CONCORD, N.C. – Ron Capps confirmed on Friday at zMAX Dragway that NAPA Auto Parts has signed a three-year extension with Don Schumacher Racing to continue as the sponsor of Capps’ Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.
Capps first became a brand representative for NAPA in 2008 and won the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship in 2016 with their iconic blue and gold colors onboard.
The new deal will carry the pairing through the 2021 season.
“It’s good to be (with) NAPA,” said Capps. “We just signed our agreement for the next sponsor extension, which will take us through three more years with them, and being associated with one sponsor for 10 years like I have is amazing. I was very lucky to drive for Don Prudhomme for nine years with one sponsor, and then to come on with Don Schumacher in 2005 … and add NAPA three years later has been such an awesome journey that I’ve been blessed to be a part of.
“Kenny Bernstein set the bar a long time ago with one sponsor and how you represent somebody out here in the world of motorsports, and to have an association with one brand and one driver that has the kind of longevity that we’ve had is big, it means a lot to the fans and means a lot to the sport too,” Capps continued. “When a company as big as NAPA Auto Parts makes a commitment like that and shows that they love being involved with the NHRA, it says a lot about what we’re doing over here.”
Capps noted that his partnership with NAPA has been one that has been very close to his heart over the last decade since their association began.
“When NAPA came on board, we’d just come off having Brut Cologne as a major sponsor, and Brut was something my dad wore and my grandfather wore,” recalled Capps. “I smelled it as a kid. To have that legacy that they had and for them to use us to launch the Brut Revolution with the blue car they came out with … that was a huge deal and it said a lot about our sport even 10 years ago.
“Fast forward to NAPA. It’s a dream sponsor in this industry, an auto parts company,” Capps noted. “They’re 100 years old. They’ve been around forever. It’s an American company. People know it, they see it and they love it. I love being part of their family. To be able to carry that forward and be ‘the NAPA guy’, for lack of a better term, for what will be 13 years is amazing to me.”
Since 2008, Capps has raced to 38 of his 59 career Funny Car wins in the famed NAPA colors.
“It’s hard enough to get a sponsor; it’s even tougher to keep them, let alone for 10 years,” Capps pointed out. “I work hard at it, though, and I’m proud that my efforts have helped to keep them under the roof at Don Schumacher Racing.”
Capps is carrying a special NAPA NightVision Lamps paint scheme during this weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway. He sits sixth in points, 172 back of leader Robert Hight.
