Ron Capps captured Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) its first No. 1 qualifying position of the season with four consistent runs behind the wheel of his Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT Funny Car at the 13th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Capps and his DSR Dodge//SRT Mopar teammate, Jack Beckman, who qualified his DSR Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT Funny Car fourth, lead seven Mopar-powered Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT Funny Car drivers that qualified for Sunday’s elimination rounds.
Unseasonably cool temperatures Friday provided Capps, the 2016 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals winner, and the rest of the field excellent conditions during the weekend’s first two qualifying sessions. After posting the third-best run in session one, Capps closed the second qualifying session with a blazing 3.879-second elapsed time (ET) at 329.18 mph pass. His speed continued Saturday earning a pair of qualifying points in the third session and topping the final session giving the two-time 2019 Funny Car winner a total of 10 bonus points during qualifying en route to his 23rd career No. 1 qualifying position and first in Norwalk.
Beckman continued his mission of becoming the fourth driver to capture an NHRA Wally behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT Funny Car. The three-time Norwalk winner was the pacesetter in the opening round of qualifying at the northern Ohio speed plant with a 3.955/322.65 run and followed with a faster run of 3.915/329.26. Beckman earned four bonus points and landed in the top half of the ladder for the seventh time this season.
Tommy Johnson, Jr. is chasing his second 2019 Funny Car triumph and first victory at Norwalk this weekend. The pilot of the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT HELLCAT Funny Car made his best run during Friday’s second session to earn the eighth position. Matt Hagan, the 2018 Norwalk winner, stopped the clock at 3.975 racing his Sandvik Coromant Dodge SRT Charger HELLCAT to claim the 11th position. Johnson will meet Tim Wilkerson in the first round while Hagan begins his run toward a second consecutive Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals victory racing Bob Tasca III.
In addition to the DSR foursome in the race for the Norwalk Funny Car win tomorrow, Paul Lee qualified third with his final qualifying session run of 3.914 while Mopar-powered Dodge Charger pilots Dale Creasey and Cruz Pedregon rank 14th and 15th, respectively.
Leah Pritchett is pulling double duty for the fifth time this season and put both her machines in elimination ladders on Sunday. Pritchett qualified the DSR Mopar-powered Top Fuel Dragster second with her run of 3.714/325.45 in Friday’s second qualifying session. With an impressive pass of 8.017/170.11 early Saturday afternoon driving her Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, Pritchett grabbed the 13th slot as she continues defending her 2018 Factory Stock Showdown championship.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series TV Schedule:
| FINALS | Sunday, June 23 | 6:30pm – 8:30pm ET | FS1 |
| FINALS BONUS COVERAGE | Tuesday, June 25 | 7:00pm – 8:00pm ET | FS1 |
Source: Mopar
