Ron Capps completed a miraculous comeback in the final race to win his third NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car world championship, becoming the first driver in 20 years to win the title back-to-back. As hard as it is to believe, Capps, who lost the 2012 season championship by two points to Jack Beckman, never led in the points until the final day of the season, finishing ahead of Robert Hight by just three points. 2,682 to 2,679.
Capps entered the final race of the season testing Hight by over 60 points but, thanks to an impressive final pass in qualifying that earned him the number 1 spot, his fate was once again in his own hands with an expected clash with High in the semifinals.
That titanic battle never took place as Bob Tasca III defeated Hight in the second round and, after beating Tim Wilkerson in the second round, Capps took the points lead for an incredibly first time this season by defeating Tasca in the semifinals.
That victory put him mathematically in the lead by three points over Hight, but with the specter of a possible five-point penalty for crossing the center line or hitting the guard wall in the final round, a small but clear possibility, the crowning glory of Capps had to wait until he kept it safely between the lines in his final round race with Cruz Pedregon, which he lost to set the final margin.
“We talked about that streak and how I should probably turn it off and not risk losing the points and losing the championship,” he said. “When you hit the gas in one of these cars, it could go anywhere. I mean, it’s scary. So that fueled ‘What are you going to do? Are you going to turn it off? Are you going to run it in there?’ In the end, I did my longest fan burnout and kept it close to the wall.
The season was a huge success for Capps, who took ownership of the team this year, and crew chiefs Dean Antonelli and John Medlen. In addition to his heroics in the Finals, Capps also earned victories in Las Vegas, Bristol, Indy, Charlotte and Dallas. His victory at Indy was his first at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA US Nationals, the biggest and most prestigious event in the sport.
“The countdown was crazy,” he added. “If you think about the Funny Cars that had a chance. I feel so bad for Robert Hight. He’s a great champion. For that whole team to win eight races and not win a championship is crazy. So it just tells you the number.” competition
“This hasn’t even sunk in yet. It just amazes me, no one knew if I was going to spend half the year and forget how to do things and if my sponsors would stay with us and just the year, it’s been phenomenal. I kept leaning on ‘Guido ‘ [Antonelli] and winning five races was crazy as a new team owner. I told ‘Guido’ before the final round: ‘It’s crazy. We both grew as crew members and were going to win a world championship together in our first year.”
In addition to his five wins, Capps also earned three runners-up finishes and six No. 1 qualifying berths.
Source: news.google.com