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Capps has breakthrough win at Infineon Raceway

Craig Wack, Senior Editor
Sunday, 18 July 2010

When John Medlen came to Don Schumacher Racing from John Force Racing, Ron Capps knew the move would do nothing but improve the entire racing organization.

What Capps didn’t know was that Medlen’s presence would make the biggest impression on Capps’ Napa Dodge Charger Funny Car.

Capps won for the first time this season Sunday’s Fram-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway. It’s also the first time that Medlen has won since being appointed Capps’ crew chief three races ago.

“It’s all confidence, and confidence is built on success,” Capps said. “The confidence that I have been given in the car, I now go up there not really longer worried about the tree, or wonder about the car.”

Other winners in Sonoma were Larry Dixon in Top Fuel, Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Pro Stock and Michael Phillips in Pro Stock Motorcycle.  

Capps said the presence of Medlen on the Napa team has been a real lift.

“I’ve always  wanted to work with John, it’s been a pleasure,” Capps said. “It’s been nothing but  smiles in the Napa pit.  His motto to racing is, ‘Let’s have fun. Let’s win, but let’s have fun.’

“I feel like I can conquer the world in the car right now.”

Capps beat teammate Jack Beckman and the Valvoline Dodge Charger in the final. Capps got off the line second but rocketed to a 4.169 second pass at 296.44 mph. Beckman raced to the finish in 4.120 at 298.93 mph.

Medlen said winning the race in Sonoma was especially sweet since it was where his late son, Eric Medlen, a Funny Car driver himself, called home.

“This area was Eric’s hometown and we needed to put this Napa car in the winner’s circle really, really bad,” Medlen said. “I was just hoping we could put it together one piece at a time We’re very fortunate to have the crew, parts, pieces and outstanding driver and communication. I’ll sleep better tonight than I did last night.”

Dixon beat his nemesis Tony Schumacher to win for the eighth time in as many final rounds this season.

“The car was flawless, unbelievable job by everyone on the Al-Anabi team,” Dixon said. “Seeing those kind of numbers and you run an 3.84 a couple times and, to me, it was humbling even. They were on their game, they weren’t leaving anything in their pocket.”

Dixon ran a 3.879 second lap in the final at 317.12 mph to Schumacher’s 4.006 at 300.73 mph in the U.S. Army rail.

Both Dixon and Coughlin made their 100th career final round appearance on Sunday.

Coughlin guided the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt past the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP of Jason Line in the final to win for the third time this season. Coughlin ran at 6.590 at 209.52 while Line raced to a 6.602 at 209.29 mph.

 “We were one of the two or three quickest cars all day,” Coughlin said. “I’ve had a couple of red lights here lately, and that’s a rare thing to do in Pro Stock.

“Nothing was my goal more than to get here and focus on raceday. When I let the clutch out in the final round, I thought to myself, ‘Let’s go!’ It felt fantastic. When the win light came on, I was going nuts. I don’t get too excited that often. It was a big win for us today.”

Phillips set the national speed record for his class with a pass of 197.65 mph. Phillips ran the Racers Edge Suzuki past Andrew Hines’ Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson in the final.

“The bike that I’ve riding was Andrew’s bike, and he’s been whippin’ me pretty good,” Phillips said. “I ain’t never beat him, before today. I bought the bike in ’03 and I just never could  get him.  This was the first time I’d beat him.”

Up next for the NHRA Full Throttle Series is the July 23-25 Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver, the final race of the NHRA’s Western Swing.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS

TOP FUEL: ROUND ONE -- Steve Torrence, 3.913, 310.20 def. David Grubnic, 3.998, 293.03; Tony Schumacher, 3.883, 317.19 def. Morgan Lucas, 4.002, 306.26; Brandon Bernstein, 4.009, 296.50 def. Troy Buff, 4.059, 289.07; Mike Strasburg, 3.982, 307.44 def. Rod Fuller, 4.448, 190.48; Larry Dixon, 3.840, 319.75 def. Steven Chrisman, 4.051, 267.69; Terry McMillen, 4.285, 240.85 def. Antron Brown, 4.906, 184.67; Cory McClenathan, 3.913, 310.91 def. Bob Vandergriff, 4.305, 291.38; Doug Kalitta, 3.883, 317.94 def. Shawn Langdon, 3.941, 306.95; QUARTERFINALS -- Bernstein, 3.928, 305.91 def. Strasburg, 4.113, 254.09; Schumacher, 3.930, 310.70 def. McMillen, foul; McClenathan, 3.977, 288.15 def. Kalitta, 4.414, 264.29; Dixon, 3.878, 315.34 def. Torrence, 4.694, 201.73; SEMIFINALS -- Schumacher, 3.914, 313.88 def. Bernstein, 3.930, 308.43; Dixon, 3.845, 319.52 def. McClenathan, 5.191, 117.88; FINAL -- Dixon, 3.879, 317.12 def. Schumacher, 4.006, 300.73.

