Ron Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra team posted a strong showing at the NHRA Norwalk Nationals, advancing to the semifinals and posting consistent, quick passes throughout the weekend at Summit Motorsports Park. After qualifying third with a stellar 3.908-second run on Friday night, Capps powered through eliminations running low E.T. of two of the three rounds. Crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli and the Ron Capps Motorsports team expertly managed the hot conditions, inspiring Capps as the warm summer months continue.
Capps kicked off qualifying on Friday with a 4.014-second pass at 320.89 mph to put him No. 5 on the qualifying sheet after the first session. Later that evening, Capps made the third-fastest run of the session, a 3.908 at 325.06, lighting up the night sky as he sped down the track and earning one bonus point. He picked up two more bonus points in the third session on Saturday when he posted a 4.039 E.T. at 272.34 mph, the second-quickest pass of the session. Capps hazed the tires in the final session, but his Friday night performance was enough to put him No. 3 on the final qualifying order.
In a first-round match, Capps paired up with Paul Lee, who occupies the No. 3 ranking on the Funny Car leaderboard, one spot ahead of Capps. The two left the line together, but Capps powered to a clean 4.004 E.T. at 325.53 while Lee went up in smoke early, extending Capps’ record to 11 – 0 against Lee in prior events, and narrowing the points deficit to less than one competition round. Capps then fired off low E.T. of the second round, a 4.005-second pass at 322.65 mph, to get past a tire-smoking Dave Richards. The NAPA Auto Care machine set low E.T. of the round again in the semifinals, a 4.089 E.T. at 309.34 mph, but it wasn’t enough to get around the quicker-reacting Austin Prock and his 4.091-second pass.
“These are the type of weekends we talk about coming into these summer races,” said Capps, a past Norwalk winner. “With adverse conditions, these are the races where everybody has to work together as a team. I’ve got to be on my game and Guido has to make the right calls, but you’ve got to have a car given to you to make those calls, and our guys gave us that car. Even though we lost the semifinals, we went down the track and we made a race out of it. Spun the tires a little bit at the top end, but it’s something Guido can address. Now we’re going to some races with good, fast conditions, so I know Guido’s got that in him and it’s going to be a lot of fun. I really am proud of our guys.”
Capps, who maintained his No. 4 position in the Funny Car points standings, is a past event winner in both Funny Car and Top Fuel at the next event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour, the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals, July 18-20, at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle.
This story was originally published on June 30, 2025. 
