It had been awhile since NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps had stood on the winners’ podium. Seventeen events, to be exact, stretching back to August 2013.
Capps had driven his Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T to five Funny Car semifinal rounds this season but came up short every time.
The drought ended Sunday, when Capps beat Alexis DeJoria to the finish line at the NHRA New England Nationals. It was the second Funny Car win in as many meets for Mopar and the Don Schumacher Racing team.
How excited was Capps to win? For starters, on live TV he shed his safety gear then slid across the drag car’s windshield and hood before accepting the Wally trophy and giving an interview.
The real fun started after Capps left the track. He and Wally spent a night on the town before heading back home to California. The adventures are chronicled on Capps’ Twitter feed, including some Vine videos. You can see them all at https://twitter.com/naparoncapps. Here are some examples (place your cursor over the Vine videos to see the Twitter comment):
Look at him….He had a long night but his biggest concern is safety as he is up front keeping eye on shuttle driver pic.twitter.com/GuWAP2AmLz
— Ron Capps (@NapaRonCapps) June 23, 2014
We walked into @Delta skyclub n she says … are you the guy that jumped on your car my husband screamed for on tv? pic.twitter.com/wwsnN3yOcV
— Ron Capps (@NapaRonCapps) June 23, 2014
What will Ron and Wally do for an encore? Maybe we will find out this weekend as the NHRA visits Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.