Ron Capps starts from sixth for Sunday's Mile High Nationals

July 23

Ron Capps grabbed the sixth starting spot in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for Sunday’s 32nd-annual MOPAR Mile-High NHRA Nationals here at Bandimere Speedway.

Like many of the drivers facing the challenging heat and altitude conditions, the Don Schumacher Racing pilot used a second-round run on Friday of 4.232 seconds at 302.75 miles per hour to secure his qualifying position.

He will take on 11th-qualifier Bob Tasca III in the first round of final eliminations. This will be the third meeting of the two in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season, with Capps owning a 2-0 record (Houston and Topeka) against the Rhode Island native.

Qualifying in the top-half of the field was an important step for success on race day, explained Capps.

“We have lane choice for the match with Bob, which we wanted,” he said. “This is such a challenging, unique track, you never know what Sunday will bring. That is why having a crew chief with the kind of experience Tim (Richards) has is so crucial.

“We think we have a car which is capable of winning in this heat, again, especially since we qualified in the top eight, but you never know what’s going to happen here. This is a track where you just don’t know what’s going to happen on race day.”

Historically, the Southern California native has figured out the Denver challenge. He won in 2009 and went to the final round two other times (1998 and 2007).

Capps heads into Sunday’s race, which begins at 11 a.m. MT, seventh in the Funny Car standings.