|
FUNNY CAR
Ron Capps ended a season-long slump by driving to victory
at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals and teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. advanced
to the semifinals - before losing to Capps - Sunday at National Trail
Raceway.
After defeating Johnson's Blue Skoal Racing Funny Car
in a tire-smoking, throttle-pedaling duel, Capps came back in the finals
and used the same driving style to knock out Bruce Sarver to claim his
13th career title and 12th in Funny Car.
Capps, making his first 2002 final, was ahead of Sarver
when the car's tire lost traction. He got on and off the throttle, trying
to find traction while not knowing where Sarver was. Sarver, meanwhile,
had traction trouble of his own and by the time he regrouped, Capps
was too far ahead. Capps won despite breaking the engine's blower belt.
The final numbers were Capps, 6.027 seconds at 235.60
mph; Sarver, 6.942 at 257.97.
"I couldn't see him after we left the starting line,"
Capps recalled, "because his tires starting smoking before mine did.
Then all of the sudden mine broke loose, too. I started pedaling and
trying to see if I could hear his car at the same time. I'm looking
out the window, pedaling and waiting to see if I can hear him. And then
the blower belt breaks and I'm coasting. About that time I was looking
for the win light on the guard rail, and was happy when I saw it in
my lane."
Capps qualified ninth and Johnson 13th for this event.
Capps, who had not won a round of racing in the six previous events,
used a good reaction time and a 4.982 at 303.23 on a tricky National
Trail track. He eliminated favored Whit Bazemore, the No. 1 qualifier,
in his next run with a 5.051 at 298.34 to a tire-smoking 11.485.
In only the second pairing between the Skoal Racing teammates,
both drivers left at almost the same time, but Johnson's Blue car lost
traction firstBoth drivers began pedaling and Capps got to the finish
line first, 6.917 at 154.51 to 7.851 at 197.51.
ADVERTISEMENT
 |
|
"The problem was that my car smoked the tires before his,"
said Johnson, who advanced with a first-round hole-shot win over Tim
Wilkerson and a quarterfinal nod over Dean Skuza. "He had the momentum.
I was surprised we smoked them that early, but we gave the fans their
money's worth on that run. We didn't have low elapsed times but we were
entertaining."
Capps has now won both races between the teammates. -
Joe Sherk
|
