BROWNSBURG, IN – One year after driving his Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme Hot Wheels tribute car to the Funny Car victory at the 2023 NHRA U.S. Nationals, Ron Capps will pay tribute to his former team owner yet again at this weekend’s 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Capps’ NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra will sport a special red, white, and blue livery modeled after Prudhomme’s Army Funny Car, which went on a dominant run after its debut in 1974. The three-time world champion is chasing his third consecutive win at the most prestigious event of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Capps’ win in the ‘Snake’ Hot Wheels tribute car at last year’s U.S. Nationals came on the 50th anniversary of Prudhomme’s win at the 1973 U.S. Nationals. Prudhomme himself was a part of the NAPA team all weekend, from warming up the Toyota GR Supra before the first qualifying session on Friday to standing behind Capps on the starting line for the final round on Monday afternoon. It was Capps’ second consecutive win in his third consecutive final round at the Big Go. Continue reading →

BRAINERD, MN – When three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps lost a close race in the opening round of the NHRA Brainerd Nationals, the third-year driver and team owner was the first to take responsibility for the holeshot loss. The driver of the NAPA AutoCare Toyota GR Supra was obviously disappointed in the early exit at one of his favorite stops on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour, but he also found positives in the team’s performance as the NHRA regular season winds down. Capps is now sixth going into the final race before the Countdown to the Championship.

Capps dealt with smoking and shaking tires in the first two qualifying sessions on Friday, but crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli got the Ron Capps Motorsports machine back on track for Saturday qualifying, which also included the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge. Capps recorded a 3.981-second pass to beat Matt Hagan in the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. He also collected one bonus point for posting the third-quickest pass of the session. Capps made another drastic improvement in the final round, firing off a 3.881 E.T. at 330.15 mph, though it wasn’t quick enough to hold off Austin Prock. It was the third-quickest pass of the session again, though, netting Capps one more bonus point. In the process, Capps moved up from No. 12 to No. 4 in the qualifying order. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – Just one week after Ron Capps suffered a violent explosion that sidelined his primary NAPA AutoCare Toyota GR Supra, the three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion bounced back with a runner-up finish in his backup car at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. In a rematch of Capps’ last final-round appearance two races ago, Capps left the starting line together with Bob Tasca III but drove into tire smoke. Capps moved up one spot to fifth in the Funny Car points standings with just two regular season races left before the Countdown to the Championship.

Capps, a native of central California’s San Luis Obispo, went into the Sonoma Nationals prominently representing GearWrench on the rear quarter panels and hood area on his Toyota GR Supra as part of a new NAPA Auto Parts initiative. The ‘VIP Supplier Partner of the Weekend’ program allows NAPA to create additional exposure and sales for a NAPA-affiliated partner through its involvement in motorsports. GearWrench, the official hand tool of Ron Capps Motorsports, was chosen to receive the spotlight with Capps at Sonoma.

After the first-round explosion at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle, crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli and the NAPA AutoCare team went to work preparing the team’s backup car for Sonoma. The backup car, which carried Capps to the 2022 world championship and multiple race wins in 2023, showed promise yet again in the first qualifying session at Sonoma. Capps drove it to a 3.988-second pass, the third-quickest run of the session, to earn a bonus point. He then picked up another two bonus points when he made the second-quickest run of the second session, a 3.864 E.T. at 332.43 mph, which was also his quickest pass of the season so far. Capps ended Friday in the No. 2 qualifying position. The strong performances continued on Saturday, with Capps laying down a 3.891-second pass in the third session and a 3.901 E.T. in the final session to collect one more bonus point, for a total of four bonus points in qualifying. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA  – GearWrench, the official hand tool of the championship-winning Ron Capps Motorsports team, will be prominently displayed on the rear quarter panels and hood area of Ron Capps’ 12,000 horsepower NAPA AutoCare Toyota GR Supra Funny Car this weekend at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, California.

As part of a new initiative with Capps’ longtime partner NAPA Auto Parts, the bold yellow GearWrench logo will adorn Capps’ machine in place of his usual NAPA AutoCare branding during this special cross-promotional campaign. NAPA recently launched a new program which highlights a selected ‘VIP Supplier Partner of the Weekend’ at various motorsports events. This program allows NAPA to create additional exposure and sales for a NAPA-affiliated partner through its involvement in motorsports, and at this weekend’s event at Sonoma Raceway, Capps is proud to spotlight the GearWrench brand.

