By Joe Sherk. Photos by Jeff Burk

There are two objectives for Don Prudhomme's Skoal Racing Camaro drivers and crews at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals: 1) win the race; 2) try some new parts and pieces in early preparation for the 2002 season.

The Blue Camaro is driven by Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Green Camaro is driven by Ron Capps. Ed ÔThe Ace' McCulloch is crew chief for both cars. The Motorplex' all-concrete track provides an excellent testing surface, enabling McCulloch to experiment with some new ideas while getting ready to compete.

Capps still wants to finish third overall and he is one of three drivers contending for the same spot. Del Worsham is third with 1273 points, followed by Capps at 1268 and Tony Pedregon at 1259.

"It's tough when you have a goal to try and finish third, like this year, and, at the same time, know you have to test (during the races)," said Capps. "You have to take a step backward to go forward and we know those are the circumstances we face. But we have to look at the future and focus on next year and trying to win the championship. That's why we're out here. We want to win races and, ultimately, the championship.

"The best way to test is on NHRA-prepared tracks, and the Motorplex is a very good track."

Capps has one victory (May, 1998) and set several personal bests there, including a 4.813-second time in May 2000 that held as the quickest of the 90-percent fuel rule until earlier this year.

"I was amazed that run stood up as long as it did," commented Capps. "On that run, the car actually pushed itself out of the groove, but the tires still stuck, and that's what's good about the Motorplex. You have a margin for error; you can get away with more because of the concrete."

Although testing was on the agenda a year ago, rain washed out the event one weekend and qualifying on the make-up date. For the first time, NHRA ran the race without qualifying and used driver points to fill the field.

Fans at the Motorplex are used to seeing record runs at the track," Capps said. "We know the Motorplex has always been a place where you could run career bests. It's just a matter of whether the weather conditions will permit it.

"I believe Tommy (Johnson) and I have 4.7-second cars. It looks like a lot of the crew chiefs are getting a handle on running quicker this year and I expect to see better numbers this weekend at the Motorplex than what we ran at Reading," Capps predicted.

Johnson isn't in contention for the championship, but that doesn't mean he won't be working hard at the race. Now that the sun is setting on the season, Johnson is entering a new phase.

"Ace told me we were going to be experimenting at the Motorplex," he said. "Basically, we'll be trying to win the race yet figure out what our future is (in terms of working new parts into the tune-up) for next year. We'll be trying some different things.

"This really isn't a test, but we're going to approach qualifying differently, try different things and vary the combination," he continued. "Hopefully that will bring us some success. It doesn't do any good to keep doing what you're doing if it doesn't work."