NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Mello Yello Funny Car points leader Ron Capps escaped uninjured after the parachutes on his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger failed to deploy following a winning first-round race in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout, sending his car into the sand trap and catch net at track’s end.

Capps had just defeated John Force in the opening round of the special race, 3.90 to 3.95, but his parachutes failed to blossom until just before the car entered the sand trap at high speed. The car rolled onto its roof and came to a stop in the catch net. The NHRA Safety Safari presented by AAA arrived and righted the car for Capps to escape.

“I didn’t feel the chutes hit, so I hit the [release] button a few more times, and then it was into survival mode,” said Capps. “I went through the checklist — get on the brakes, make sure the fuel shutoff is off — and I was on the brakes so hard that I’m sure the [brake] fluid was bubbling. I figured this was it, and I braced myself for something I’ve never done — I’ve never been into the sand at a high rate of speed like that — and I wanted to put it into [the sand trap] at a little bit of an angle. I put it into a little bit of a slide, and it worked until right at the end when it caught and flipped into the net.”

By NHRA rules, the Capps team could not put a back-up car into competition for the semifinals of the Shootout — here opponent Robert Hight awaited — so they either had to repair any damage to the chassis — which was towed, rolling, back to the pits — and put a new body on it or concede the round, which is ultimately what they did.

The team was allowed to insert a back-up car for the remainder of the event, beginning with the final qualifying session later Sunday.