Don Schumacher Racing’s stronghold on the Funny Car class continued on Friday night at the NHRA Midwest Nationals when current point leader Ron Capps rocketed his NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a blistering 3.888-second pass to earn the provisional pole while defending world champion Matt Hagan finished right behind him in second, powering the New Holland Dodge to a 3.889 E.T.

Capps and Hagan’s Dodge Hellcats were the final two Funny Cars to hit the World Wide Technology Raceway dragstrip during day one of qualifying, and they did not disappoint, motoring to side-by-side 332-mile-per-hour passes and putting on a spectacular show for the St. Louis area fans.

“Matt and I have the two best seats in the house,” said Capps who started the 2021 Countdown to the Championship as the No. 1 seed. “Funny Car is so fun for the fans right now, but for the drivers and the crews, it’s going to be like old school Pro Stock; it’s going to come down to the wire. With us going one and two tonight and running so close to each other, you’re going to see a lot of that over these last few races. A great job by (crew chiefs) ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen."

Capps entered the race weekend ranked No. 1 in the Camping World Series point standings and carrying a five-point lead over Hagan who is hot on his heels occupying the No. 2 spot in the rankings. By clocking the quickest run of the session, Capps was awarded three bonus points but with his teammate recording the second-quickest run and collecting two bonus points, Capps was only able to extend his margin by one point.

While he would’ve preferred to widen the gap, Capps knows from experience that every point accrued in the Countdown is important, and could be the difference between finishing the season hoisting the ‘big’ Camping World Series trophy or ending the year as the runner-up.

“If you go back and look at the record books, there are several years where I was No. 2 in the world by less than 10 points,” said Capps a 27-year nitro veteran who had been ‘the bridesmaid,’ finishing in second four times, before capturing his first world championship in 2016. “There was one year where I finished second and my daughter, she was a teenager at the time, she was hugging me, and I was fine until she started hugging me, and then it was just… you could see the dejection all over my face, and she was a wreck."

"I know I won’t ever forget that moment, and I’m sure in her mind, she really won’t ever forget that moment either. To lose it by less than a round on the last day of the year in Pomona, and you start wondering ‘where could I have made up that one or two or three or four points here and there,’ and those are those moments you look back on," said Capps.

If Capps can fend off the stacked field of viable championship contenders and maintain his position atop the ladder on Saturday, he will have the advantage of starting race day from the No. 1 spot for the 30th time in his career.

The last time Capps started from the pole was at the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. where he raced from the No. 1 spot straight to the winner’s circle. And if his past performance at the suburban St. Louis venue is any indication as to how his weekend will play out, Capps looks to be in prime position as he is the winningest Funny Car driver at the facility, with four prior wins.

“Sometimes you forget about how many wins you have at a track until someone reminds you, but I think that’s good because it keeps you hungry,” said Capps, whose most recent Midwest Nationals win occurred in 2017. “My first win for Don Prudhomme was at the inaugural race here (1997), trying to get that win for him to pay him back for giving me that chance of a lifetime to drive that race car, and I’ll never forget that. Also, my first win for Don Schumacher Racing was here. It’s been special here, a lot of really cool moments, and I hope to keep adding to them.”

After Hagan, young driver Bobby Bode is third after a career-best pass of 3.891 at 322.04. Robert Hight and Tim Wilkerson round out the top five with runs of 3.902 and 3.905, respectively.

In Top Fuel, Mike Salinas made a tremendous run, far outdistancing the rest of the field after going 3.652 at 327.74 in his 11,000-horsepower Scrappers Racing dragster. Should it hold, it would give Salinas his first No. 1 qualifier of the year and seventh in his career as he also seeks his first victory of the season.

Currently eighth in points, Salinas has advanced to one final round in 2021. He was the only driver to run in the 3.60s, with three-time defending world champ Steve Torrence currently in second after an impressive run of 3.702 at 328.30. After winning eight times in the regular season, Torrence is after his first victory in the playoffs.

His father, Billy, is third following his run of 3.717 at 330.96. Points leader Brittany Force is in the 16th spot after the first session, going 5.620 at 116.81.

Looking to make Pro Stock history this weekend in St. Louis, Greg Anderson got off to a great start on Friday, jumping to the top position with a run of 6.536 at 209.65 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. If it holds, it would give the Pro Stock points leader his ninth No. 1 qualifier this season and 115th in his career. Of course, Anderson is also after his fourth win in 2021, which would give him 98 career wins and the all-time record in Pro Stock.

While he jumped to No. 1, there were plenty of standouts right behind, as Kyle Koretsky, who won last weekend in Charlotte by beating Anderson in the final round, went 6.538 at 210.28 to follow up his first career Pro Stock win. Defending world champ Erica Enders is currently third after her run of 6.545 at 209.49.

