Don’t look now, but here comes Ron Capps.

After watching his championship aspirations seemingly go up in smoke over the last two races with two straight first round exits, Capps has suddenly found a speed that he wasn’t sure this team had.

Now the 2016 Funny Car world champion is feeling like he can make a dent in the championship race to close out the season and, who knows, maybe more.

“This was big. We said at Dallas, we have to run the table. We’ve got to start making a move,” Capps said. “There are 150 points available in Pomona and even though we are pretty far back, it was Saturday afternoon last year when we were trying to go back-to-back in the championship when Robert Hight almost didn’t qualify. The point is anything can happen. And this is a good start.”

Capps raced to the provisional top spot on Friday seeking his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, putting the NAPA Auto Parts NIGHTVISION Lamps Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car first with a 3.875-second pass at 329.42 mph at the 11th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Tim Wilkerson was second with a 3.876 at 323.74 mph and J.R. Todd was third with a 3.894 at 327.90 mph. Tommy Johnson Jr. (3.901) and Matt Hagan (3.903) rounded out the top five.

“We knew coming in that conditions were going to be great and this is a great racetrack and when you put the two together this is what you see. But (the conditions) might be as good tomorrow, so we are by no means going to sit on this No. 1,” said Capps, who hasn’t qualified first since Bristol in 2016. “We saw J.R. run that 89 out in front of us and we knew there was a good pair behind us that could take that from us. But (Rahn) Tober, he thought it should run an 87 or 88 and it ran 87. When he gets confidence flowing through his veins it trickles down to everyone else around him. But the best part was looking up and seeing Don Schumacher smile. He doesn’t get talked about enough for what he gives us. There are times we are embarrassed that we don’t do better for him, but these moments seeing the boss smile is big.”

But the biggest thing that came out of Friday’s qualifying session for Capps and the NAPA team might not be the potential for their first No. 1 in almost two years, but what the team learned in the setup entering the final three races of the year.

A lesson that could help carry the team back into the top five and maybe more with three races remaining this season.

“Rahn Tobler is always known for the adverse, hot, tricky race setups. He always seems to focus on race day and not worry about the No. 1s. We are like, ‘let them have it, we will miss those little points and focus on race day and those big 20 points per round.’ He is a great racer. But when we ran that good in these cooler conditions that is huge,” Capps said. “To see him smile when he finally found what he was looking for in these conditions is great. In these final races you know you need a tuneup for this weather and now I know that he is comfortable in these cooler, faster conditions. I am super pumped for the rest of the year.”