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Capps, 'Snake' ready to strike again
5-6-98

Photo by Bob Frye

Ron Capps won his second Funny Car title of the season, but it sure wasn't easy. The driver of Don Prudhomme's Copenhagen Camaro Z28 Funny Car had to overcome a rare fire in qualifying, clutch problems, dropped cylinders, and a blown supercharger in the final round to do it, but the popular Californian found it well worth it: he moved into second place in the points standings behind the man he beat in the final, reigning Winston champ John Force.

"We got lucky and that's what it takes a lot of times," said Capps, who sits just 54 points, or less than three rounds, behind Force. "We have been struggling, struggling, since Atlanta. This weekend I have been in the lowest valleys and highest peaks in my career. I worried about this qualifying; Roland [Leong, crew chief] was worried. These guys pulled it off. When we ran the 4.92 in first round I knew we could run it again, then it dropped cylinders in the next two rounds.

"In the first round it had a clutch problem, which made the rear main seal go real bad. We didn't realize we had the problem until we went to warm it up, and I felt a vibration. We realized we had to change the engine. The only good thing about [teammate] Larry Dixon going out early is that we had his crew to help us work on it. We only had a half an hour to get it changed. Luckily another car oiled up the track in front us and we made it in time. We had to do that again before the final. We rolled up the car and I had to suit up in the staging lane. I am just the luckiest guy to get into this Camaro. After it dropped the cylinder in the semifinals and didn't run so good, Roland decided to pull out the motor and put in the one that had run good that we had put away. We changed engines once voluntarily and once because the other one was wounded.

"Force had been running 4.90s all day and I thought I might be in trouble. I hit the pedal and it took off. I said if he's going to beat me he's going to have to catch up soon. We blew the blower through the body about 900 feet. When you go against Force, in the back of your mind there's a voice saying 'This is John Force. You may not have a chance of getting him.' If you can beat an entourage like Force's, you've done something."

Force smoked the tires to a 6.46 while Capps roared on to victory with a 4.960 at a slowing 292.39 mph.

Both Force and Capps moved past Chuck Etchells, who led the points race entering the Lone Stars, the last of three back-to-back-to-back events, but failed to qualify and fell to third, two points behind Capps.

"With this three-race swing -- look at what happened to Chuck Etchells, wins [last weekend] and doesn't qualify [this weekend] -- it's tough. When you have back-to-back weekends like this, a lot goes on. I can't wait for the other back-to-backs. I love it. We have young lions on the team, they proved they had the energy."

Team boss Prudhomme agreed. "I'm really proud of the job that the whole Copenhagen Camaro crew did. They're doing a great job and we just have to keep it up. There's highs and lows in drag racing, it's real easy to lose and doubly hard to win. It was our day and we'll just keep going straight ahead.

"I still believe we have the best car. We have the best-designed car and they're going to have to really run hard to beat us. And they know we have a good car, too. I think [Force's team] pushed theirs too hard to the point they kicked their tires loose. They knew this Camaro had a low 4.90 in it, and we were just saving it for him. It would have been tough to beat. The Camaro was really trucking and it had a misfire at the top end, the engine actually shut off early on the car.

"I'm really happy with the way they turned the Camaro around. We were struggling the last few races, pulling our hair out, testing and working. We finally found it. It only takes a little to be off a lot. The whole Cope Camaro crew are real dedicated to the cause, that's what I like. No matter what happens they're right there. I couldn't ask for anything more. It's bitchin'; it's always good to leave here a winner."

Prudhomme also was enthusiastic about his driver.

"I always feel good about the kid driving the Camaro," he said of his protégé. "When he goes to the starting line and he's driving, sheesh, I feel good. I feel that way about Dixon and I feel that way about Capps. I really feel good. He's one of the exceptional guys that come along. I have seen a lot of them and he's kept that never-give-up attitude and I love that. I love that. I'm just glad I don't have to drive against him. The kid's a bad ass."

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