CAPPS RELISHES THE MEMORIES OF 500 STARTS
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Because the event is a relaxed atmosphere, Capps' 16-year old son Caden was allowed to back up his father following a burnout.
It seems like yesterday Capps remembered performing the same chore for his father.
"I got to do that as a kid a lot and you don’t get to do it, especially here in the big show races at NHRA," Capps said. "It was a surreal moment for me to look out and have my son backing me up. We had Joe my normal back up guy out there with him the first lap."
Caden drew a kinda-sorta stern talking to from crew chief Rahn Tobler from deviating from the plan a bit.
"[Caden] changed his position [on the second run]," Capps confirmed. "On the second run just assuming we were in the other lane, he thought he was in the right spot and he wasn’t. I enjoyed watching him, not that he got scolded but I enjoyed watching him learn and have Tobler sit him down and explain why he wanted everything done exactly that way."
Capps said it's this attention to detail which resulted in the 2016 NHRA Funny Car championship.
"I’m backing up against the legendary John Force, and there’s my son out there backing me up," Capps recalled. "Force joked with me afterward how cool it was as he was backing up to look up and see my son backing me up. It was just a night that you can’t replace." (Jon Asher Photo)
Ron Capps was too busy living the dream back in 1994, to grasp the idea he might be drag racing for a living 23 years later. Nevermind the idea the relatively inexperienced nitro racer would become a series champion, or in his case this weekend have 500 starts.
"It’s a rich man’s sport," Capps said of his mindset."At the time that would have been my thought, it’s a rich man’s sport, and unless I own my own team, there was no way that is going to happen. Fast forward, here I am getting to work with two of the biggest names in this sport, Don Schumacher, and Don Prudhomme."
What is lost in much of his Funny Car accolades is Capps once drove an A/Fuel Dragster for John Mitchell before taking the wheel of Roger Primm's Top Fuel dragster where he won his first national event in Seattle 1995.
Capps got his break in 1997 when the legendary Don Prudhomme gave him an opportunity to drive a Funny Car. In 2005, Capps joined Don Schumacher Racing.
Capps has experienced the tutelage of a legend or two on his ride to fame.
"Then look at the names of the crew chiefs I’ve gotten to work with, Roland Leong, Tim Richards, Dale Armstrong, Ed “Ace” Mccullough and now Ron Tobler."
Capps to date has achieved 56 national event victories with 52 runner-up finishes, and 21 No. 1 qualifying efforts. As much as he smiles in pride of his track record, the endorsement of a former crew chief is the icing on the cake.
In the most recent Legends: The Series featuring Leong, he credited Capps as one of his best drivers ever alongside Prudhomme.
"It brought tears to my eyes, it’s that cool," Capps admitted. "It’s one of those pinch me moments. If you go down the list of his former drivers, it’s pretty amazing. So when you hear a guy like that who’s been around that long in this sport, to hear him say that it’s another one of those crazy moments.
"You have to remember I was just a kid building The Hawaiian models. I never in a million years thought I would meet him, let alone work with him and for him. It’s crazy; it’s just nuts. I still can’t believe it."
And still, Capps has a hard time believing the dream he's been living the dream for 500 races.
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