2-steppin at DSR
Capps gets first, DSR gets 16th and sweeps nitro titles for 4th time Johnson shoots to No. 2 with Finals win for Make-A-Wish Dodge team Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team led by crew chief John Collins put a wrap on one of the most successful seasons ever at Don Schumacher Racing when the team funded by Terry Chandler won the Funny Car title Sunday to close the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season. It was Johnson s third title of the year, which is the most ever in a year for the veteran driver. Perhaps more importantly, Collins with assistant Rip Reynolds guided Johnson to a secondplace finish in points for the season, which is Johnson s highest spot after the NHRA Finals finale at Pomona, Calif., after finishing third each of the past two years. It's so tough out here that if you can finish second out of all these cars, you had a really, really good year, said Johnson, who finished 72 points behind DSR teammate and first-time world champion Ron Capps. We weren't the best, obviously that was Capps this season, but to be right behind him and be ahead of all the others, I don't know how you could be disappointed.
Johnson s victory pushed the DSR total to 293 including 14 in 24 Funny Car trophies is one short of tying the DSR record set a year ago. DSR s 26th trip to the winner s circle this year, also one short of last year s team record, followed a night when DSR s NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge team led by four-time world champion crew chief Rahn Tobler propelled Capps to his first Mello Yello world title after being runner-up a record four times.. And that came two weeks after Antron Brown and the Matco Tools/U.S. Army team with crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald clinched their second straight Top Fuel world title at Las Vegas and third in the past five years. It marks the 15th and 16th world titles for DSR and fourth time the organization swept the nitro world championships in the same season. Capps and the NAPA Dodge team led by crew chief Rahn Tobler delivered the 16th NHRA world championship and $500,000 bonus to Don Schumacher Racing at the end of qualifying Saturday evening in the NHRA Finals at Pomona. I really haven t slept well since the Countdown started after Labor Day, said Capps, who lost a lead of 202 points when he won the regular season title after 18 races and points were reset to start the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoff when points were reset for the 10 championship contenders. For Tobler, it is his fourth world championship as crew chief and first with DSR; he won two with Shirley Muldowney in Top Fuel and one with Cruz Pedregon in Funny Car. I can t even tell you how focused Rahn Tobler has been this year, said Capps, who was the series runner-up in 1998, 2000, 2005 and 2012. I almost gave up trying so hard and wishing so hard, and just focused on winning races. With everything we got this year my 50th career win, passing some people I really looked up to in the sport with wins that s mind-boggling for me. This was the toughest Funny Car class ever and the 50th anniversary of the Funny Car, which was awesome. What a great, great season. This is the fourth time since 2005 that DSR has won both nitro world championships: Brown and Capps this year, Tony Schumacher and Matt Hagan in 2014, Brown and Jack Beckman in 2012 and Schumacher and Gary Scelzi in 2005. This is epic, Capps said after receiving the Mello Yello champion s jacket and dinner-plate sized gold medal that he called My Mr. T starter kit. With so much attention on Capps coronation, Jack Beckman and the Infinite Hero Dodge team led by Jimmy Prock and funded by Chandler caught a bit of the spotlight a few minutes later when they produced the second quickest time ever in a Funny Car with a run in 3.825 seconds and 332.10 mph.
Funny Car championship Capps-sule 2016 Mello Yello Funny Car world champion, above, holds his Mr. T medal and shares his trophy with his family: above right, brother Jon with parents Betty and John; right, son Caden, wife Shelley and daughter Taylor. Below, Capps is greeted on stage during driver introductions by his fellow Funny Car racers.