Qualifying continues at 1:15 p.m. CT on Saturday at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

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TOP FUEL
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Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd

  1 7211 Mike Salinas, San Jose CA, MLR-TFX              3.652  327.74  327.74
  2    1 Steve Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-AJPE            3.702  328.30  328.30
  3    3 Billy Torrence, Kilgore TX, MLR-TFX             3.717  330.96  330.96
  4  144 Tripp Tatum, Danville IN, MLR-AJPE              3.745  323.81  323.81
  5    2 Doug Kalitta, Saline MI, Kalitta-AJPE           3.747  325.14  325.14
  6   77 Josh Hart, Ocala FL, MLR-AJPE                   3.761  323.19  323.19
  7    5 Antron Brown, Pittsboro IN, DSR-DSR             3.765  323.97  323.97
  8    7 Justin Ashley, Farmington NY, DSR-AJPE          3.770  327.03  327.03
  9 5050 Scott Palmer, Cassville MO, MLR-AJPE            3.772  317.57  317.57
 10  421 Spencer Massey, Fort Worth TX, Kalitta-TFX      3.793  322.65  322.65
 11  317 T.J. Zizzo, Lincolnshire IL, McKinney-TFX       3.798  325.53  325.53
 12  386 Kyle Wurtzel, Warsaw IN, Agan-AJPE              3.809  316.82  316.82
 13  222 Lex Joon, Indianapolis IN, McKinney-AJPE        3.953  240.12  240.12
 14  328 Joey Haas, Pleasant Veiw TN, McKinney-JFR       3.966  298.27  298.27
 15  323 Buddy Hull, Frisco TX, Baumgartner-TFX          5.086  147.86  147.86
 16  745 Brittany Force, Yorba Linda CA, JFR-JFR         5.620  116.81  116.81

       ------------ Not Qualified ------------

 17  777 Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City AZ, DSR-DSM       6.680  104.23  104.23
 18   25 Clay Millican, Drummonds TN, DSR-AJPE           6.747   92.81   92.81
 19  355 Keith Murt, Paducha KY, McKinney                6.857  139.75  139.75
 20  333 Shawn Langdon, Danville IN, Kalitta-AJPE       11.560   73.67   73.67



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FUNNY CAR
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  1   28 Ron Capps, Carlsbad CA, '21 Charger             3.888  332.59  332.59
  2    1 Matt Hagan, Christiansburg VA, '21 Charger      3.889  332.75  332.75
  3 3095 Bobby Bode, Deer Park IL, '18 Mustang           3.891  322.04  322.04
  4 7000 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda CA, '21 Camaro        3.902  326.87  326.87
  5    7 Tim Wilkerson, Springfield IL, '19 Mustang      3.905  322.11  322.11
  6    5 Bob Tasca III, Cranston RI, '19 Mustang         3.907  329.91  329.91
  7  373 J.R. Todd, Indianapolis IN, '21 Camry           3.915  330.72  330.72
  8  256 Blake Alexander, Charlotte NC, '19 Mustang      3.926  324.36  324.36
  9  302 Dale Creasy Jr., Beecher IL, '18 Charger        4.094  305.77  305.77
 10   71 Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg IN, '21 Charger       4.129  234.33  234.33
 11  703 Jim Campbell, Long Beach CA, '21 Charger        4.177  259.51  259.51
 12  121 Terry Haddock, Temple TX, '19 Mustang           4.242  290.51  290.51
 13  771 Alexis DeJoria, Austin TX, '21 Camry            4.291  212.26  212.26
 14  723 John Force, Yorba Linda CA, '21 Camaro          5.816  125.75  125.75
 15  343 Chris King, Chicago IL, '12 Camry               7.334   98.49   98.49



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PRO STOCK
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  1    4 Greg Anderson, Mooresville NC, '21 Camaro       6.536  209.65  209.65
  2  107 Kyle Koretsky, Fairless Hill PA, '21 Camaro     6.538  210.28  210.28
  3    1 Erica Enders, Houston TX, '21 Camaro            6.545  209.49  209.49
  4    7 Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City LA, '20 Camaro    6.546  208.39  208.39
  5  300 Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, '21 Camaro      6.549  209.20  209.20
  6    8 Chris McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro             6.552  209.43  209.43
  7   41 Rodger Brogdon, Tomball TX, '15 Camaro          6.564  210.08  210.08
  8  660 Dallas Glenn, Mooresville NC, '21 Camaro        6.564  208.81  208.81
  9    5 Matt Hartford, Phoenix AZ, '16 Camaro           6.569  207.82  207.82
 10  150 Kenny Delco, E. Setauket NY, '21 Camaro         6.574  209.52  209.52
 11 409M Cristian Cuadra, Edinburg TX, '19 Mustang       6.595  208.59  208.59
 12   52 Deric Kramer, Sterling CO, '21 Camaro           6.603  208.10  208.10
 13 410M Fernando Cuadra, Leon MX, '21 Mustang           6.620  208.91  208.91
 14  361 Bo Butner, Floyd Knobs IN, '18 Camaro           6.629  209.10  209.10
 15  106 Alan Prusiensky, Rockaway NJ, '12 Dart          6.635  208.52  208.52
 16  471 Marty Robertson, Fort Worth TX, '19 Mustang     6.637  208.46  208.46

       ------------ Not Qualified ------------

 17 508R Robert River, Maquoketa IA, '10 Cobalt          7.184  148.27  148.27
 18 406M Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon MX, '20 Mustang       7.444  143.35  143.35
 19  400 Mason McGaha, Odessa TX, '21 Camaro            27.444   26.48   26.48

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