This turned to be a fantastic weekend for Ron Capps.

The reigning NHRA nitro Funny Car world champion not only won at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., but he also retook the points lead with four races to go in the Countdown to the Championship.

Capps clocked a 3.968-second run at 326.48 mph to edge Courtney Force's 3.993-second run.

"Last year I had to have my car chief Dustin remind before he started the car that I was supposed to be having fun right now ," Capps said. "I've been doing this for a living for 22 years and I'm the luckiest guy in the world, but you get so engrossed in what is going on, especially in the Countdown starts that there's 15 people standing behind your car, including a guy in a red shirt, Don Schumacher, every run and you just don't want to let anybody down. So the pressure is...I can't even tell you. I don't want to complain and I'm not complaining, but you don't sleep, your stomach is twisted, at least for me and I would like to think everybody else is. It is just crazy. Last year we said we had to average semifinal (finishes) which we did and we just beat them with consistency and it was unique that we didn't win a race (in the Countdown). I went out in the second round last weekend (at Charlotte) on a hole shot and it was the worst week ever and the first thing (Rahn) Tobler (Capps' crew chief) said was don't apologize I was apologizing to you Monday in Indy because we should have given you a better car in the finals. That is the kind of guys we have. With that being said. This week, I sleep two hours and wake up in the middle of the night and pick up my phone and look at the points and sat my phone down. It is just crazy stuff. I love the pressure. I'm better under it."

This was Capps seventh win during the 2017 season and the 57th national event win in his career. He left Reading in points lead, eight points in front of Robert Hight.
Capps' victory parade was comprised of wins over Jim Campbell, Tommy Johnson Jr.,  Matt Hagan and Courtney Force.

"What a deal today, we got lucky a little bit in the first round and we feel like we make our luck," Capps said. "There are a lot of the guys running 6-disc (clutches). All the Kalitta cars, Jimmy Prock, our two teammates run it and we still run the 5-disc clutch. We did go to the 6-disc about two years ago and it ran great and we were going to leave it in there and he decided he could fix the problem he thought a 6-disc would bring running a 5-disc. It is not going to run big mph, he might figure out how, but it doesn't matter because ETs win races. It is so fun to see an old-school like that who did it with no money back in the day with Shirley Muldowney to roll up with a 5-disc and go toe-to-toe with these guys and beat them a lot of times. It's going to be a battle."

Capps capitalized and took the points lead after previous points leader Robert Hight lost in the second round.

"I didn't want to know he lost," Capps said. "Then, someone came up and told me he lost and my clutch foot was shaking and I was like here is a chance to go around him. You wouldn't think doing this 22 years that would affect you, but it is like match play in golf you know you have your opponent down and you have to make up some ground and it's about time to hit a 60-foot putt to take the lead. Once we got that round, we just kept grinding. This is 22 years trying to win here so for me I was ecstatic to get this win."