NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Teams prepared for four consecutive weekends of racing that has been informally dubbed the “Eastern Swing” knowing that their fortunes in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season could change drastically in a short period of time. Within a matter of weeks, Ron Capps and the NAPA Dodge Charger team would have as much reason to celebrate in Northern Ohio as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

June of 2016 will go down as one of the finest stretches of racing in Capps’ career. Three wins and three No. 1 qualifying positions in a span of four events vaulted him to the top of the Mello Yello points standings with a 130-point cushion over Courtney Force. The latest win bumped his career total to 49 wins, which ties him with former boss Don “the Snake” Prudhomme.

Teamwork and patience have been two virtues that have gotten Capps to the top of the pecking order in a class that has made giant leaps forward in performance in the last calendar year. While Capps watched national records being set and Jack Beckman and Del Worsham taking stage in the center of last year’s playoff battle, Capps knew what he had in crew chief Rahn Tobler, a tuner who would take that performance once they got to that level and refine it and race masterfully with it.

"What Rahn Tobler is doing right now is hard work," said Capps. "This guy has been working his tail off. It is big picture to him; he is not just a good crew chief, he is a good racer, and I love that. When he is pointing at me in the windshield before a run, it gives me all the confidence in the world."

The Don Schumacher Racing team has won the last six Funny Car events and boasted 11 of 12 finalists in that span. To get to that point in a highly competitive category, the teams have benefited from each other’s strengths to push the whole wagon forward. Jimmy Prock and John Medlen on the Infinite Hero team are regarded as the modern-day Wright brothers, bringing new concepts into reality on the racetrack. Dickie Venables on the Mopar/Rocky Boots team is a fearless competitor who will squeeze the most out of his hot rod. Tobler on the NAPA team and former protégé John Collins on the Make-A-Wish car are methodical racers who aren’t likely to let a fast tune-up out of their grasp until it’s time to move on to the next step.

It is a difficult dynamic in which to maintain harmony with only one Wally being awarded at the end of each race, but the organization is benefitting from it thus far, and Schumacher’s model encourages competition. While some teams are licking their wounds and preparing for the Chicago event and the grueling Western Swing, Capps is likely wishing there was another race on Fourth of July weekend where he could be attempting to earn a milestone 50th victory in one of the best hot rods he has ever driven.

Fully charged: In the first eight races of the year, Shawn Langdon only managed four round-wins. During the Eastern Swing, he racked up 11 round-wins, which includes consecutive victories in Bristol and Norwalk.