Ron Capps is Excited to Race Prelude to the Dream

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Mon, 2 Jun 2008, 08:30 PM

Ron Capps is Excited to Race Prelude to the Dream NAPA Car

Courtesy of Judy Stropus

CARLSBAD, Calif. --

NAPA Auto Parts Late Model rendering.

Ron Capps revealed the artwork of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Late Model car he'll be driving in the June 4 Prelude to the Dream event at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Decked out in the familiar red, yellow and blue NAPA design similar to the one on the Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car Capps races in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Late Model should stand out on Eldora's half-mile dirt oval during the 30-lap event which will air on HBO Pay-Per-View. The front end bears a strong resemblance to a 2008 Dodge Challenger.

Capps, along with a number of NASCAR, World of Outlaws and Modified racing stars will compete for the benefit of the Victory Junction Gang Camp II in Kansas City and the Tony Stewart Foundation, aiming to hit the one million-dollar mark. Capps has been a part of this spectacular event since its inception four years ago.

"It's great," said Capps, who is sixth in the Funny Car point standings after nine events this season. "Last year was the first year that the Prelude cars were painted up to match the drivers' regular race cars. The first couple of years of the Prelude guys just showed up and drove whatever Late Model car had been offered to them. They put their name on it and that was pretty much it. So, it's great to see a field of Late Models that you can identify with specific drivers.

"The paint scheme on our Brian Ruhlman-owned NAPA Late Model looks like a mix between our NAPA Funny Car and NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip's NAPA No. 55. I'm excited to get out there and NAPA is as well.

"The hype for this this race is getting bigger and bigger the closer we get to the event," added Capps, 42, of Carlsbad, Calif. "What's cool is watching advertisements pop up on TV for the Pay-Per-View event. I've seen it pretty much on every channel I've tuned into.

"The media are picking up on it more and more the closer we get to it. I just talked to Jimmie Johnson on the phone and this will be his first year there. I've known Jimmie for a while; he grew up racing off-road out here in California. Last year watching Juan Montoya and Jeff Gordon for the first time was cool. And now to add Jimmie Johnson to the list along with those other guys is going to be neat.

"It's such a big night and it happens so fast that before you know it it's over, so you try to relish it every year. All these guys are tough competition for me. Carl Edwards won last year, Kyle Busch was really tough. There is nobody you could single out as your toughest competitor other than Tony Stewart. You know he'll be tough and he's going to be a crowd favorite.

"It seems all these guys end up going out and practicing in these cars during the year, which is something I don't get to do," said Capps, who's amazed his competitors have the time. "I heard Jeff Gordon has been out practicing, Bobby Labonte bought a team, Kenny Wallace owns a team. These guys are getting pretty serious about it. It just tells you how competitive they are.

"This is a charity event for the Victory Junction Gang Camp II in Kansas City and the Tony Stewart Foundation, but, bottom line, everybody wants to win."