“As the official hand tool of Ron Capps Motorsports, our fans have heard me brag about GearWrench tools quite a bit,” said Capps, a 76-time NHRA national event winner. “Our race this weekend in Sonoma will be a special one for us as NAPA Auto Parts is helping us to showcase GearWrench tools, which is a relationship I’m incredibly proud of. We’ve exclusively used GearWrench in our pit since the start of the 2021 NHRA season, and they played a big part in helping us to go back-to-back with world championships in 2021 and 2022. NAPA has been on board with our team going all the way back to 2007, and it’s always really cool as a racer and a team owner when you not only have two really great partners supporting your operation, but those same partners work together to support each other. This not only allows us to help support the long-term retail relationship with GearWrench and NAPA Auto Parts but also showcases the B2B opportunities available out here in NHRA Drag Racing. Continue reading →

KENT, WA – Three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps walked away unscathed from a violent explosion in the opening round of eliminations Sunday at the NHRA Northwest Nationals. The incident occurred after Capps pedaled his Ron Capps Motorsports hot rod numerous times in an attempt to regain traction in his first-round battle with Funny Car veteran Gary Densham. Capps’ fight to reach the finish line first came to an end when the 12,000-horsepower engine let go, launching his Funny Car body into the air at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle.

Capps’ weekend at Seattle started on a positive note when he laid down the fourth-quickest pass of the opening qualifying round, a 3.993-second effort aboard the NAPA AutoCare Toyota GR Supra. In the highly anticipated Friday night session, Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli laid down a 3.886-second pass at 331.53 mph to move up to the No. 2 position, earning two bonus points in the process for the second-quickest pass of the session. The third qualifying session on Saturday counted as the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where Capps used a 4.028 E.T. to get past Matt Hagan and his 4.107 E.T. He improved slightly to a 4.019 E.T. in the #2Fast2Tasty challenge final round and final qualifying session but it wasn’t enough to beat Austin Prock. Still, Capps maintained his No. 2 qualifying position. Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – A streak of consistent passes sent Ron Capps to his first runner-up finish of the 2024 season Sunday afternoon at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Driving his NAPA AutoCare Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Capps qualified No. 10 before racing through a marquee matchup and two past world champions to meet Bob Tasca III in the final round. Though he encountered issues in the final, Capps left Summit Motorsports Park encouraged by his team’s performance as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season moves on to the Western Swing.

In Friday qualifying, dropped cylinders forced Capps to shut off early on his first pass, but he came back with an impressive 3.942-second pass at 327.03 mph in the flame-throwing evening session to move solidly into the middle of the Funny Car field. A similar day of qualifying followed on Saturday, as Capps had traction issues late in his third qualifying attempt before throwing down a 3.96-second blast in the final session.

Capps’ No. 10 qualifying position put him up against No. 7 qualifier Daniel Wilkerson in NHRA’s Funny Car Marquee Matchup on Sunday morning. Capps grabbed a starting-line advantage and never looked back, charging to a 3.897 E.T. at 331.53 mph to get the win over Wilkerson and his 3.941 E.T. With the second-quickest pass of the round, Capps earned lane choice over fellow past world champion J.R. Todd in the second round. In an all-Toyota pairing, Todd nabbed the early lead, but Capps quickly made up the difference. Continue reading →

NORTH DINWIDDIE, VA – Ron Capps and his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team made the most of challenging conditions Sunday afternoon as they raced to a quarterfinal finish at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals. Capps in his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra was one of just a few drivers to get down the hot Virginia Motorsports Park track surface in both elimination rounds, but his second-round effort came up short to Austin Prock. The three-time NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world champion leaves Virginia ranked seventh in the Funny Car points standings.

Capps kicked off the single day of qualifying on Saturday by going to the middle of the pack with a 4.21 E.T., he then improved to a 4.13 E.T. in the second session to move up three spots to sixth. He repeated with a consistent 4.133-second pass at 303.57 mph in the third and final session to lock into the No. 11 spot for race day.

