Mopar-powered driver Ron Capps advanced to the semifinals at the NHRA Virginia Nationals on Sunday,
Oct. 11. With championship contenders Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood and Tony Pedregon bowing out
in the early rounds, Capps moved to fourth in the standings and is now just three rounds behind the
leaders with two races left.
Mopar HEMI-Powered Capps Makes Up Ground in Countdown with Semifinals Finish in Richmond
NAPA Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car driver Ron Capps made up ground in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series Countdown to 1 playoffs point standings with his semifinals finish at the NHRA
Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond, Va., on Sunday, Oct. 11. The
Mopar(R)-powered Funny Car veteran moved into fourth place and closed the gap between himself and
current leader Robert Hight to just 63 markers.
Capps is within striking distance of his first Funny Car championship with just two events
remaining in the season. En route to the semifinals after qualifying No. 2 with a 4.046-second run
at 308.71 mph, the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot dismissed Jerry Toliver with a solid
4.085/309.27 pass, then dismissed Bob Tasca with another stout 4.121/298.07 run.
Despite enjoying lane choice all the way, he exited the event in the semifinal round against
eventual event winner Del Worsham, when he struck the tires early, slowing to a 5.145/149.10 pass,
while Worsham cruised to the victory with a 4.119/306.95.
"We're going next to Las Vegas. That's a great track for this team; we won there earlier this
year," said Capps. "With those two tracks coming up (Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif.) and our being
three rounds behind the leaders it's going to be a fun two weekends off."
Mopar HEMI(R)-powered drivers qualified 1-2-3 at Richmond, as Capps' DSR teammates Jack Beckman and
Matt Hagan qualified No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Beckman and Hagan suffered first-round defeats.
The Mopar-fueled DSR trio will head next to the ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
Johnson Fails to Qualify in Richmond; Mopar-powered Morgan Advances to Semis
Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T NHRA Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson endured a tough trip to the
NHRA Virginia Nationals near Richmond, Va. Johnson was unable to place his Mopar Dodge in the field
of 16 during qualifying at Virginia Motorsports Park on Saturday, Oct.10, suffering his second Did
Not Qualify (DNQ) of the season.
Johnson posted runs of 6.673/206.83 and 6.640/207.43 during qualifying on Friday, Oct. 9, and was
ranked No. 6 after two sessions. In the first qualifying session on Saturday the Team Mopar veteran
posted his best pass of the weekend, a 6.621/208.01 run, and was ranked No. 5. Unfortunately,
Johnson encountered problems in his fourth and final qualifying run, managing just a 7.277/145.50,
and was relegated to No. 17, one spot out of the show.
Mopar-powered Pro Stocker Larry Morgan advanced to the semifinals at Richmond. Morgan bested fellow
HEMI-driven drivers Johnny Gray and John Nobile in the first and second rounds, respectively,
before losing to Greg Anderson in the semis. Mopar-fueled V. Gaines exited in a first-round loss to
event winner Mike Edwards.
Johnson is now sixth in the NHRA Countdown to 1 standings; Gray is seventh. Johnson will attempt to
rebound from his Richmond outing by capturing his third win of the 2009 season at the next event,
the ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson failed to qualify for the field at Richmond, suffering his second
DNQ of the season. Johnson will look to rebound with his third win of the 2009 season at the next
event, the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
For more information on the NHRA, visit http://http://www.nhra.com.
