NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Mello Yello's Al Rondon, left, and NHRA President Peter Clifford, right, congratulated Ron Capps on his first Mello Yello Funny Car championship.

Ron Capps is an NHRA Funny Car world champion. After years of trying and several heartbreaking near-misses, the veteran Funny Car driver finally got the proverbial monkey off his back, officially locking up his long-awaited first championship when he qualified for the season-closing Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to hear those words,” said Capps, after being called champion by NHRA President Peter Clifford. “I can’t even tell you, man. I’ve been trying to do this for so long, and I almost gave up on that fact and said, ‘I’m just going to keep trying to win races,’ but this is for the fans. My fans and my team’s fans are the best fans in the world. To be Mello Yello champion and they can’t take that away from my name anymore, that’s amazing.

“Rahn Tobler had a look. I’m telling you he had a look the whole season. He was focused. I just knew this was going to be it. It’s hard to tell in a year, but he had a look. We crashed the car in Indy. He was so focused. He had our guys working overtime, and he had a car ready to go. He’s a hell of a leader, and we’re going to have fun together. Most off, the competitors. To take the crown from Del Worsham, who I thought represented Mello Yello, Coca-Cola, and our sport as good as anybody ever has – and we’ve had some great champions – I’m so proud. I can’t tell you how proud I am. This is epic right here.”

Capps’ first title came after a dominating season in which he and his Tobler-led NAPA Auto Parts team had the best car of a very competitive Funny Car class. Capps opened the season with a win in Pomona, then followed that with a No. 1 start in Phoenix and a runner-up finish in Gainesville. Though Capps and crew had a bit of a hiccup at the spring Las Vegas race, for which Capps failed to qualify, they hit their stride again in Charlotte, where they were in the final four of the unique NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. After a relatively quiet few races, Capps really hit his stride on what some call the East Coast Swing: Epping, Englishtown, Bristol, and Norwalk. During those four races in four weeks, Capps qualified No. 1 three times, won three times, and finished in the semifinals at the fourth event. That strong showing boosted Capps to the No. 1 spot in the points, a position he never surrendered.

Capps entered the Countdown to the Championship as the top seed, and he steadily and consistently racked up round-wins at every race to pull away from the rest of the competition. Capps’ worst Countdown finish was a semifinal, and he had two final-round showings, in Reading and Dallas. That, combined with more hot-and-cold showings by his nearest pursuers, allowed Capps to build an 86-point advantage leaving Las Vegas, putting him in prime position to clinch early at the Finals. All Capps needed to do at the finale was maintain his advantage or not allow it to fall below 81 points to clinch. Capps did that by scoring more points during the four qualifying sessions than Matt Hagan.

Capps made his Professional debut in 1995, driving a Top Fuel dragster. After a limited schedule in 1996, he switched to Funny Car the following season, piloting a flopper for legend Don “the Snake” Prudhomme. In his rookie Funny Car season, Capps won twice in three final rounds and was named the Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner. In the years since, Capps has brought his overall win total to 50, 49 in Funny Car, making him the second-winningest driver in the history of the class. Capps finished second in points four times before breaking through and winning the championship this season.