Classic Auto Mall Show #215 - Stewart Howden with Funny Car Driver Ron Capps + Keith Martin

Show #215 airdate 10-15-25 - Stewart welcomes Ron Capps, @NHRA #FunnyCar #Racer driving his @NAPAracing @ToyotaRacing #Supra, discussing his over 75 wins and 3 championships, mobile machine shops, faster cars and shorter tracks. PLUS Keith Martin of #SportsCarMarket blogs about magazine covers and driving a classic in the rain. @CarlyleTools 

Ron Capps started his career driving for the legendary Don The Snake Prudhomme and went on to win 75 Funny Car Races (as of October 2025), second only to John Force as well as three NHRA Funny Car Season Titles. Ron Capps talks about being based out of Carlsbad, California, and how when he started racing there were a lot of IMSA and offroad racing teams based in the area. Prudhomme had built his shop in that area and it was a mecca for racing for a while. Ron Capps drives the NAPA Funny Car.
Capps and Stewart discuss race tracks and dragstrips that have closed down over the years like Lions Drag Strip in California. Lions now has a museum and a recreation of the starting line at Lions as well as a display for the Long Beach Grand Prix. They also discuss the Peter Mullin collection. They talk about going to collections and museums and seeing a Big Daddy Don Garlits Dragster, a Don The Snake Prudhomme car or Hot Wheels car or a Tom The Mongoose Mcewen Funny Car. They talk about the amazing Rick Hendricks or Hendricks Motorsports, car collection that includes the Snake and Mongoose cars and ramp truck car haulers. 
They talk about how Don Prudhomme found the old ramp trucks and restored them before selling the trucks and cars to Rick Hendrick. Prudhomme even found the old original fire suits that hung in the ramp trucks. Capps talks about the racing set ups with multiple trucks and trailers per car. John Force started the two trailer setup for drag racing with a second trailer that was a technology center. 
2026 is the 75th Anniversary of the NHRA. They discuss how fans can stand in the pits and interact with the drivers and crew just feet away from them as they work on the car and rebuild the engine between rounds. You don’t have to go to a VIP Tent to meet the drivers, in drag racing you can talk to them at their trailer as they are preparing to race. They rebuild an engine in 40 minutes between rounds.
Ron Capps set the ET Record and Fastest Speed of 339 MPH at Maple Grove Raceway near Classic Auto Mall. Capps talks about why cars run so fast at Maple Grove. Capps tells Stewart how he can tell the difference between a 300 mile per hour run and a 300 run and the G-For

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Recorded in our Showcase Studio just inside the entrance of the Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, PA, Host Stewart Howden, Classic Auto Mall President and Classic Car Specialist Steve Saffier talk about this unique and amazing place often with amazing guests.

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