<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/J_Capps.jpg" alt="J_Capps" align="right"borders="0"/>
Las Vegas - Rookie Funny Car driver Jon Capps missed making the field on Saturday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, but he certainly didn't miss the boat when it comes down to exposure.
Capps NHRA debut was cut short by mechanical gremlins but the 37-year-old Las Vegas resident still enjoyed a great weekend. Capps was able to show off his new primary sponsor, energy drink Vegas Fuel. The quarter-mile beer wars of the past have now been replaced with a battle between energy drinks, with three brands now sponsoring fuel Funny Cars.
The quarter-mile faithful poured over the Vegas Fuel pit area throughout the day to catch a glimpse of Capps, who was still on cloud nine over the realization of his drag racing dreams coming true.
"I showed up here full of dreams, energy and anticipation," said Capps, "and I'm leaving 'The Strip' at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lifetime full of pent up satisfaction. Win, lose, or draw, I can put my helmet down and walk away right now and know that I did it."
Capps was on strong run during his third qualifying attempt of the weekend, but things turned ugly at the top end. The Vegas Fuel Monte Carlo popped the blower just before the car crossed the finish line, sending the blower hatch flying high into the air. Capps made his quickest and fastest run of the weekend, a 4.957 at 297.09 mph, despite the big bang.
"That run would have put us in the field," said Capps. "But we have a gremlin somewhere in the motor and it just went out there and blew the supercharger off of it."
Crew chief and car owner Paul Smith elected to skip the final qualifying session and begin preparations to race in North Carolina next weekend. With his appearance this weekend coming on short notice, the bigger picture came into play.
"We came here for a purpose," Capps explained. "We were here to launch the brand Vegas Fuel and to try and establish business relationships with distribution houses in the Southwest part of the country. From a business stand point this weekend exceeded our expectations. That's what this whole weekend was about, to get the name Vegas Fuel out to the public.
"Our business plan on the racing side of things is to go after the IHRA world championship," Capps said. "We have a race next weekend in Rockingham, North Carolina. We're systematically going through things to find the gremlin. But we decided to sit out the last qualifying session because it's not very business savvy to throw money at something you know might not work. We're going to take a step back and regroup and focus on the business plan of an IHRA championship. We can leave here with a smile on our faces because we accomplished everything that we're here for."
Capps launches with a bang
Las Vegas - Rookie Funny Car driver Jon Capps missed making the field on Saturday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, but he certainly didn't miss the boat when it comes down to exposure.
Capps NHRA debut was cut short by mechanical gremlins but the 37-year-old Las Vegas resident still enjoyed a great weekend. Capps was able to show off his new primary sponsor, energy drink Vegas Fuel. The quarter-mile beer wars of the past have now been replaced with a battle between energy drinks, with three brands now sponsoring fuel Funny Cars.
The quarter-mile faithful poured over the Vegas Fuel pit area throughout the day to catch a glimpse of Capps, who was still on cloud nine over the realization of his drag racing dreams coming true.
"I showed up here full of dreams, energy and anticipation," said Capps, "and I'm leaving 'The Strip' at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lifetime full of pent up satisfaction. Win, lose, or draw, I can put my helmet down and walk away right now and know that I did it."
Capps was on strong run during his third qualifying attempt of the weekend, but things turned ugly at the top end. The Vegas Fuel Monte Carlo popped the blower just before the car crossed the finish line, sending the blower hatch flying high into the air. Capps made his quickest and fastest run of the weekend, a 4.957 at 297.09 mph, despite the big bang.
"That run would have put us in the field," said Capps. "But we have a gremlin somewhere in the motor and it just went out there and blew the supercharger off of it."
Crew chief and car owner Paul Smith elected to skip the final qualifying session and begin preparations to race in North Carolina next weekend. With his appearance this weekend coming on short notice, the bigger picture came into play.
"We came here for a purpose," Capps explained. "We were here to launch the brand Vegas Fuel and to try and establish business relationships with distribution houses in the Southwest part of the country. From a business stand point this weekend exceeded our expectations. That's what this whole weekend was about, to get the name Vegas Fuel out to the public.
"Our business plan on the racing side of things is to go after the IHRA world championship," Capps said. "We have a race next weekend in Rockingham, North Carolina. We're systematically going through things to find the gremlin. But we decided to sit out the last qualifying session because it's not very business savvy to throw money at something you know might not work. We're going to take a step back and regroup and focus on the business plan of an IHRA championship. We can leave here with a smile on our faces because we accomplished everything that we're here for."
