NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps, desperately seeking a victory for the first time in nearly a year after setting the class standard last season, said Sunday after winning the FRAM-Autolite Nationals, “I feel like I can conquer the world!”
 
Triumphant for the first time since last July at Denver, the NAPA Dodge Charge Funny Car driver said, “It's all confidence. And confidence is built on success.”
 
Capps had his own success Sunday at Infineon Raceway, defeating Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman for the $50,000 payout and clinching a spot in the Countdown.
 
But the success to which he was alluding was not his own but that of Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan and that came from the arrival of respected crew chief John Medlen from the legendary John Force Racing organization.
 
“We've been testing a lot of things all season long. And, obviously when John went over to Matt Hagan's car we saw what happened over there. Matt won two races, set the national record. And I've always wanted to work with John.”
 
He said having Medlen as his crew chief, in addition to all his mentoring by Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, “has been such a pleasure.”

NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps, desperately seeking a victory for the first time in nearly a year after setting the class standard last season, said Sunday after winning the FRAM-Autolite Nationals, “I feel like I can conquer the world!”
 
Triumphant for the first time since last July at Denver, the NAPA Dodge Charge Funny Car driver said, “It's all confidence. And confidence is built on success.”
 
Capps had his own success Sunday at Infineon Raceway, defeating Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman for the $50,000 payout and clinching a spot in the Countdown.
 
But the success to which he was alluding was not his own but that of Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan and that came from the arrival of respected crew chief John Medlen from the legendary John Force Racing organization.
 
“We've been testing a lot of things all season long. And, obviously when John went over to Matt Hagan's car we saw what happened over there. Matt won two races, set the national record. And I've always wanted to work with John.”
 
He said having Medlen as his crew chief, in addition to all his mentoring by Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, “has been such a pleasure.”
 
He said his confidence springs from having faith in his car, yet it goes beyond that. “I now go up there without being afraid of the tree and worrying about the car. You start to doubt yourself sometimes,” he said.
 
Capps said Medlen “is calming until you stage the car and he beats on it. And he starts to walk away and turns around and beats on it again like a little kid. And he gets me so excited. I think, 'Man, he's having fun. I've got to have fun, too.' It carries over. It's just been nothing but smiles in our NAPA pit.
 
“His approach to racing is 'Let's win, but let's have fun.' I can't even tell you how exciting it's been for me. He's such an asset,” he said. “I feel like I can conquer the world in the car right now.”
 
He conquered Beckman on a day in which all three DSR Funny Car teams reached the semifinals. Bob Tasca was the lone Ford representative in the semifinals, and Beckman bested him in one of the closest races of the day.
 
And Capps, monumentally frustrated after his Seattle runner-up finish and determined to make his third final of the year pay off, took out the No. 1 qualifier with a pass of 4.169 seconds at 296.44 mph. Beckman, in the Valvoline / Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger, countered with a 4.210 / 298.93.
 
That gave Capps his first victory at Sonoma since 1997 and kept him from being ruinner-up at Infineon for a third time (as he came close in 2002 and 2005).
 
He improved from seventh to fifth this weekend in the standings.
 
Beckman was seeking his second victory of the season and his first since Phoenix in February and his first at Infineon Raceway. Despite the loss, he took over third place in the standings with just two races remaining before the Countdown fields are set.
 
The victory waqs special to Medlen, who said, “Ron Capps and I have been friends for years. He was a very close friend of Eric's.” Eric Medlen died in 2007 following a Funny Car testing accident.
 
“If anybody guided all this together, Eric did. He's pretty smart. He did a good job,” Medlen said before participating in the fourth annual Ice Cream Social in his son's honor.
 
And team owner Don Schumacher said the victory was “fantastic for Ron. This is a special, special race for the NAPA team, and it's a special race for John Medlen and Ed McCulloch. For them to pull this one off and get the car turned around at this point of the season, to start winning races, is fantastic. (I'm) looking forward to the Countdown.”
 
So is Capps, who would tell you Sunday he's ready to conquer it, too.