Austin Prock: 'I felt pretty confident going that we were going to have the car to beat'
Paul Lee: 'It’s going to be great just to see our friends and the fans'
Jack Beckman: 'I don’t know if anyone wants to get back more than me'
Tim Wilkerson: 'I don’t think they’re ready for my attitude. It’s gonna be fun'
Kenny Delco: 'We were fast, we qualified fourth at Pomona and Phoenix'
Steve Torrence: 'You’ve got to come out and swing for every one of ’em'
Cristian Cuadra: 'I think I’m doing well, but I have a lot of room to improve'
Tommy Johnson Jr.: 'I’ve not wanted to win a championship more than this year'
Brittany Force: 'We’re ready for all this to be over so we get back to what we love'
Robert Hight: 'I can’t wait to get back and try to defend our championship'
Alex Laughlin: 'All we have to do is shove the car back in the trailer, and we are ready to go racing'
Shawn Langdon: 'I’m trying to stay as fresh as I can so we can be ready to go'
Chris McGaha: 'We’ve come up with some new ideas and we’ve beaten on some things'
J.R. Todd: 'I have all the confidence that we will be in contention when it counts'
Clay Millican: 'I can’t wait to stomp on that loud pedal ... it’s been way too long'
Bob Tasca III: 'Trust me, this Motorcraft car is going to have its day in the sun'
Antron Brown: 'I’ve been doing everything I can; I’m gonna come back hungry and ready'
Jason Line: 'It doesn’t matter what track we start with, the cars will all be ready to go when we get the call'
Fernando Cuadra Jr: 'We’re applying many of the things we learned from the first two races'
John Force: 'I’ll be ready. I know the car. I could drive it with my eyes closed'
Rahn Tobler maps out plans and goals for the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car team
Leah Pruett: 'This is not the time to test or play; it’s time to run with what we know'
Ron Capps: 'It’s going to feel crazy the first time any of us steps on the gas for the first time'
Doug Kalitta: 'We’re all just really hungry and ready to make it happen'
Bo Butner: 'I feel like when we all come back racing we’ll be stronger than ever!'
Jeg Coughlin Jr: 'It’s time to go. Every round will be as important as the last'
Matt Hartford: 'We have a car that can run for the championship—bar none'
Alexis DeJoria: 'I just hope that everybody makes it back to the track safely'
Justin Ashley: 'Having a break like this really puts things in perspective'
Erica Enders: 'Our great start proves the organization’s hard work is paying off'
Ron Capps: 'It’s going to feel crazy the first time any of us steps on the gas for the first time'
RON CAPPS | NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger
Current points position: 4th | Best season e.t. to date: 3.864
Early-season report card: A pre-season trailer fire put the team behind the 8 ball and caused them to miss testing, but they were able to get a round win in Pomona and reached the semifinals in Phoenix before falling to Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. in the semifinals with their season-best pass of 3.864.
Looking back: “For what we went through with the fire and everything, we feel pretty darn good. Even though our last run in Phoenix was a loss to T.J., I haven’t seen [crew chief Rahn] Tobler that happy after a round loss in a long time. We made huge changes to the car going into that run because we felt like we needed a tenth and the car did everything he wanted it to do. He was so excited about how the car ran that he could not wait to get to Gainesville.”
Looking ahead: “With just two qualifying runs at most of the events, some big teams might not qualify, but even though we’re not usually low qualifier I know we’re going to go down the track. It may not be qualified as good as we want sometimes, but the big picture is to win the race on Sunday. Even if we’re lost [in qualifying], Tobler always gives a good chance on Sunday because he stays close to his data and doesn’t get lost.”
Shop talk: The team has been working hard in the shop to adapt to their new trailer, which initially was set up very differently than the one they lost. “It was little things like bolts and nuts and fittings not being in the right place, so our servicing between runs was not quite as quick as it should have been. Since they got back, they’ve gone through everything, organized it, and cleaned it to get rid of the smoke smell.” The team also received a new Charger body as a backup for one of the bodies they lost in the fire.
The final word: “Other than all of the iRacing that some of us have been doing, being off this long without driving, I think we’re going to see a lot of drivers getting out at the end of their first run laughing and smiling about what it was like. I’m sure it’s going to feel crazy the first time any of us steps on the gas for the first time in more than four months.”