NHRA Virginia Nationals
Event 8 of 24 (Richmond)
Virginia Motorsports Park
North Dinwiddie, Va.
May 17-19, 2019
DSR Richmond Elimination Highlights:
- Ron Capps powered the NAPA Brakes Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to its second consecutive victory on Sunday during the NHRA Virginia Nationals
- The event win marks Capps’ 63rd victory overall, 62nd in a Funny Car, second of 2019 and first at Virginia Motorsports Park
- Capps’ 63 wins rank eighth on the all-time NHRA Mello Yello win list, fourth among the two nitro categories and second in the Funny Car category
- Behind the wheel of the Matco ‘Tools for the Cause’ Top Fuel dragster, Antron Brown raced to his second final round of the season and 123rd of his career
- After two consecutive wins in his NAPA Brakes Hellcat, Capps jumped from ninth at the start of May to third in the Funny Car point standings
- With his final round appearance, Brown advanced from seventh to fifth in the Top Fuel rankings
- Capps’ win was third of the season for Don Schumacher Racing, and 336th overall
(EXCERPT)
Driver Information:
Funny Car:
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 2 (3.922 E.T. at 323.58 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.027 E.T. at 316.52 MPH defeated Terry Haddock 4.132 E.T. at 296.24 MPH
E2: 5.356 E.T. at 212.03 MPH defeated Jack Beckman 8.238 E.T. at 102.56 MPH
E3: 10.184 E.T. at 90.53 MPH defeated by Ron Capps 4.212 E.T. at 301.94 MPH
Race Recap:
Tommy Johnson, Jr. continued his success in the hot climate this weekend during the NHRA Virginia Nationals. After a runner-up finish earlier this season in Las Vegas and a semifinal appearance two weeks ago in Atlanta, Johnson and the Make-A-Wish team have proven their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car can handle the heat. He qualified second with his Q2 E.T., his best qualifying position to date in 2019, and took care of business seamlessly in his opening round match-up against Terry Haddock with his pass of 4.027 seconds.
With track temperatures reaching 140 degrees, Johnson and fellow Hellcat Funny Car racer Jack Beckman were on the spot immediately when their machines quickly last traction in round two. Johnson was able to recover almost right away and cruised to a victory over Beckman with his pass of 5.356. The victory set up a second consecutive semifinal contest with Ron Capps. Johnson lost traction early again, but this time he wasn’t able to recover and Capps knocked him out for the second event in a row.
Quotable:
“To say it was a tricky racetrack today would be a huge understatement. We had a nice run there in the first round and then the track got really tricky for everyone. To be able to win the second round on a pedal job was good. I was hoping Capps would smoke his tires too and we could pedalfest it out, but credit to those guys for getting down the track. We know moving forward the race tracks are only going to get hotter, so I’m glad we’ve run well in the heat. I feel like we are really close to having the right tune-up for it.”
NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Standings:
Top Fuel
1. Steve Torrence – 701
2. Brittany Force – 541
3. Doug Kalitta – 498
4. Clay Millican – 489
5. Leah Pritchett – 469
6. Antron Brown – 467
7. Mike Salinas – 466
8. Richie Crampton – 363
9. Terry McMillen – 352
10. Austin Prock – 341
Funny Car
1. Robert Hight – 717
2. J.R. Todd – 556
3. Ron Capps – 548
4. Tommy Johnson Jr. – 527
5. John Force – 524
6. Matt Hagan – 506
7. Jack Beckman – 477
8. Tim Wilkerson – 463
9. Shawn Langdon – 404
10. Bob Tasca III – 369
About Don Schumacher Racing:
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) is the winningest team in NHRA Drag Racing history, having claimed more than 325 NHRA national event titles and 17 world championships since opening its doors in 1998.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, DSR fields seven professional teams competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series. In Top Fuel, the Matco Tools dragster driven by three-time world champion Antron Brown, the MOPAR/Pennzoil/Sparkling Ice dragster driven by Leah Pritchett and eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher’s machine. In Funny Car, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driven by 2016 world champion Ron Capps, the Mopar Express Lane/Pennzoil/Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat piloted by Matt Hagan, and in Terry and Doug Chandler’s ‘giving cars,’ 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, and Tommy Johnson Jr. behind the wheel of the Make-A-Wish Dodge.
DSR also campaigns two Factory Stock Showdown entries. The duo is piloted by Pritchett, the 2018 Factory Stock Showdown Series champion, and former Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at Shoeracing.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.