NAPA Funny Car crew chief Rahn Tobler, left, and assistant Eric Lane celebrate. Above right, Tobler is joined by wife Ellen with daughter Jessica, grandson Ford and son-in-law Anthony Eisenman. Congratulations from Bruce Tatman 2016 NHRA Countdown to the Championship Standings - FINAL
(Official after Pomona 2; 24 of 24 events; wins in parenthesis; DSR drivers in CAPS) TOP FUEL FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONS 1. ANTRON BROWN (7) 2663 ---- 1. RON CAPPS (5) 2606 ---- 2. Doug Kalitta (4) 2533-130 2. TOMMY JOHNSON JR. (3) 2554-52 3. Steve Torrence 2482-181 3. MATT HAGAN (4) 2494-112 4. J.R. Todd (1) 2455-208 4. John Force (4) 2486-120 5. SHAWN LANGDON (3) 2443-220 5. JACK BECKMAN (2) 2477-129 6. Brittany Force (3) 2399-264 6. Courtney Force (1) 2414-192 7. LEAH PRITCHETT (1) 2389-274 7. Del Worsham (1) 2406-200 8. TONY SCHUMACHER (2) 2387-276 8. Robert Hight (1) 2368-238 9. Richie Crampton 2279-384 9. Tim Wilkerson (2) 2314-292 10. Clay Millican 2264-399 10. Alexis DeJoria (1) 2184-422 AutoImagery.com photo gallery Crew chief Jimmy Prock with assistants John Medlen and Chris Cunningham and the Infinite Hero team funded by Terry Chandler tuned Jack Beckman to the second quickest Funny Car run in history that earned the team its career-best sixth pole of the season and 11th track record of the year with a run of 3.825 seconds at 331.10 mph.
DSR drivers statistics 2016 FINAL
TOP FUEL red/bold = career best or ties career best 1. ANTRON BROWN: Matco Tools/U.S. Army 2016 WORLD CHAMPION/3-TIME CHAMP Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 1st 24 7 4 5 6 3 3 0 55-17 CAREER 358 61 (45 TF/16 PSB) 47 74 93 81 47 3 623-294 Best Time, Speed: 3.679 sec., (2016, Brainerd; and first below 3.7, 2015, Brainerd); 331.12 mph (2015, Brainerd) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 4, lost in semifinals to J.R. Todd 5. SHAWN LANGDON: Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 5th 24 3 0 6 7 9 0 0 30-21 CAREER 188 14 14 38 58 62 18 3 230-171 Best Time, Speed: 3.662 sec. (quickest ever, 2015, Brainerd); 334.15 mph (Reading, 2012) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 3, lost in semifinals to Steve Torrence 7. LEAH PRITCHETT: Papa John s Pizza/Pennzoil/Mopar/FireAde 2000/Albrecht Fast Track Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 7th 23 1 0 4 7 11 1 0 18-21 CAREER 70 1 1 7 13 42 1 6 33-63 Best Time, Speed: 3.698 sec. (2016, Dallas), 329.75 mph (2016, Indy) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 5, lost in second round to Antron Brown 8. TONY SCHUMACHER: U.S. Army Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 8th 24 2 3 3 10 4 3 0 34-22 CAREER 456 82 61 71 124 109 80 8 776-366 Best Time, Speed: 3.686 sec. (Seattle, 2016); 330.55 mph (2014, Las Vegas 2) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 7, lost in second round to Doug Kalitta DSR FUNNY CAR red/bold = career best or ties career best 1. RON CAPPS: NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T 2016 WORLD CHAMPION Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 1st 24 7 (11 final rds) 4 4 7 5 2 1 54-18 CAREER 483 50 (49 FC/1 TF) 50 89 98 178 21 19 666-414 Best Time, Speed: 3.843 sec., (Seattle, 2016); 330.23 mph, (Seattle, 2016) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 5, lost in second round to John Force 2. TOMMY JOHNSON JR.: Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 2nd 24 3 3 4 9 5 1 0 38-21 CAREER 398 15 (13 FC/2 TF) 24 52 98 163 14 44 336-339 Best Time, Speed: 3.847 sec. (2016, Dallas); 328.46 mph (Seattle, 2016) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 3, won in championship round over John Force 3. MATT HAGAN: Mopar Express Lane/Pennzoil/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 2nd 24 4 2 5 7 5 5 0 40-20 CAREER 192 22 20 28 62 56 26 4 265-166 Best Time, Speed: 3.822 sec.-quickest ever (2016, Brainerd); 335.57 mph (fastest ever 2016, Topeka) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 7, lost in first round to Jeff Arend 5. JACK BECKMAN: Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T