On Sunday, the third-year driver and team owner paired up with fellow Toyota driver Alexis DeJoria in NHRA’s Funny Car Marquee Matchup during the opening round of eliminations. DeJoria had issues on the burnout and was unable to make the run, giving Capps a freebie into the second round. Still, Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli used the opportunity to see what the track would hold, running a 4.094 E.T. at 317.94 mph, which stood for the third-quickest pass of the round. In the second round, Capps and No. 3 qualifier Austin Prock left the starting line together before Prock started pulling away. Capps crossed the finish line second with a 4.127-second pass at 282.84 mph to Prock’s 4.036 E.T. Continue reading →

BRISTOL, TN – Ron Capps’ bid for a third consecutive Funny Car win at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals came to an end in a close second-round race Sunday afternoon at Bristol Dragway. Capps qualified third in his NAPA AutoCare Toyota GR Supra before falling in the quarterfinals to J.R. Todd. The overall weekend performance showed Capps and his Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli-led team that the drastic changes they made in the early part of the season are paying off as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads into the hot summer races. Capps leaves Bristol No. 6 in the point standings after eight of 20 races on the 2024 schedule.

Capps was one of several drivers who struggled to find traction in the first qualifying session on Friday, but crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli got the NAPA AutoCare entry back on track for the second session. Capps laid down a 3.976-second pass at 320.74 MPH to move up from ninth to third, while also earning a bonus point for making the third-best pass of the session. Capps maintained the No. 3 spot through two more qualifying sessions on Saturday.

The NAPA team’s strong performance carried over into the first round of eliminations on Sunday morning when Capps got a big starting line advantage over opponent Buddy Hull and maintained the lead with a winning 3.962-second pass at 323.12 MPH to Hull’s 4.176 E.T. In a second-round battle with fellow Toyota driver J.R. Todd, Capps ran quicker to the 60-foot and 330-foot marks, but he started to lose ground and finished second behind Todd. Capps ran a 4.001 E.T. at 316.45, while Todd recorded a 3.977 E.T. at 319.75. Continue reading →

EPPING, NH – For the second event in a row, NAPA AutoCare Toyota GR Supra driver Ron Capps found himself facing Matt Hagan in what was billed as NHRA’s Funny Car Marquee Matchup of race day. During the Route 66 Nationals near Joliet, Illinois, Capps fell to Hagan, but on Sunday at the NHRA New England Nationals, Capps was able to avenge the loss as he powered past his former DSR teammate to advance to the quarterfinals at New England Dragway.

After struggling to make it down the track during Friday’s two qualifying sessions, the NAPA AutoCare team led by Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli, sent Capps’ machine straight down the groove in 4.036 seconds at 319.37 MPH in the heat of the day on Saturday. They then closed out qualifying by matching their Q3 E.T., settling into the No. 12 spot to set up a first-round rematch with Hagan. Against the No. 5 qualifier, Capps powered to a 4.045-second pass to defeat Hagan’s 4.185-second effort. Capps drew Daniel Wilkerson in the quarterfinals, and while he was the first to stand on the throttle, his machine lost traction early into the run while his opponent made a full pull in the opposite lane to advance. Continue reading →

JOLIET, IL – Three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps was looking forward to adding a third Wally trophy from Route 66 Raceway to his impressive collection on Sunday at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, but a loss of traction in the first round of eliminations ended his bid for a 77th national event triumph.

The NAPA AutoCare Funny Car team battled tricky track conditions throughout Friday and Saturday’s qualifying sessions to secure a spot in the top half of the field. Crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli tuned Capps’ 12,000 horsepower Toyota GR Supra to a 3.939-second at 327.90 MPH pass during Friday’s second session, which held up to be sixth quickest in a loaded 18-car field. Despite earning a favorable qualifying position, Capps found himself facing a heavy hitter in the first round of eliminations with a matchup versus fellow multi-time world champ, No. 11 qualifier Matt Hagan. The former Don Schumacher Racing teammates lined up for NHRA’s Marquee Matchup of the race, but this time it was all Hagan as he led from start to finish as Capps’ machine started to lose traction near the 660-foot markers.

“It’s strange to qualify No. 6 and have a team like Hagan’s first round, but it was just one of those weekends,” said Capps, who advanced to the final round and captured his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win at Route 66 Raceway one year prior. “A race like this where the temperatures are high and everyone’s battling track conditions, you look around, and there were some really, really, good teams in Top Fuel and Funny Car struggling.” Continue reading →