Ron Capps has been on quite a roll as of late.

Two straight wins has vaulted the veteran racer from ninth in the NHRA Funny Car standings up to third and a similar result this weekend in Chicago will put the former champion right back in the thick of the 2019 championship chase.

On Friday, Capps got off on the right foot, driving the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the top of the charts at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

Capps came out of the gate swinging with a 3.893-second pass at 326.00 mph fresh off the trailer and watched as that time withstood a second round of qualifying to leave Capps tops in the class after two passes on Friday.

“To do it in the first session and have it hold was pretty cool,” a confident Capps said. “I actually let the car get to the centerline the first run and shut it off a car length early, so it was on a little bit better run.”

Capps credits the strong showing to his crew chief, veteran tuner Rahn Tobler, who continuously adjusted the car throughout the session as the team watched driver after driver in front of them abort their run.

“I saw Tobler come back a lot between the session starting and when we ran,” Capps said. “We saw a lot of really, really good cars not make it down and he kept coming back and detuning it. I think he went up there to run an 85 or an 86 and as the other cars weren’t making it down he made adjustments. By the time our pair came up he made a last minute adjustment because he just wanted to go down the track.”

And go down the track he did. Capps was quickest in session one and second quickest in session two, giving the team two strong runs to open the weekend. While nothing to write home about, Capps’ chart-topping lap was just the kind of run his crew chief looks for as he banks on consistency over performance more times than not.

“Several years ago we went on a streak of four races we won in a row and that didn’t even phase Rahn Tobler,” Capps recalled. “The thing that really got him was that we had made some 58 consecutive runs without any tire smoke. He didn’t care about the race wins at that point, he was so impressed that we could do that. That is his mentality and that is why I love racing with him. We just went out there and tried to repeat.”

With Capps heading the field, J.R. Todd fell in line in second with a 3.907 at 327.74 mph set in session two on Friday. The two drivers were quickest in their respective sessions on day one.

Shawn Langdon qualified third on Friday with a 3.938 at 327.90 mph, while Jack Beckman (3.940) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (3.951) rounded out the top five.

Many of the teams struggled in one session or the other on Friday, a result Capps pins on a fast track combined with timid tuning from some of the teams.

“I think the track is better than we thought it would be. Usually when cars go out and you don’t see tire smoke and you just hear them shut off, that is tire shake. That means the track is just grabbing the tire more,” Capps said. “I think everybody went up there not tuned up enough. It was pretty stout out there, but I think the crew chiefs were kind of tiptoeing around a little bit because of the lack of track prep.”

So will his time hold up on Saturday? Honestly, while he would love to earn his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, Capps isn’t so sure.

“Tomorrow there is a chance of rain which means it is going to be overcast and all we need at a track like this is just the sun off of it,” Capps said. “So if it breaks and they dry the track and we run, it is going to be better than today.”

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