of the round, to earn one bonus point and qualify third going into Sunday eliminations. Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – With three past NHRA Carolina Nationals victories to his name, Ron Capps knows how to find the winner’s circle at the fall race at zMAX Dragway outside Charlotte. Capps and his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra appeared to be on the path to victory again Sunday afternoon, but an unexpected spell of tire smoke derailed him in the quarterfinals. The three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion moved up one position to fifth in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series points standings, keeping him very much a part of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship conversation with four playoff races remaining.

With Dorman Products joining Ron Capps Motorsports as a weekend partner, Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli established a solid baseline in the opening qualifying session on Friday, laying down a 3.91 E.T. at 323.81 mph to sit fifth. He launched hard in the second session, but went into tire smoke and coasted to the finish line. Tire haze and a dropped cylinder slowed Capps in the third session on Saturday, but he came back in the final session and threw down a 3.906 E.T. at 329.67 mph to lock in the No. 8 spot for Sunday eliminations.

“It’s always fun when we can do a special car with NAPA, and this weekend it was Dorman Products, a 106-year-old company in the automotive business,” Capps said. “To be able to represent Dorman and have their guests with us when we had a great qualifying run like we did on Saturday, it was a nice feather in the cap, especially for Guido and our NAPA Auto Care team.” Continue reading →

READING, PA – A red-light start by just two thousandths of a second ended Ron Capps’ mission to start the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship with a win in the second round at the NHRA Reading Nationals on Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway. Capps in his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra laid down the second-quickest pass of the second round of eliminations after leaving the starting line too soon, proving that the three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion has a capable car as he pursues a fourth title. Capps will move on to the second race of the Countdown sixth in points.

Capps, who went into the weekend holding both ends of the Maple Grove Raceway track records, went into tire smoke in the first qualifying session on Friday, but he bounced back in a big way in the second session. Crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli tuned Capps to a 3.890 E.T. at 336.65 mph, Capps’ fastest pass of the season. That performance made Capps the provisional No. 5 qualifier going into Saturday’s two sessions. The first run of the day saw Capps smoke the tires again. A 3.961-second pass at 309.13 mph followed in the final session, with parachutes out early preventing Capps from improving on his 3.89-second best. He held on to the No. 5 spot for race day. Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Sporting a special Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme Army tribute look on his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, Ron Capps raced to the Funny Car final round of the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals for the fourth year in a row on Monday evening. Capps, who won the prestigious event at Indianapolis Raceway Park the last two years after nearly 30 years of attempts, was attempting to repeat his 2023 victory with Prudhomme, his former team owner, in attendance. The three-time world champion came up short to Funny Car rookie Austin Prock in the final round, the 150th of Capps’ career.

Before the race, Capps unveiled the red, white, and blue Army-themed livery during a pre-race NHRA press conference in front of local and national media. The throwback look was inspired by the Army Funny Cars that Prudhomme drove from 1974 through 1980, winning four NHRA championships along the way. The Army tribute car was a follow-up to the “Snake” Hot Wheels Funny Car tribute that Capps ran in 2023, marking the 50th anniversary of his former boss’s win at the 1973 U.S. Nationals. With Prudhomme on the starting line, Capps won the 2023 U.S. Nationals to add to both his and Prudhomme’s legacies at the ‘Big Go.’ Just like last year, the Ron Capps Motorsports team’s matching throwback uniforms earned the Best Appearing Crew honors. Continue reading →