The fact that he reached the finals said a lot about Ron Capps’ resolve.

The veteran driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger didn’t let a broken finger or a broken race car deter him in the least.

In December, Capps broke a finger and did tendon damage on his left index finger. He drove all weekend with a splint on his finger. Then in the second round, Capps was stranded on the top end as his Funny Car broke a rearend, and had to be transported back to the pits on a wrecker. A 35-minute thrash ensued and not only did Capps make the semi-final call but also beat Bob Tasca III. The fact that he reached the finals said a lot about Ron Capps’ resolve.

The veteran driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger didn’t let a broken finger or a broken race car deter him in the least.

In December, Capps broke a finger and did tendon damage on his left index finger. He drove all weekend with a splint on his finger. Then in the second round, Capps was stranded on the top end as his Funny Car broke a rearend, and had to be transported back to the pits on a wrecker. A 35-minute thrash ensued and not only did Capps make the semi-final call but also beat Bob Tasca III.

"A lot of teams probably wouldn't have made it back up for the next round and our guys changed everything on the car, including the rear end, and had it back up there before anybody else in the staging lanes,” Capps said. “That's NAPA know-how. You're going to hear a lot of that this year. We are so proud of those NAPA guys who did that all.

"It's tough to swallow a loss like that," he continued, "but I did my best and Ace really stepped up. Considering where we qualified, I'm sure some teams may have thought we were off this weekend, but he showed up this morning ready to race in the heat and when it cooled off he put a 4.12 up on the board (in the final).”

In the end, Capps lost on a holeshot to the 14-time champion.

"There's a reason Force has all those championship trophies. He knows how to get up to race. We've had some great battles in the past and I thought this was going to be another one and I was going to be holding the trophy.

"Great race for the fans, but I guess the bright side for us is we're going to Phoenix second in the points. I'm so proud of the NAPA guys right now, it's incredible."