Pts Events Wins Rup Semi Qtr 1st rd Poles DNQ W/L 2016 4th 24 2 3 4 10 5 6 0 35-22 CAREER 252 24 25 45 73 78 21 7 332-221 Best Time, Speed: 3.825 sec/second quickest ever (2016, Pomona 2); 334.15 mph (Seattle, 2016) LAST EVENT: Pomona 2 (Nov. 10-13) Qualified: No. 1, lost in semifinals to John Force Terry Chandler and her Pomona Make-A-Wish family DSR helps Dodge, Mopar win NHRA Manufacturers Cup Auburn Hills, Michigan Through dedication, perseverance, and with a generous supply of HEMI horsepower, the Mopar and Dodge brands have achieved a remarkable goal in earning NHRA's 2016 Manufacturers Cup. The cup was presented to Mopar representatives during the season-closing NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series awards ceremony in Hollywood, Calif., on Monday night, just following the NHRA Finals where Ron Capps was awarded the Funny Car championship for a brilliant season-long performance in his Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar Dodge Charger R/T. The Manufacturers Cup is awarded to the automobile manufacturer whose current-year model earns the most points for qualifying and category victories in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series national and divisional events. Entries in Funny Car, Pro Stock, Super Stock, and Stock are awarded 60 points for an event win, 40 points for a runner-up, and 20 points for qualifying. The most recent Manufacturers Cup victory for Mopar was in 1970. "It is a great honor for the Mopar and Dodge brands to receive NHRA's coveted Manufacturers Cup," said Pietro Gorlier, Head of Parts and Service (Mopar), FCA Global. "This award is very meaningful for us, particularly since it has been a number of years since we've reached this goal. On behalf of Mopar and Dodge, I extend our gratitude to the drivers and teams that contributed to this monumental victory. Their dedication to Mopar power and the tremendous effort that they put forth, both in the race shop and on the racetrack, have made this possible. We also thank the loyal fans that support and cheer for these drivers and the NHRA for providing the arena for us to showcase the power and speed of the Mopar and Dodge brands at the drag strip."
DSR Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car drivers Capps, Matt Hagan, Tommy Johnson Jr., and Jack Beckman, as well as Dodge Dart Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson, led the winning efforts for Mopar and Dodge in the professional categories. In all, Mopar-powered Dodge drivers earned a total of 15 national event victories, including 14 of 24 Funny Car competitions and nine all-mopar final rounds. The Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) collective included Mopar Dodge Charger R/T victories for 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car world champion Capps (5), Hagan (4), Johnson Jr. (3), and Beckman (2). Allen Johnson won the prestigious Pro Stock title in Denver at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series (NOTE: order of events only correct for 2016) REGULAR SEASON 2013 WINNNERS 2014 WINNERS 2015 WINNERS 2016 WINNERS 1. 2/12-14 Pom 1 TF Langdon FC C.Force TF albalooshi FC J.Force TF Langdon FC MATT TF Torrence FC RON 2. 2/26-28 Phoenix TF TONY FC RON TF ANTRON FC DeJoria TF TONY FC MATT TF Pritchett FC Wilkerson 3. 3/18-20 G ville TF ANTRON* FC GRAY TF Kalitta FC Hight TF SPENCER FC RON TF B. Force FC Hight *DSR s 200th 4. 