Ron Capps Looks To Retake Lead In Funny Car Countdown To Four Playoffs

[PressRoom-GFN]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Sept. 14, 2007) -- After leading the Funny Car standings by as many as 154 points from the fourth event of the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Ron Capps now finds himself fourth in the Countdown to Four playoffs following his first-round loss at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.

This weekend's O'Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park is the second of four events in which the top eight who had qualified for the first phase of the Countdown to the Championship will vie for the top four spots. In the final two events of the season, those four will compete for the championship.

"I still love the concept of the Countdown," said Capps, who drove the Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T to three season victories in six final rounds. "Granted, we went from first to fourth. We knew the points system going in. To be honest with you, it was a tough loss on Monday morning in Indy. But the first thing when I got back in the pits were all the guys saying, 'Don't worry about it. We'll get them the next time. This is a great team.

"This one-weekend break between Indy and Memphis has been tough because I've wanted to get right back in the car. The word resiliency comes up because I flew Sunday night to Indy and we tested a new car all day Monday that Murf McKinney put together. The MTS team and the Brut teams were the only two teams to test. We had a great test and we're going to take the car to Memphis and run it the rest of the year. It's a new wide-cage car with more padding around the cage. It was nice to get in the car on Monday and test.

"I'm looking forward to these next three races, because I love the format and the pressure of the Countdown. You have to have a level of confidence without being cocky in this sport, because you can be humbled so quickly. I expected us to lead the first part of the season. I expect us to be leading the second part of this Countdown. I really don't look for this team to be down, and hopefully, we're going to be leading the third and final part in Pomona.

"Right now, it's a pivotal time for everybody, because with three races left to get into the top four, pressure is the word of the day. And every run is going to be very important. I think it's going to bring the best out in everybody and I really look forward to getting further up in that top four."
###