Hats Off to Capps
3/9/2009For years I've heard John Force and Gary Scelzi and many others say Ron Capps is a good driver.
So, I asked him: What makes a good drag racer?
"Even more than the casual fans think that when a car smokes the tires the driver pressed too hard on the gas," Capps admitted to me a few weeks ago. "Or, they don't understand we hit the gas as hard as we can and quick as we can, and then it's up to the tune-up of the car."
Capps is ideal to explore this issue with, for several reasons: 1) He's been in the NHRA nitro classes since 1995; 2) He's been the championship runner-up three times; 3) He has 27 wins; 4) He's not only tried his hand at, but shown potential, in other forms of motorsports.
Oh, and he won the season's opening two Funny Car races in the NAPA Dodge Charger fielded by Valvoline-using Don Schumacher Racing. It was the first time since Force in 1997 that a driver took both of a campaign's first two events.
"One thing I've learned, like when I go race Tony Stewart's Prelude or sprint cars, midgets, road racing, the strange thing about our sport is you cannot be better than the car is set up for a lane as it is at that moment. When you look at some of these other forms of racing, the driver can take a fifth-place car and win with it. In drag racing, you cannot be better than the car is, but you can make it a lot worse.
"Once you've made a few runs, you get used to the launch. A good driver isn't someone who can just hold the gas and steer it. The good driver knows when to shut it off. That's when things go wrong and things get blown up and hurt parts, catch fire, hurt bodies. The good driver knows how to feel things and either peddle it to save the run or shut off when he's supposed to. Once you've made a few runs, all it takes is courage to hold the gas down."
Do these limitations of 1,000-foot races make the emotions different for an NHRAer vs. NASCAR or any driver?
"The good racers -- and I've luckily been around a Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt and Roger Penske's team at big races and seen their drivers in action up-close -- I know I'm not any different when I don't have a good weekend at the racetrack. I'm miserable when I go home. The good racers live it, breath it, sleep it. You take it everywhere with you. That's when you find out the more passionate racers from those who are out there to be a profiler or famous or in it for the money."
Capps, 43, fits into that sliver of straight-liners who have attracted legitimate interest from team owners in other series. A big-time eye-opener was when he tested well in IROC a few years ago.
"I had several guys tell me they would put me in a Nationwide car and help me start a career over there (NASCAR). But I think I was too old.
"I had to look at the big picture: You've got to be 19 or 20, a Kyle Busch, or one of those younger guys. I was too old to make the switch. My love is here anyway, but I really thought about it when I tested IROC and those guys told me I had a natural ability.
"Being close to the (Funny Car) championship has made me . . . I've had a chance to switch over to Top Fuel, in good rides, but we've gone this far in Funny Car and I would feel like I gave up. I came into Funny Car with a goal to beat John Force for a championship and, to me, he's still the champion. Force is still the guy to beat. I call him the champ. Until we do that, I would feel like I was giving up on a dream."
I told Capps that left the impression if he won the Full Throttle title, maybe he would change lanes, so to speak. He smiled, paused, pondered his answer for several seconds.
"It's possible. I would be much more apt to do that. I get to do dirt and midgets and late models a few times a year and I feel like I get enough of that that it takes care of my appetite."
After no wins and eighth in the 2008 points, Capps explained that his legendary crew crew, Ed (Ace) McCulloch, switched his philosophy.
"He told me right before Pomona, 'We're going to take the Countdown out of the equation. We going to win races.' He's shortened our outlook. As long as we're in the Countdown, we can go for it.
"I'm still learning from him. We can suck in qualifying, but when I show up Sunday morning, I have all the confidence we can win."
Yes, that sounds like a good driver.
[ Next column: March 23]
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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)
BackAbout I.N. Sider
I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.