FUNNY CAR: ROUND ONE -- Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.123, 308.14 def. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.206, 298.87; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.198, 301.13 def. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, no time; Melanie Troxel, Dodge Charger, 5.354, 194.27 def. Gary Densham, Impala, 6.513, 140.66; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.257, 287.41 def. Jeff Diehl, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.853, 174.80; John Force, Mustang, 4.255, 299.26 def. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 5.171, 148.90; Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.543, 225.82 def. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.737, 272.94; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.172, 297.81 def. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 4.449, 234.66; Ron Capps, Charger, 4.188, 298.14 def. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, DQ; QUARTERFINALS -- Tasca III, 4.152, 299.13 def. C. Pedregon, 4.170, 300.00; Beckman, 4.252, 292.96 def. Hight, 5.034, 184.07; Hagan, 4.187, 297.22 def. Force, 4.228, 294.11; Capps, 4.236, 292.39 def. Troxel, 5.337, 165.33; SEMIFINALS -- Capps, 4.169, 298.54 def. Hagan, 4.192, 295.59; Beckman, 4.221, 298.73 def. Tasca III, 4.220, 296.83; FINAL -- Capps, 4.169, 296.44 def. Beckman, 4.210, 298.93.

PRO STOCK: ROUND ONE -- Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.636, 208.88 def. Bob Yonke, Pontiac GXP, 6.662, 207.62; Shane Gray, GXP, 6.619, 208.33 def. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.604, 209.52; Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.594, 208.88 def. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.620, 209.23; Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.583, 209.92 def. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.649, 208.26; Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.623, 207.78 def. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.615, 208.62; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.591, 209.69 def. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.632, 208.46; Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.583, 209.69 def. Vinnie Deceglie, Avenger, 6.621, 209.39; Jason Line, GXP, 6.593, 209.43 def. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.619, 209.17; QUARTERFINALS -- Line, 6.575, 210.08 def. Stanfield, foul; S. Gray, 6.622, 209.20 def. Edwards, 11.798, 72.28; K. Johnson, 6.677, 208.81 def. A. Johnson, 6.738, 196.64; Coughlin, 6.595, 209.72 def. Anderson, 6.590, 209.07; SEMIFINALS -- Coughlin, 6.589, 210.05 def. S. Gray, 6.627, 209.07; Line, 6.579, 210.14 def. K. Johnson, 6.637, 209.33; FINAL -- Coughlin, 6.590, 209.52 def. Line, 6.602, 209.39.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: ROUND ONE -- Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.957, 192.17 def. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.952, 190.30; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.918, 192.93 def. Larry Cook, Buell, 7.312, 183.84; Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.002, 194.46 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, foul; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.896, 192.80 def. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.984, 189.44; David Hope, Buell, 6.933, 190.22 def. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.052, 189.84; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.892, 194.46 def. Freddie Camarena, Suzuki, 7.128, 189.71; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.931, 192.22 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.971, 187.70; Hector Arana, Buell, 6.883, 194.16 def. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.067, 185.00; QUARTERFINALS -- Phillips, 6.893, 195.08 def. M. Smith, 6.949, 192.25; Hines, 6.930, 192.25 def. Hope, 6.919, 192.36; Krawiec, 6.896, 194.86 def. Johnson, 7.023, 192.88; Arana, 6.849, 195.73 def. Underdahl, 6.939, 192.91; SEMIFINALS -- Phillips, 6.871, 197.65 def. Krawiec, 6.928, 193.63; Hines, 6.895, 194.69 def. Arana, 6.919, 195.03; FINAL -- Phillips, 6.886, 196.76 def. Hines, 6.909, 194.16.

 POINT STANDINGS

 Top Fuel: 1.  Larry Dixon, 1,444; 2.  Tony Schumacher, 1,233; 3.  Cory McClenathan, 1,227; 4.  Antron Brown, 1,066; 5.  Doug Kalitta, 1,039; 6.  Brandon Bernstein, 953; 7.  Shawn Langdon, 727; 8.  Morgan Lucas, 693; 9.  Steve Torrence, 619; 10.  Terry McMillen, 557.

 Funny Car: 1.  John Force, 1,114; 2.  Robert Hight, 1,071; 3.  Jack Beckman, 1,008; 4.  Matt Hagan, 994; 5. Ron Capps, 959; 6.  Tim Wilkerson, 929; 7.  Bob Tasca III, 906; 8.  Ashley Force Hood, 905; 9.  Del Worsham, 839; 10.  Tony Pedregon, 699.

Pro Stock: 1.  Mike Edwards, 1,526; 2.  Allen Johnson, 1,113; 3.  Jeg Coughlin, 1,013; 4.  Greg Anderson, 970; 5.  Jason Line, 838; 6.  Greg Stanfield, 763; 7.  Ron Krisher, 762; 8.  Shane Gray, 686; 9.  Rodger Brogdon, 646; 10.  Johnny Gray, 637.

 Pro Stock Motorcycle: 1.  Hector Arana, 804; 2.  Matt Smith, 663; 3.  Andrew Hines, 661; 4.  Michael Phillips, 658; 5. Steve Johnson, 564; 6.  Eddie Krawiec, 526; 7.  LE Tonglet, 514; 8.  David Hope, 467; 9.  Craig Treble, 423; 10.  Karen Stoffer, 411.

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