Following what was to be a “one-off” appearance of the Ron Capps-driven Adaptive One Brakes Dodge Funny Car body at Bristol Dragway last week, NAPA AUTO PARTS has opted to run the body one more time at this weekend’s NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, the ninth round of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

“It’s a cool design representing a great product,” said Capps, the class points leader and winner of three of the first eight national events of the season. “And we’d like nothing better than to put it in the winner’s circle in Topeka.”

Following what was to be a “one-off” appearance of the Ron Capps-driven Adaptive One Brakes Dodge Funny Car body at Bristol Dragway last week, NAPA AUTO PARTS has opted to run the body one more time at this weekend’s NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, the ninth round of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

“It’s a cool design representing a great product,” said Capps, the class points leader and winner of three of the first eight national events of the season. “And we’d like nothing better than to put it in the winner’s circle in Topeka.”

Adaptive One Brake Pads are designed to reduce noise and brake dust without sacrificing the "stop-on-a-dime" braking  power. During the month of May, NAPA is offering a great rebate of up to $90 on a four-wheel brake job using NAPA’s Adaptive One Brake Pads. For all the rebate details, consumers may go to www.AdaptiveOne.com.

With one third of the season completed, Capps is not concerned that his points lead has dropped to 57 markers over second place. “Our lead was diminished a little bit before going to St. Louis and we opened it up to over five rounds of racing after that,” he said. “But, to be honest with you, we're not even looking at the points. The approach this year has always been to focus on the next run in front of us.

“So far, it's worked great,” added Capps, the two-time Topeka titlist who is seeking his first series championship. “I didn't even know who was in second place going into the last three races. I hadn't even glanced at the points. We’re not that worried about it. If we keep up what we've been doing we will be leading the points when we go into the Countdown (the last six races of the year). All the points are going to come with the success that we plan to have the remainder of this regular season.”

This weekend’s Summer Nationals begin a three-event series of back-to-back races during the warmer spring months. “Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is showing that when the conditions warrant it he has a tune-up that can run with anybody,” said Capps. “Now that we're going to the tracks that in the past have been a little trickier in warmer weather, he already knows he can run well in those conditions. We’re looking forward to running these next few races.

“Heartland Park is a track that historically has been a place where if you get cloud cover it’s as good as any track. But, more than likely, it’s going to be warm there. And that's when a team has to grit it out. Everybody has to dig down deep. It can be very demanding on everybody, not just the driver.

“We’ve won twice in Topeka and the last time (in 2006) it was approaching 100 degrees in air temperature. Those are the days you really relish winning. At the end of the day you want to fall over because you're so exhausted. You know you gave it ever bit you had.”

 

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