4/22-24 LV 1 TF TONY FC C.PedregonTF TONY FC DeJoria TF Crampton FC J.Force TF ANTRON FC DeJoria 5. 4/1-3 CLT TF SPENCER FC MATT TF ANTRON FC Hight TF ANTRON FC JACK* TF B. Force FC Wilkerson *DSR s 100th FC 6. 4/29-5/1 Houston TF Vandergriff FC C.Pedregon TF ANTRON FC Hight TF Kalitta FC RON TF Kalitta FC C. Force 7. 5/13-15 Atlanta TF ANTRON FC GRAY TF SPENCER FC Hight TF ANTRON FC Wilkerson TF Kalitta FC MATT 8. 5/20-22 Topeka TF Langdon FC GRAY TF SPENCER FC C.Force TF Crampton FC JACK* *DSR s 250th TF Kalitta FC MATT 9. 6/3-5 Epping TF SPENCER FC C.Force TF TONY FC RON TF TONY FC J.Force TF ANTRON FC RON 10. 6/10-12 E town TF Langdon FC MATT TF Crampton FC C.Pedregon TF ANTRON* FC MATT TF Torrence FC RON *AB s 50th 11. 6/17-19 Bristol TF S.Torrence FC J.Force TF Langdon FC TOMMY TF Crampton FC MATT TF SHAWN FC TOMMY 12. 6/24-26 Norwalk TF alballoshi FC GRAY TF ANTRON FC J. Force TF Kalitta FC JACK TF SHAWN FC RON 13. 7/8-10 Chicago TF TONY FC MATT TF ANTRON FC MATT TF TONY FC TOMMY TF ANTRON FC JACK 14. 7/2-24 Denver TF SPENCER FC C.Pedregon TF Todd FC Hight TF Torrence FC JACK TF TONY FC J. Force 15. 7/29-30 Sonoma TF Langdon FC RON TF albalooshi FC C.Force TF ANTRON* FC JACK* TF Todd FC J. Force *DSR S 50th Dble-up 16. 8/5-7 Seattle TF Lucas FC MATT TF Kalitta FC J.Force TF Todd FC TOMMY TF ANTRON FC RON 17. 8/19-21 Brainerd TF SPENCER FC RON TF Lucas FC RON (Indy) TF Crampton FC Hight TFB. Force FC Worsham 18. 9/2-5 Indy TF Langdon FC Hight TF Crampton FC DeJoria TF Lucas FC JACK TF TONY FC HAGAN Indy Traxxas Traxxas FC/JACK Traxxas TF/Antron Traxxas/FC JACK Traxxas TF/Tony COUNTDOWN 2013 DSR WINNERS 2014 WINNERS 2015 WINNERS 19. 9/16-18 CLT 2 TF Lucas FC Hight TF TONY FC MATT TF ANTRON FC Worsham TF ANTRON FC J. Force 20. 9/25-27 St. Louis TF ANTRON FC J.Force TF ANTRON FC C.Force TF ANTRON FC Worsham TF SHAWN FC JACK 21. 9/31-10/2 Reading TF Langdon FC J.Force TF TONY FC MATT TF ANTRON FC JACK TF ANTRON FC TOMMY 22. 10/14-16 Dallas TF Kalitta FC C.Pedregon TF TONY FC C. Force TF Crampton FC Worsham TF ANTRON FC HAGAN 23. 10/28-30 LV 2 TF ANTRON FC J.Force TF SPENCER FC Worsham TF Kalitta FC Hight TF Torrence FC J. Force 24. 11/11-13 Pom 2 TF Langdon FC MATT TF Lucas FC MATT TF SHAWN FC Worsham TF Kalitta FC TOMMY DSR TOTALS: TF = 11 FC = 12 TF = 14 FC = 7 TF = 12 FC = 15 TF = 12 FC = 14 DSR 2016 SEASON TOTALS 2 World championships (TF Antron; FC Ron, Matt) 26 - Event titles (TF/12: Antron 7, Shawn 3, Tony 2; FC/13: Ron 5, Matt 4, Jack 2, Tommy 2) DSR ALL-TIME TOTALS 16 - World championships (Tony 8, Matt 2, Antron 2, Ron Capps 1, Jack Beckman 1, Gary Scelzi 1) 293 - NHRA Mello Yello event titles (Top Fuel 137, Funny Car 135, Pro Stock 3, Pro Stock Motorcycle 18) DSR 2015 SEASON TOTALS - 27 1 World championship (Antron s 2nd in Top Fuel) 12 - Top Fuel event titles (Antron 7, Tony 3, Shawn 1, Massey 1) 15 - Funny Car event titles (Jack 7, Matt 4, Ron 2, Tommy 2)
From Southern California s http://www.dailybulletin.com No. 1 source for NHRA news Editor s note: Southern California s Ron Capps will provide his thoughts and insights throughout the Auto Club Finals, the NHRA season finale. He is within striking distance of winning his first Funny Car championship with Don Schumacher Racing s NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T. FRIDAY EDITION (Nov. 11, 2016) By RON CAPPS It seems like a lot more than two weeks have gone by since we raced at Las Vegas, and I can t wait to get back in our Napa Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car today and be with my team to start the last race of the season. So much has happened since we left Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in February when our Napa team started the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season