Capps is Runner-Up to Bazemore in Seattle, Extends Points Lead
KENT, Wash. -- Ron Capps extended his Funny Car points lead over John Force today to 88 after reaching his eighth final round of the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season at the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
The driver of the Brut Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car didn't take his sixth victory of the season, however, as he was defeated by his teammate Whit Bazemore in the final round.
En route to the final, Capps disposed of Del Worsham with a 4.975/307.86, his teammate Gary Scelzi with a 5.066/299.80 and Eric Medlen with a 5.077/303.43 (to Medlen's 5.160/255.34).
The all-Don Schumacher Racing final in the 90-degree-plus heat was a heartbreaker for Capps, as Bazemore took off with a .032 of a second edge and held it to the finish, taking the win with a 5.036/309.42 over Capps' 5.108/293.15. Margin of victory: .1041 of second.
"It was good to see those Matco Tools guys get a win, especially for Don Schumacher," said Capps.
"The big picture is looking good. There were some people who were maybe starting to doubt if we were going to keep our points lead, and sometimes you want to get up and say 'I don't think so,' but you've got to watch yourself. You don't want bad karma, and you don't want to be cocky. The good teams will just get up and let their cars talk, and that's what Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) did today. He did a hell of a job.
"We were without lane choice and knocked off some pretty big guys, (like) Scelzi, and Medlen, who was hard to beat today, especially without lane choice.
"I'm going to go broke buying dinners for the Oakley team," added Capps, who benefited from Scelzi's taking out John Force two races in a row.
"The cool part is that at DSR, we run straight up," he added, dismissing any comments about "diving" at DSR. "If we win the championship, we'll have raced for it. I wish Gary and Whit were higher up in the points, so we could all really battle together."
Next up is the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., July 28-30.
