Capps’ ride not all that Funny

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002 | 8:58 a.m.

NHRA schedule

Second annual AC Delco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

THURSDAY

7 a.m. Pit and spectator gates open

8 a.m. Sportsman qualifying/time trials

1 & 4 p.m. Comp Eliminator qualifying

7-8 p.m NHRA driver autograph session (ESPN Zone)

FRIDAY

7 a.m. Pit and spectator gates open

7:30 a.m. Sportsman eliminations

11 a.m. Comp Eliminator qualifying

3:45 p.m. Pro Mod qualifying

4:15 p.m. Pro Stock qualifying (PS Motorcycle/PS Car)

5 p.m. Nitro qualifying (Funny Car/Top Fuel Dragster)

6:45 p.m. Pro Mod qualifying

7:15 p.m. Pro Stock qualifying (PS Motorcycle/PS Car)

8 p.m. Nitro qualifying (Funny Car/Top Fuel Dragster)

SATURDAY

7 a.m. Pit and spectator gates open

7:30 a.m. Sportsman eliminations

10:45 a.m. Comp Eliminator - Round 1

11:15 a.m. Pro Stock qualifying (PS Motorcycle/PS Car)

Noon Nitro qualifying (Top Fuel Dragster/Funny Car)

1 p.m. Pro Mod qualifying

1:30 p.m. Comp Eliminator - Round 2

2:15 p.m. Pro Stock qualifying (PS Motorcycle/PS Car)

3 p.m. Nitro qualifying (Top Fuel Dragster/Funny Car)

4 p.m. Pro Mod qualifying

SUNDAY

7 a.m. Pit and spectator gates open

10 a.m. Pre-race ceremonies

11 a.m. Final eliminations

Ron Capps may have lost his Skoal Racing Camaro Funny Car in a violent explosion two weeks ago in Texas, but the 37-year-old California native didn't lose his desire to drive at more than 300 mph.

Capps was racing against his Don Prudhomme Racing teammate, Tommy Johnson Jr., during the first round of eliminations in the NHRA O'Reilly Fall Nationals on Oct. 13 at the Texas Motorplex when an exhaust valve retainer broke near mid-track. The engine's supercharger exploded, shattered the car's carbon fiber body and wrapped the firewall around the roll cage surrounding Capps.

Despite the potentially disastrous situation, Capps walked away from the incident with only bruised knees and a headache.

"The explosion was the worst that I've ever been through," said Capps, who will compete in a brand-new Camaro this weekend in the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"I could see the guardrail out there and I knew I was going to be hitting it sooner or later. I knew that Lefty Grice and the (NHRA) Safety Safari would be there when I stopped -- and they were."

Although Capps' Funny Car was equipped with a parachute to help slow the car, the explosion pinned him against the protective roll cage and he was unable to reach either the brake or the chute.

"The explosion lifted the top half of the motor off and it went into the firewall and pushed that up over the roll cage," Capps said. "There was no warning. The engine gave a little quiver, but that was it. I couldn't see anything at first. The firewall or whatever it was had my head pushed against the cage at an angle.

"My first reaction was to go for the chute, but I couldn't reach it. Then I went for the brake and couldn't reach that either because of the debris around me. I did find the button to my crew radio and got my index finger on it. Then I started screaming at Todd (Okuhara his assistant crew chief), 'I need help! I need help! I can't steer it! I can't stop it!' "

Although he narrowly escaped serious injury, Capps said he is looking forward to returning to the Green Skoal Camaro and defending his Funny Car victory in last fall's ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.

"I'll have no problem at all getting back into the car," Capps said. "Even if I hadn't seen any replays (of the accident), I wouldn't have had a problem getting into the car for the next round. You know, you have a passion for driving these cars and, as long as there were no broken bones, you can get right back in.

"After I saw replays of the explosion a few times, I realized it was a lot more violent watching it from the outside. I knew it was probably worse than any one we've had but after seeing all the replays, it hit home because I realized amazing things like that don't happen much anymore.

"That's a tribute to how safe the cars are. I know because I got up and actually walked out of the ambulance. That tells you how well these cars are built."

Capps said team owner Don "The Snake" Prudhomme and his crew are working on ways to make the nitro-burning cars even safer.

"When a parts failure like that happens and becomes more like a bomb, you must think about ways to protect a driver's legs and feet," Capps said. "I'm straddling the whole bell housing when I'm in the car and my foot is about eight inches from the back of the engine.

"Snake has already been on the phone with the chassis builder, Murf McKinney, ... (and) Murf's building two new cars for us for next year and he's working on new safety features for them."