[h=2]Capps earns third straight Funny Car win[/h] Sunday, 07 May 2017


NHRA

Ron Capps raced his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to his third consecutive Funny Car victory this season Sunday at the 37th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners in their respective categories at the seventh event of 24 on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series schedule.
Defending world champion Capps raced a 3.991-second pass at 317.79 mph to defeat Tim Wilkerson in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang. This is Capps' second victory at Atlanta Dragway and 52nd of his Top Fuel career.
"It's a pinch me moment," Capps stated. "The car speaks for itself lately. This was probably one of the more difficult race tracks to navigate. You really had to be ready for two or three different sets of bumps. It makes for an exciting run but you're just hoping, at the same time, that your car stays in the groove. Funny Car is just getting tougher and tougher."
Capps sailed passed J.R. Todd, 16-time world champion John Force and Robert Hight, who set the track elapsed time record with his 3.880 pass in the semifinals, en route to the victory. Wilkerson faced rookie Jonnie Lindberg, Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan before seeing Capps in his first final round appearance of the season.