Tonight during the second round of qualifying for the Toyota
NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown New Jersey, Ron Capps and his 2012 NAPA Dodge
Charger funny car tore down the 1,000 foot track in just 3.964 seconds with a
trap speed of 320.89 – both of which are new records for the NHRA Funny Car
class.
Ron Capps came out for the first round of qualifying early
Friday afternoon with his Don Schumacher Racing NAPA Dodge Charger, turning a
solid time of 4.079 seconds at 309.56 miles per hour.This put him in the third spot after round
one, trailing Mike Neff’s 4.052s and Robert Hight’s 4.077.The second round of qualifying Friday night
in Englishtown was so quick that 6 of the 20 cars in the field turned better
times than Neff’s top time from round one. Most importantly, Ron Capps and his NAPA Charger came out fast and hard –
running an incredible time of 3.964 seconds at 320.89 miles per hour.
Both the elapsed time and trap speed are new records for the
Funny Car class, with his time beating the old ET record of 3.995 held by
fellow Charger driver Matt Hagan and his trap speed badly beating Jack
Beckman’s record speed of 318.99mph.Beckman
was also running a Charger funny car when he set his record last year.
Other notable Mopar racers in the Funny Car field for Englishtown
after the first two rounds of qualifying are Johnny Gray in his NTB/Service
Central Charger (3rd spot, 4.022 at 318.84), Matt Hagan in hisAaron’s Charger (5th spot, 4.035s,
306.05) and Jack Beckman in his Sandvik Charger (9th spot, 4.065s, 313.73).
Over in Pro Stock, the top qualifying Mopar entry so far is
Allen Johnson in the Team Mopar/J&J Racing Avenger (2nd spot)
while Vincent Nobile is currently 4th in the Mountain View Tire
Avenger and V. Gainesin 10th
with the Kendall Oil Avenger.Jeg
Coughlin in the Jeg’s Avenger has not yet qualified for the field but there are
two more rounds of qualifying set for Saturday.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
Tonight during the second round of qualifying for the Toyota