Capps Continues Funny Car Domination, Beats Force in Finals at Bristol

In what has become an almost routine occurrence this season, Team Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing NHRA POWERade Funny Car driver Ron Capps racked up another final round appearance at the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, taking the victory in a match-up against John Force. Capps claimed his third win of the season, 20th of his career, and has advanced to the finals in five out of the six events thus far. He has won seven of his last ten meetings with Force.

"I'm in disbelief," said Capps, who powered his Hemi-powered Brut Dodge Stratus R/T to wins over Scott Kalitta, No. 1qualifier Eric Medlen and teammate Gary Scelzi in the semis before his final round battle with Force. "Things are so good, it's hard to believe."

Things were good for all of the DSR Funny Car entries, as all three advanced to the semis. Scelzi had his best outing of the year in his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T with his semifinal showing, and he moved up three spots in the Funny Car points standings to 11th. Teammate Whit Bazemore grabbed the No. 2 qualifying spot in his Matco Tools Dodge Charger R/T and earned his second straight semifinals appearance. He moved to ninth in the points standings.

"We finally got our race car back," said Scelzi, the defending NHRA Funny Car champion. "It looks like everything is starting to act normal. My lights are good, and everything seems to be going in the right direction."

The trio will head this weekend to Atlanta Dragway for the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals. Qualifying coverage can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., with eliminations coverage on Sunday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more info on Capps, Scelzi, Bazemore or the NHRA, log on to shoeracing.com or nhra.com.

Team Mopar scored again over the weekend in USAC National Sprint Car Series competition, as the Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises and Hoffman Auto Racing teams battled to solid finishes and an overall event title. Jerry Coons Jr., and the No. 69 Hoffman Auto Racing team won the USAC Border Wars XII overall event title. Coons Jr., finished third at Gas City I-69 Speedway in Indiana on Friday night and followed with a fourth-place finish at Eldora Speedway in Ohio on Saturday. The No. 69 team also set quick time on Saturday night en route to the series event finale.

The Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises team also produced quality results. Levi Jones and the No. 21 team scored a sixth-place finish in the feature event on Friday, then was third quick in Saturday's qualifying before mechanical issues relegated Jones to 13th place in the feature. Josh Wise and the No. 20 team won the fourth heat race event on Friday and finished 14th in the feature. Wise had a strong performance on Saturday, leading much of the 30-lap event. A late race caution period and significant tire wear on Wise's No. 20 machine allowed event winner Rob Chaney to pass on the restart, which forced Wise to settle for second.

Kyle Nicholas and the No. 29 team also competed in the Border Wars. Nicholas qualified second quick on Friday night. Making his first appearance at Eldora Speedway on Saturday, Nicholas made the feature event, finishing 12th.

Wise and Jones are first and second in the USAC National Sprint Car Series points standings. Coons Jr., is fourth, and Bryan Clauson, in the Keith Kunz Motorsports Mopar-powered entry, is fifth. The USAC National Sprint Car Series will resume action at Lernerville Speedway, in Pennsylvania, on Friday and Canandaigua Speedway, in New York, on Saturday. For more info on Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises, Hoffman Auto Racing or USAC Racing, log on to tonystewart.com, hoffmanracing.com or usacracing.com.

Looking to put a rough early start behind him, Richie Stevens Jr., took his first step to turning his season around, as the Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing Pro Stocker earned his third quarterfinals appearance of the year in the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol [Tenn.] Dragway. The quarterfinals showing and some fresh faces have left Stevens Jr. and the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T team optimistic heading into this weekend's Southern Nationals.

"The car went straight, and we made two pretty runs," said Stevens, who lost in the quarterfinals to event winner Jason Line. "For David [new DSR Pro Stock crew chief Nickens] just stepping in like this and putting the car in the top half, giving me a consistent car was awesome."

Unfortunately, for the second straight event, Stevens Jr.'s first round win came at the expense of Mopar teammate Allen Johnson. Stevens Jr. posted a 6.745/203.53 pass to defeat Johnson, who drove his Team Mopar J & J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T to a pass of 6.767/204.20. The third member of the Team Mopar Pro Stock trio, Shaun Carlson, failed to qualify his Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus R/T.

The Team Mopar Pro Stockers will travel this weekend to Atlanta Dragway for the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals. Qualifying coverage can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., with eliminations coverage on Sunday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more info on Stevens Jr., Carlson, Johnson or the NHRA, log on to shoeracing.com, allenjohnson.com or nhra.com.

Paul McMahan, Joey Saldana and Sammy Swindell faced defeat by Mother Nature over the weekend, as heavy rain forced the postponement of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series events scheduled for Knoxville Raceway in Iowa and Huset's Speedway in South Dakota. The Knoxville Raceway date hasn't been rescheduled, but series officials are working to solidify a date in the near future. The event at Huset's Speedway has been rescheduled for May 7.

McMahan and the No. 20 Tony Stewart Motorsports team will return to National Sprint Tour Series action on Tuesday, May 2, at Davenport Speedway in Iowa. The team is currently ranked seventh in series points and has collected one World of Outlaws Sprint Series victory thus far in 2006.

Saldana is currently ranked second in World of Outlaws Sprint Series points and has earned one series win, five Top-five finishes and eight Top-10 finishes. The No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing team will return to World of Outlaws Sprint Series action on May 5 at US 36 Raceway in Missouri. The team will also compete at 81 Speedway in Kansas on May 6, and at Huset's Speedway on May 7.

For more information regarding McMahan, Swindell, Saldana, the National Sprint Tour Series or the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, log on to paulmcmahanracing.com, swindellmotorsports/citymaker.com, joeysaldana.com, nationalsprinttour.com or theworldofoutlaws.com.

Steve Francis and the No. 15 Steve Francis Racing team will resume action in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series this week at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Ohio on Friday. The team will also compete in the Buckeye Classic 50 at the Wayne County (Ohio) Speedway on Saturday.

Francis has earned five wins in only 26 starts so far in the 2006 racing season. The "Kentucky Colonel" is currently ranked second in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series point standings, only two points behind current series leader Tim McCreadie. To date, Francis has earned one World of Outlaws Sprint Series victory this season, and has amassed 12 Top-five finishes and 18 Top-10 finishes since racing began in January.

For more information regarding Francis or the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, log on to stevefrancisracing.com or woolms.com.