Ron Capps & the NAPA Dodge team win Winternationals title to start season for NHRA Mello Yello series…

Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team led by crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant Eric Lane opened the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season Sunday by winning the Funny Car title.

In the final, Capps used a quicker reaction time and covered the distance in 3.981 seconds at 324.28 mph in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger to hold off the hard-charging DHL Toyota Camry of Worsham, which posted a quicker, but losing performance of 3.962 at 324.36.

It was the third Winternationals win for the popular San Diego driver who calls the historic Southern California track a second home.

Their 2016 Dodge Charger R/T was the only one of seven DSR entries to advance past the second round of Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations.

Capps and the NAPA team were dominant all weekend during the first of 24 national events with seven of his eight runs in the 3-second range including all four in qualifying that helped him earn the No. 2 spot.

“I have the best team in the business, and they gave me a great racecar,” he said. All four runs in the 3s in qualifying, I don’t think anyone else did that. I knew we had a good racecar. Tobler and I have grown so much together. It’s like a marriage. He really keeps me in line on race day. We had a heckuva day.”

Capps is the second all-time winningest Funny Car driver and increased his win total to 45, and improved on last year’s performance at Pomona when he was runner-up to DSR teammate Matt Hagan. The win is Capps’ third at Pomona with all coming in the Winternationals.

DSR Funny Cars swept the Winternationals with Jack Beckman and the Infinite Hero team led by crew chief Jimmy Prock earned the No. 1 qualifying position on Saturday night with a time of 3.888 seconds.

(Defending World Champ Del Worsham placed runner-up)

Event Essentials:   NHRA Circle K Winternationals (Feb. 11-14th, 2016) 

(Jack Beckman set low ET during qualifying at 3.888 secs)

(Chad Head’s new look Toyota)

(Class newcomer – Jim Campbell – qualified #13)

Photos by: Bruce Biegler