Ron Capps set for SRX Thursday night debut at Eldora Speedway
Before he alights at Topeka, KS for the 35th and final Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor on the Heartland Motorsports Park drag strip, three-time and reigning NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car champ Ron Capps will enjoy a busman’s holiday at Eldora Speedway, taking part in Thursday Night Thunder’s SRX series race on the dirt oval owned by NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster points leader Tony Stewart, the owner of two-car nitro team Tony Stewart Racing.
Capps, who claims nearly three decades of racing experience in Top Fuel and Funny Car, has plenty of experience driving cars that can turn left and right and is capable on both tarmac and dirt. He’s spent time behind the wheel of sprint cars, in dirt late models in the Prelude to the Dream race at this same Eldora speedway racetrack, in go-karts and as an avid iRacer online. While Capps is an SRX rookie, he’ll join a star-studded lineup in New Weston, Ohio to compete for SRX hardware made by former Don Schumacher Racing mechanic Tom Patsis’ Cold Hard Art.
Capps will compete using the same blue and gold themed colors of NAPA Auto Parts, as the company that’s backed his play for more than 15 years in NHRA competition joins their driver for this outlier event. “NAPA has been committed to racing and drivers like Ron for decades,” said Marti Walsh, vice president of marketing at NAPA. “We’re so proud to support his passion and energy for a new adventure like this one. We constantly seek to collaborate and partner with people who exemplify NAPA’s core values and can grow with us long-term – and Ron is precisely that. We look forward to cheering him on for all the races to come.”
NAPA Auto Parts and Ron Capps have been partners since 2007, when the NAPA logo first appeared on Capps’ car. Then an associate sponsor, the company expanded into a primary sponsorship role a year later and continues in that role to this day. When Capps formed Ron Capps Motorsports, NAPA was the first to publicly support the driver and his eponymous team.
“Getting invited to race in the SRX series is pretty incredible. It’s going to be fun knowing our NHRA fans are going to be tuning in to watch,” Capps said. “Representing NAPA, my sponsor of over 15 years, at this incredible night of racing, against some of the best race car drivers in the world on one of the fastest high-bank dirt tracks is very cool. Getting to represent thousands of NAPA employees and automotive technicians really makes me proud,” he explained.
SRX is always looking to bring in the best racers for its summer Thursday night shows. “Ron is the epitome of what SRX is trying to deliver to race fans all across the USA,” stated Don Hawk, SRX’s CEO. “He is a world champion and a man of the people, and already a friend to many in the SRX garage. We are blessed to have Ron in the series, in the race, and helping to promote SRX as he drives the familiar No. 28 NAPA livery at Eldora in #ThursdayNightThunder live on ESPN.”
The SRX series takes place on six Thursday nights during July and August. It is currently in its third year of operation. Tony Stewart was champion the first season while Marco Andretti took last year’s crown. The SRX series airs on Thursdays at 9PM ET on ESPN and on the ESPN app.
By Anne Proffit