Capps' current, past teams show 'NAPA Know How' as DSR Funny Car teams 1-2 in Four-Wide qualifying

April 13

CONCORD, N.C. (April 13, 2012) - Ron Capps and his NAPA AUTO PARTS Funny Car team proved Friday that "NAPA Know How" is more than a jingle for popular commercials.

After the team did not qualify for the last NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event two weeks ago, Capps and his new crew chief, Rahn Tobler, put the Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car on the provisional pole on Friday.

On the same day, NAPA AUTO PARTS NASCAR Cup driver Martin Truex Jr. earned the pole for Saturday night's race in Fort Worth, Texas.

While Truex locked up the top qualifying position for stock cars, Capps has to endure two more qualifying sessions on Saturday in the Four-Wide NHRA Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway's zMAX Dragway in Concord.

DSR owner Don Schumacher made some major moves after Capps didn't qualify for the event at Las Vegas. The biggest decision was moving Tobler and crew from the Funny Car driven by Jack Beckman to the Dodge Charger R/T driven by Capps.

The crew that had worked for Capps' team for several years worked magic with new crew chief Todd Smith and their NAPA spirit helped put Beckman in the No. 2 qualifying position behind Capps.

Capps' best run was 4.105 seconds (301.81 mph) to Beckman's 4.113 (308.28).

"As good as it feels to be in the No. 1 spot, it feels almost as good for my former crew to be sitting right behind me with Jack," said Capps, who is trying for the 12th pole of his career and first at zMAX.

"Both of our teams have worked so hard since Las Vegas that it means so much to all of our NAPA AUTO PARTS guys to do so well today."

"I listened to him go over everything with (assistant crew chief) John. I was really impressed listening to how they approached everything.

"I haven't had a chance to work with Rahn as a crew chief, but I've been around him a lot to know what kind of crew chief he is.

"He's the type of guy that you won't get a lot of really, really highs or really, really lows."

Tobler tuned Shirley Muldowney to three NHRA Top Fuel championships and Cruz Pedregon to one in Funny Car.

"The smiles on everybody's faces erased everything our organization had to go through the past two weeks.

"I was so happy for the Freightliner team," Capps said of his former crew. "I was almost more happy to see their 4.11 pop up than for our 4.10.

"It's been a lot of work in just a few days for these crews and to watch Jack's car go down the track like that kinda made my stomach have butterflies ... like when you watch your kids do something neat.

"That was big."

Racing resumes Saturday with qualifying sessions at noon and 3 p.m. heading to Sunday's championship eliminations that will begin at noon.

About NAPA AUTO PARTS
NAPA was founded in 1925 to meet America's growing need for a world-class auto parts distribution system. By providing excellent customer service for more than 80 years, NAPA has become the industry leader.

NAPA's strength is unrivaled, with over 6,000 NAPA AUTO PARTS stores, 64 Distribution Centers, than 13,000 NAPA AutoCare, AutoCare Collision and Truck Service repair facilities, over 400,000 parts in inventory every day and the convenience of 24-hour shopping with NAPAonline. NAPA AUTO PARTS stores provide friendly, personalized service. Our highly trained and experienced professionals are here to help you get the job done. With our huge in-stock inventory, NAPA provides the parts you need when you need them.

For your automotive repair needs, NAPA AutoCare and AutoCare Collision and Truck Service Centers can handle everything from preventive maintenance to major repairs. Technicians at NAPA AutoCare Centers have access to the most extensive training in the automotive industry. Qualifying repairs are backed by the NAPA AutoCare "Peace of Mind" Warranty, providing our customers with 12-months/12,000 miles of worry-free protection on qualifying parts and labor. Wherever you may travel, our warranty is honored at all NAPA AutoCare Center locations across the country.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., consists of seven professional NHRA teams: in Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the FRAM/Prestone dragster of Spencer Massey and the Matco Tools dragster of Antron Brown; and in Funny Car, 2011 NHRA Funny Car champion Matt Hagan in the Aaron's Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T, Valvoline NextGen Dodge piloted by Jack Beckman, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Service Central Dodge of Johnny Gray. DSR has won 177 NHRA national event titles and nine world championships.