Ron Capps’ 2016 Funny Car world championship season and hot start to the 2017 season has earned him a nomination for an ESPY award in the Best Driver category, it was announced this week. This is the first time he has been nominated for the prestigious honor in his 23-year NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series career.
 
Capps is nominated alongside Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud and NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. The ESPY Awards, for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly, was created by ESPN in 1993. The nominees are selected for their performances over the past 12 months.
 
“What we did with our NAPA Auto Parts team last year was huge after trying to win the championship for about 20 years,” Capps said. “Just to be nominated with this group is unbelievable.”
 
The 2016 season was a breakthrough one for veteran Capps and his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team. He clinched the 2016 Funny Car championship crown after winning five national events in ten finals appearances. In pursuit of his first world title Capps finished second in the points a record four times in his Funny Car career before shedding the title of the winningest driver in NHRA history to not win a championship. In 2017, Capps has won five of the first 12 races of the NHRA Mello Yello Series season and has a solid lead in the Funny Car points standings.

“It will be fun to see our NHRA nation and all the NHRA fans try to beat those guys from NASCAR, IndyCar  and, Formula One,” Capps said. “It will be a star-studded night and just attending will be something I’ll never forget.”

Fans can vote for Capps and their other sports heroes by logging on to http://es.pn/TupHtl. The 25th edition of the ESPY awards will be hosted by Peyton Manning and will be held at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.  Voting for the ESPYS ends July 12 at 8 p.m. ET.
 
Capps joins Erica Enders, John Force, Greg Anderson, Tony Schumacher, Ashley Force Hood, Del Worsham, Melanie Troxel, and Tony Pedregon as NHRA drivers who have been nominated for ESPY awards.