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The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was both kind and not-so kind to Ron Capps and Alexis DeJoria in 2016.
At the Spring race, DeJoria rolled a 7 and ended a 33-race-long winless streak, while Capps rolled snake eyes and failed to qualify.
Then at the Fall event, it was DeJoria’s turn to roll snake eyes as she hit the retaining wall during qualifying. DeJoria was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion that kept her out of the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona. Meanwhile, Ron Capps rolled a 7 and locked up his first NHRA Funny Car championship during Saturday qualifying when he qualified fifth.
For Capps, he views his disheartening DNQ from the 2016 Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals as the turning point in his championship-winning season.
“Qualifying is always the first goal of a weekend, and we just didn't get it done last year,” said Capps.
“We had some nagging issues that we just couldn't figure it out. I know (crew chief) Rahn (Tobler) and ‘Hop’ (assistant crew chief Eric Lane) didn't sleep much that Saturday night, and our team worked as hard the next day as had we qualified. They found the problem and when we left the track after testing on Monday, we knew it was fixed.”
Capps and his Don Schumacher Racing NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T team went on to win four of the next 12 races and, when the series returned to the The Strip in the Fall, Capps was finally able to seal the deal and win his first NHRA Funny Car championship in his 23-year career.
"I truly believe Las Vegas in the Spring last year is why we did so well after that," Capps said. "But I don't plan to not qualify this weekend so we can completely replay last year."
While Capps’ latest memory of Las Vegas is a great one, the same cannot be said for DeJoria.
The opening three races of the 2017 NHRA Funny Car season have been DeJoria’s first three races since suffering her concussion here last Fall. Unfortunately for the driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patron Toyota Camry, she has been eliminated in the first round at all three events.
However, DeJoria and her team are still looking up heading into this weekend. DeJoria has been making consistent passes to start the season, and she comes into the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals as the defending event winner. She also won here in 2014.
“We know that we've had success at this track before,” said DeJoria. “It seems to be our track, regardless of what happened in the Fall during the Toyota Nationals. We have really good history here. We'll build on that. There's a comfort level going back to a track where you know you've done well.
“We've been trying to build consistency more than anything,” she added, referring to her performances in the opening rounds of 2017. “No, we haven't won any races or even rounds as of yet, but we're building on something greater and that's a consistent race car. We can set it up to go fast, but we want to get to that point where we're able to be the quickest at any moment.
“Testing has gone really well and I believe right now we're on the brink of doing something very great. What gives me great confidence is the fact that my car is going down the racetrack every time. That kind of confidence for a driver is priceless.”
Coverage of Final Eliminations from the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals begins at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1.
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