with a win. No better way to start a year than by getting a Wally trophy; actually, it s always great to get a Wally. That was the first time this year I was asked if this would be the year that I win an NHRA world championship. And I can t count how many more times I ve been asked, especially after we won each of our five Wallys. I get it. That s to be expected after you ve finished second to the champion four times. No one s done that before. And it seems like that s been the topic of every conversation I ve had since the Countdown to the Championship started in September. We get to Pomona leading my Don Schumacher Racing teammates Matt Hagan by 86 points and Tommy Johnson Jr. by 113. The most any of us can earn this weekend is 130. So I guess I m in pretty good shape, but like our team owner Don Schumacher says, First you have to qualify and then take it one win at a time on Sunday. Sounds simple, but it isn t. We didn t qualify for this year s first race at Las Vegas in April. We haven t forgotten that. One of the cool things about NHRA is you have to earn your spot every weekend. There are no provisionals like in NASCAR, so you re not guaranteed a chance to race on Sunday. We have to earn it. Our team with my crew chief Rahn Tobler and his assistant Eric Lane with our Napa Know How crew got hot in the summer when we won three of the four titles in June and really haven t let up since. We won the regular 18-race season with a 202-point lead and all we got for that was a 20-point bonus when they reset the points for the six-race Countdown that cut our lead to 30. Tobler and I believed if we kept getting those little points in qualifying and averaged a semifinals finish in the Countdown we d have a good shot at the championship. Well, we ve earned more qualifying points than any of the other teams and we ve been in three semis and two final rounds. It was a longshot for us to clinch the championship at Las Vegas like our teammate Antron Brown did in Top Fuel for the second straight year. I definitely feel a little bit looser going into Pomona than we were going into Vegas. But it s by far not over, and a lot of people since Las Vegas have been yelling out, Hey, this is your championship, but it s not over. We still need to get there and do our business and clinch it. I ve seen some pretty miraculous things happen at Pomona over the years, and we definitely don t want to be one of those statistics. I m going up to the line each time trying to do the same thing I ve done for 19 years, and that s just be money for our team so they can count on me. SATURDAY EDITION (Nov. 12, 2016)
By RON CAPPS I sat near the top of the grandstands at the Fairplex late Thursday afternoon watching Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying for the NHRA Finals on a perfect Southern California day. I just needed a little time to be a fan and not thinking about what lies ahead before my Napa Auto Parts team and Rahn Tobler, who has become a great friend over the past five years along with being a hall-of-fame crew chief, and my Don Schumacher Racing team continue to work at maybe finishing today as the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world champion. If not today, then maybe Sunday during elimination. Am I tired of being asked about winning my first Funny Car world championship after finishing as the runnerup four times? Yes. The only time I want bridesmaid tied to my name again is when my beautiful daughter, Taylor, gets married and that better not be for a long time. This isn t to upset my friends, fans and even family but I might resort to some of my amateur wrestling moves on the next person who asks if I m OK. They mean well, I know. They re just concerned about how I feel about this last