LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2024) – In one of the closest Funny Car races in four-wide drag racing history, three-time world champion Ron Capps finished third in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals final round Sunday afternoon at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Driving the NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, Capps laid down a weekend-best 3.902-second pass at 333.00 MPH to come up just thousandths of a second short in a four-wide photo finish.
Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli worked their way through qualifying, steadily improving in each session. After a pair of 4-second passes on Friday, Capps laid down a 3.988 E.T. at 324.67 MPH to step up in the third session on Saturday. A consistent but slightly quicker 3.980 E.T. in the final session put Capps in the No. 11 position going into Sunday eliminations.
The first quad of Funny Car eliminations was a tricky one, but Capps came out on top. He and fellow Toyota driver J.R. Todd left first with identical .059 reaction times, then Capps held on to win with a 4.289 E.T. at 222.88 MPH over Todd, Dave Richards, and Daniel Wilkerson. Capps was first off of the starting line again in the second round, an advantage that helped him and his 3.932 E.T. finish ahead of Matt Hagan’s 3.938 E.T., Todd’s 3.951-second effort, and Jason Rupert’s 4.055 E.T.
Appearing in his 148th career final round, Capps cut his best light of the day, .056, and charged to his best performance of the weekend to reach the finish line third behind winner Bob Tasca III and runner-up Austin Prock. Capps finished less than a thousandth of a second behind Prock and just nine thousandths behind Tasca.
“What a drag race to watch as a fan,” said Capps, who’s won six times in Las Vegas. “I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am with our NAPA Auto Care team and what they’ve done with a brand-new car and a lot of the new parts that they’ve had to get used to. It usually takes teams a lot longer than this. I’m pretty bummed that we couldn’t win that round. I’m so happy we have our race car back, especially getting on a swing here where Guido is getting comfortable. I’m so happy about the car, but I’m so bummed at the same time. It’s going to take a little bit to digest.”
No. 6-ranked Capps and the Ron Capps Motorsports Funny Car team will get another shot at four-wide glory in two weeks at the East Coast edition of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 26-28, at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
Qualified: No. 11 (3.980 E.T. at 311.85 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.289 E.T. at 222.88 MPH defeated Dave Richards 4.637 E.T. at 216.27 MPH, Daniel Wilkerson 7.286 E.T. at 118.58 MPH
E2: 3.932 E.T. at 331.04 MPH defeated J.R. Todd 3.951 E.T. at 321.81 MPH, Jason Rupert 4.055 E.T. at 317.64 MPH
E3: 3.902 E.T. at 333.00 MPH defeated by Bob Tasca 3.915 E.T. at 329.75 MPH, Austin Prock 3.904 E.T. at 318.77 MPH