MADISON, Ill. - He's the NHRA Full Throttle Series driver of the moment and when asked what track ranks high on his list of favorites, Ron Capps is quick to say Gateway International Raceway.
In two events this season, Capps has two wins with his most recent coming from the top qualifier position in Phoenix. That win gives him a total of 26 Funny Car wins (he also has one in Top Fuel), but his first-ever win in the flopper class came here on a day when nitro met NASCAR, St. Louis-style.
"The first win was the inaugural year (of the NHRA Nationals at GIR in 1997) and that was huge!" he said. "Rusty and Mike Wallace were there and they come to a lot of our races. Whenever they talk to me, they always talk about that weekend when the Wallaces and Kenny Wallace all hung out in the Winner's Circle. We just had a great time."
A decade later in 2007, Capps once again visited the Winner's Circle, this time at the expense of good friend Del Worsham. Making the win even more special was spending time with Worsham the night before at Pop's, a local concert venue, where the two were present for a show by one of their favorite bands, Social Distortion.
After hanging out with the band after the gig and returning to the track, the racers realized they were on opposite sides of the ladder the next day. They joked about how cool it would be to face each other in the finals.
"And lo and behold, there we were!" he said. "We kept winning, kept winning, and we were in the final round. Thankfully, we got the win. It was a great weekend."
Last year's O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals didn't end the way Capps wanted it to, but he still received a lot of attention for his first-round exit. It was at his expense that John Force earned his 1,000th career round win on a day that just happened to be the 14-time NHRA Full Throttle Series Funny Car champ's birthday.
Capps took it all in stride and looked at it positively, saying at least his sponsor got plenty of hits on TV thanks to Force's win. He did say, jokingly, if he was going to be immortalized in that fashion, he should have gotten something for the effort.
"It's like that pitcher that gives up that big homerun. Maybe I should have asked Force for a piece off the car so I could hang it up in my house as a piece of memorabilia!"
But win or lose, the Carlsbad, Calif., native said going to Gateway is one of the highlights of his season and always provides a good time for him and his team.
"I'm the type of driver that feeds off what we do when we land in whatever town we're in. If I'm having a good time off the track, it seems like it carries over to what we're doing on the track. St. Louis and Madison, that whole area, I just love going there and I wish we had more races there."
Ron Capps and the rest of the NHRA Full Throttle Series returns to Gateway International Raceway May 1-3 for the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals. For tickets, call 866-35-SPEED or visit GatewayRaceway.com.
In two events this season, Capps has two wins with his most recent coming from the top qualifier position in Phoenix. That win gives him a total of 26 Funny Car wins (he also has one in Top Fuel), but his first-ever win in the flopper class came here on a day when nitro met NASCAR, St. Louis-style.
"The first win was the inaugural year (of the NHRA Nationals at GIR in 1997) and that was huge!" he said. "Rusty and Mike Wallace were there and they come to a lot of our races. Whenever they talk to me, they always talk about that weekend when the Wallaces and Kenny Wallace all hung out in the Winner's Circle. We just had a great time."
A decade later in 2007, Capps once again visited the Winner's Circle, this time at the expense of good friend Del Worsham. Making the win even more special was spending time with Worsham the night before at Pop's, a local concert venue, where the two were present for a show by one of their favorite bands, Social Distortion.
After hanging out with the band after the gig and returning to the track, the racers realized they were on opposite sides of the ladder the next day. They joked about how cool it would be to face each other in the finals.
"And lo and behold, there we were!" he said. "We kept winning, kept winning, and we were in the final round. Thankfully, we got the win. It was a great weekend."
Last year's O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals didn't end the way Capps wanted it to, but he still received a lot of attention for his first-round exit. It was at his expense that John Force earned his 1,000th career round win on a day that just happened to be the 14-time NHRA Full Throttle Series Funny Car champ's birthday.
Capps took it all in stride and looked at it positively, saying at least his sponsor got plenty of hits on TV thanks to Force's win. He did say, jokingly, if he was going to be immortalized in that fashion, he should have gotten something for the effort.
"It's like that pitcher that gives up that big homerun. Maybe I should have asked Force for a piece off the car so I could hang it up in my house as a piece of memorabilia!"
But win or lose, the Carlsbad, Calif., native said going to Gateway is one of the highlights of his season and always provides a good time for him and his team.
"I'm the type of driver that feeds off what we do when we land in whatever town we're in. If I'm having a good time off the track, it seems like it carries over to what we're doing on the track. St. Louis and Madison, that whole area, I just love going there and I wish we had more races there."
Ron Capps and the rest of the NHRA Full Throttle Series returns to Gateway International Raceway May 1-3 for the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals. For tickets, call 866-35-SPEED or visit GatewayRaceway.com.