race of the season with an 89- point lead over my DSR teammate Matt Hagan and for the first time getting to start the season s final event with the points lead. Well, hell yeah I m OK. But it s not just because we re leading the points with Tobler, (assistant) Eric Lane and our Napa Know How crew that has already given me the greatest season of my career. I m more than OK. I just have to look at my beautiful, supportive wife, Shelley, who convinced me to go on the road as a full-time drag racer more than 20 years ago. Taylor, who s 20 and in junior college, earned her Super Comp competition license a few weeks ago in Doug Foley s Pure Speed drag racing school at Fontana. When we lost the championship by two points in 2012, she hugged me and cried. You never want to see your little girl cry. This year I want my angel to hug me at the end of the day with happy tears. And then there s my wonderfully wacky son Caden who s 15 and makes me laugh all the time. Thanks to my great friend and reigning Funny Car world champion Del Worsham, Caden started to race in the NHRA Jr. Dragster youth program earlier this year to become the third generation of Capps to become a drag racer. None of this would have happened were it not for my parents, John and Betty. They were drag racers before I was born. People think I m joking when I say I was conceived at one of their races; they insist it isn t a joke. We ll be a world champion today, tomorrow or next year. And if it doesn t happen heck yeah I m OK. Just look at my life with or without the big trophy. We were able to pick up three more points on Matt when we were the quickest in Friday s first session and are lead is now 89, but I m not counting on anything until it s over. SUNDAY EDITION (Nov. 13, 2016) (Editor s note: Ron Capps of Carlsbad clinched his first NHRA Funny Car world championship Saturday at the Auto Club Finals in Pomona. He had been a four-time runner-up for the championship and the driver with the most wins (50) without the prestigious title). By RON CAPPS Wow. I ve never understood when an athlete says they can t find the right words to describe what they had just accomplished something great, something they d worked years or decades for. Well, I understand now. I can t believe that with the help of so many others, that I am finally the NHRA Funny Car champion. No one will ever ask me again if this will be the year that I am no longer the driver with the most NHRA trophies (50) without one of them representing a Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship. I can t count how many times I ve said that a successful career won t be defined by winning a world championship, and it won t. Ed McCulloch is one of the greatest drivers our sport has ever had and he s told me he wouldn t trade one of his five U.S. Nationals trophies for a world championship. He was my crew chief and mentor at Don Schumacher Racing for my first seven years and a part of this trophy belongs to him. And so many others that I can t mention them all are why I got that big trophy and champion s jacket yesterday. It starts with my parents, John and Betty, who were diehard drag racers before I came along. Their passion became my passion and now is my family s passion. There s Darryl Hitchman, who hired me to my first full-time job working on their Top Alcohol Dragster. That led to the late John Mitchell putting me in his Montana Express for my first time driving a Top Fueler. After that, Roger Primm in 1995 gave me the chance to win my first and only Top Fuel title that led to The Snake (Don Prudhomme) hiring me two years later to drive one of the most iconic Funny Cars in history and give me my first opportunity to race for a Fortune 500 company when we were with U.S. Tobacco.
