The 2016 ESPY awards show was held on July 12 on ESPN and it was a night 2016 NHRA world champion nitro Funny Car driver Ron Capps will never forget.

Capps was nominee for the Best Driver Award, which was won by Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton.

“What’s funny is my wife kept telling me to go talk and introduce myself,” Capps said. “I wanted to meet Steph Curry and Kevin Durant because I’m a Warriors fan. I walked right up to them and I just wanted to say ‘hi’. But it was funny because I turned into a complete fan and every time I turned around there was somebody that I looked up to as a kid or watched on TV. I was in awe just looking around. Probably Chris Berman was the one that I was most excited to run into. Russell Wilson stood there when we were doing the red carpet.”

The evening is one Capps will never forget.

“Yeah, without a doubt,” Capps said. “Just standing there shoulder to shoulder with guys like Peyton Manning, Steph Curry. It was one of those nights where you just wanted to freeze. Even though we didn’t win, they kept coming over and checking to make sure I was in my seat, and I kept looking at my wife going ‘Ok that means at least we’re in the running.’ They kept sending someone over to check before every commercial. So, I kept thinking, they’re either messing with me or we’ve got a shot at this believe it or not. I really didn’t even think about a speech because I knew we had a shot but didn’t think it would be possibly that we’d actually win and ESPY. After two or three commercial breaks and them coming over and checking on me I got a little excited and thought ‘uh oh maybe I should start writing a speech in my head.” And they announced Lewis Hamilton had won.”

Although Capps didn’t win an ESPY he still loves the ring 2016 NHRA world champ has for him.

“Yeah, it’s crazy. Every race we’ve gone to it’s sort of like winning the championship over because I just haven’t seen a lot of these people since they told me last time I was here ‘you’re going to win the championship.’ So that’s the best part. We pulled up to park the rental car and we pulled up next to the trailer and I hadn’t even seen the banner out there that says 2016 World Champion. I hadn’t even seen it on the trailer and it was on a sign. We pulled up and I was like ‘wow.’ You get these moments once in a while, those moments that remind you of a little kid just trying to dream as big as you can about being something when you grow up and these are those moments. Little moments like that. Especially looking up seeing that on the side of the trailer is cool.”