WAIT PAYS OFF FOR POINTS LEADERS
Sat, 2009-02-14 08:00
Doug Kalitta and Ron Capps had each waited more than a year for their “next” win so what was a couple more days, right?
The rain-plagued season-opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona didn’t end until Tuesday, but the wait was worth it for Kalitta and Capps who were rewarded for the perseverance with season-opening wins.
Kalitta’s was his first since Richmond 2007 (26 races); Capps’s win was his first since St. Louis 2007 (40 races).
Kalitta’s win was particularly poignant. Doug Kalitta and Ron Capps had each waited more than a year for their “next” win so what was a couple more days, right?
The rain-plagued season-opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona didn’t end until Tuesday, but the wait was worth it for Kalitta and Capps who were rewarded for the perseverance with season-opening wins.
Kalitta’s was his first since Richmond 2007 (26 races); Capps’s win was his first since St. Louis 2007 (40 races).
Kalitta’s win was particularly poignant.
Not only was it the first win by a Kalitta since the death of his cousin Scott in Englishtown in June 2007, but it came in a dragster that included the very same cockpit that Scott sat in when he won the 2005 Winternationals.
The win completed a sort of family hat trick as well as now all three Kalittas — Connie, Scott and Doug — have won the Winternationals (Connie won in 1967).
No less significant was the return to the Winner’s Circle by Capps and ace tuner Ed McCulloch.
Capps qualified in the bottom half of the field, but had the quickest car in all four rounds of eliminations, highlighted by the 4.05 he laid down in a tight semifinal win over Robert Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang team.
So after leading for much of the 2007 season before slipping in the playoffs and for much of 2008, Capps is back on top of the standings to start the 2009 season.
The quest for Capps and McCulloch, however, is to be on top of the standings after the second Pomona race.
Capps has finished second three times (1998, 2000, ’05) and his 26 wins make him the winningest Funny Car driver in history without a world championship.
It’s yet another thing that Capps and Kalitta share in common.
Kalitta’s win was the 31st of his career, making him the winningest driver in Top Fuel history without a world championship. And he has finished second three times as well. (2003, ’04, ’06).
The rain-plagued season-opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona didn’t end until Tuesday, but the wait was worth it for Kalitta and Capps who were rewarded for the perseverance with season-opening wins.
Kalitta’s was his first since Richmond 2007 (26 races); Capps’s win was his first since St. Louis 2007 (40 races).
Kalitta’s win was particularly poignant. Doug Kalitta and Ron Capps had each waited more than a year for their “next” win so what was a couple more days, right?
The rain-plagued season-opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona didn’t end until Tuesday, but the wait was worth it for Kalitta and Capps who were rewarded for the perseverance with season-opening wins.
Kalitta’s was his first since Richmond 2007 (26 races); Capps’s win was his first since St. Louis 2007 (40 races).
Kalitta’s win was particularly poignant.
Not only was it the first win by a Kalitta since the death of his cousin Scott in Englishtown in June 2007, but it came in a dragster that included the very same cockpit that Scott sat in when he won the 2005 Winternationals.
The win completed a sort of family hat trick as well as now all three Kalittas — Connie, Scott and Doug — have won the Winternationals (Connie won in 1967).
No less significant was the return to the Winner’s Circle by Capps and ace tuner Ed McCulloch.
Capps qualified in the bottom half of the field, but had the quickest car in all four rounds of eliminations, highlighted by the 4.05 he laid down in a tight semifinal win over Robert Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang team.
So after leading for much of the 2007 season before slipping in the playoffs and for much of 2008, Capps is back on top of the standings to start the 2009 season.The quest for Capps and McCulloch, however, is to be on top of the standings after the second Pomona race.
Capps has finished second three times (1998, 2000, ’05) and his 26 wins make him the winningest Funny Car driver in history without a world championship.
It’s yet another thing that Capps and Kalitta share in common.
Kalitta’s win was the 31st of his career, making him the winningest driver in Top Fuel history without a world championship. And he has finished second three times as well. (2003, ’04, ’06).
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