And 12 years ago, Don Schumacher brought me to DSR and a chance to be part of our sport s most successful organization. For the last nine years, I ve been part of the NAPA AUTO PARTS family that is just that, a family. Had we not failed to qualify for the April race at Las Vegas in 2012, Don wouldn t have switched our team with Jack Beckman s after that race that put be together with Rahn Tobler and his band of the craziest, most talented crew in racing. Jack beat me for the championship by two points that year but were it not for that we wouldn t be riding so high today. I call them our NAPA Know How guys, and there is no group I d rather go to battle with. Tobler put together this crew of Eric Larry Lane, Dustin D Heim, Joe Chrisman, Chris Booger Afflerbach, Brad Robinson, Tyler Otis Troxel, Terry Sweet Chuck Prososki and Kyle Scooter Sams. Can t thank them enough along with everyone at DSR. On Sunday, we want to win for the sixth time this year. That s something else we ve never done. MONDAY EDITIONS (Nov. 14, 2016) By RON CAPPS While you re enjoying a cup of coffee and reading the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin this morning, I m sitting in a hotel room writing a speech for tonight s annual NHRA Awards Ceremony, a white-tie affair in Hollywood that honors the top-10 racers in each of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series categories. NHRA wants its champions this year to limit speeches to five minutes and that is looking like the biggest challenge I ll have all year. I hope they re reading this because my speech might be a little long. I mean, how many times will I get the opportunity to thank the great people who helped me get to speak at the most important banquet of my life? I ve never had to worry about speech writing but I ll enjoy every agonizing minute because I only was given the assignment because I won my first NHRA Funny Car world championship with Don Schumacher Racing s NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T team. Our racing ended in the second round Sunday when we lost a great race to John Force. I never want to lose and didn t want to lose on Sunday but it did give me a little chance to catch my breath. Saturday and Sunday were unbelievable. One of the biggest surprises was when I was introduced to our great fans on the pre-race stage near the starting line. When I walked through the door I didn t see the fans right away because all the other Funny Car drivers were standing on the stage waiting to congratulate me. Can you believe that? We battle at 24 races a year and I just won what all of them want but they were there to congratulate me. That was crazy. That s also why I love our sport of NHRA Mello Yello drag racing. Two of the drivers that helped corral everyone are good friends Del Worsham and Chad Head. I had just taken the championship that Del won last year and I had to race Chad in the first round. When I go on stage tonight in my tux and it won t have a single sponsor logo on it I hope the spotlights are so bright that I won t able to see who is in the audience because I don t think I ll be able to hold it together. I ll be able to handle looking at my fellow racers, but the ones I don t want to make eye contact with are my Capps family, my NAPA racing family and my Don Schumacher Racing family. One of the tables will be filled with several NAPA executives who are flying in from Atlanta with their wives to share this special night. How great is to have a sponsor like NAPA that genuinely cares for me and appreciates the battle we just won. And that wouldn t have been possible without their support. Well, it is about 80 days until we come back to Pomona for the Winternationals, and when we do, I ll be the champ but starting with zero points like everybody else. 2017 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES SCHEDULE
Regular season Feb. 9-12 Circle K NHRA Winternationals Pomona Feb. 24-26 NHRA Arizona Nationals Phoenix March 16-19 NHRA Gatornationals Gainesville March 31-April 2 Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals Las Vegas April 21-23 NHRA SpringNationals Houston April 28-30 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Charlotte May 5-7 NHRA Southern Nationals Atlanta May 19-21 NHRA Kansas Nationals Topeka June 2-4 NHRA New England Nationals Epping June 8-11 NHRA Summernationals Englishtown June 16-18 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol June 22-25 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Norwalk July 6-9 Route 66 NHRA Nationals Chicago July 21-23 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Denver July 28-30 Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals Sonoma Aug. 4-6 NHRA Northwest Nationals Seattle Aug. 17-20 NHRA Nationals Brainerd Aug. 30-Sept. 4 Chev U.S. Nationals Indianapolis NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Sept. 15-17 NHRA Carolina Nationals Charlotte Sept. 21-24 NHRA Keystone Nationals Reading Sept. 29-Oct. 1 AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals St. Louis Oct. 12-15 AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals Dallas Oct. 26-29 NHRA Toyota Nationals Las Vegas Nov. 9-12 Auto Club NHRA Finals Pomona ABOUT DON SCHUMACHER RACING Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered near Indianapolis in Brownsburg, Ind., fields eight professional NHRA teams in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by 8-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the reigning and 3-time world champion Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster driven by Antron Brown, the Red Fuel/Sandvik Coromant dragster driven by 2013 world champion Shawn Langdon and the Papa John s Pizza/FireAde 2000/Pennzoil/Mopar dragster with driver Leah Pritchett. In Funny Car, two-time world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane 2016 Dodge Charger R/T, reigning world champion Ron Capps NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr. DSR has won 293 NHRA national event titles and 16 world championships. Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing DSR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT Leah Vaughn vaughnl@shoeracing.com Jeff Wolf wolfj@shoeracing.com Allie Bland blanda@shoeracing