Ron Capps has credited the safety improvement introduced following John Force’s Virginia crash in 2024 and Eric Medlen’s fatal 2007 crash after being able to walk away from his fiery 230 mph crash in Arizona this weekend.
Capps’s NAPA Auto Parks Toyota Supra engine exploded at 230 mph causing the car to split in two and crash into the wall. While reflecting on the horrific moment to the media, Capps explained that the safety measures introduced to the sport after the harrowing 2007 testing crash which took the life of Eric Medlen and Force’s crash last year in Virginia which left him with traumatic brain injuries which he is continuing to recover from.
“I’m just, I’m living Force’s accident, right?” Capps explained. “I know it’s coming. I had no control. Moving pretty fast, and I know it’s going to be bad. And sometimes when it’s coming, it’s going to be bad – and other times you feel like you’re in control.
“But I just kept picturing John’s accident that was right in front of us in Richmond. So I just hung on, and just tried to brace myself. And when it hit, I honestly didn’t expect to be awake afterwards, it was going that fast – and then I was still awake.
“So I mean, paddings, all the stuff that Eric Medlen’s and Force’s accidents and all those things over the years have thankfully been fixed and upgraded so that I could be OK right now. I feel fine,” Capps said. “No issues at all. You want to thank chassis builders and Toyota and the bodies and all the work that we do.
.@RonCapps28 walked away from a massive explosion that sent him on a wild ride into the wall during RD 1 of the #ArizonaNats.
Eliminations are on @FS1 at 6:30p ET. @TeamRonCapps pic.twitter.com/aViQNrPQgd
— NHRA (@NHRA) March 23, 2025
“Man, I am sure I’m not going to want to watch it,” he said. “It was just ‘Hang on’ and ‘This is going to be bad.'”
Force has made a return to the NHRA scene after his scary crash in 2024, although he has not made a comeback to the cockpit just yet. Speaking in a video ahead Las Vegas last year, Force updated fans on his recovery, stating:
“Hi, I’m John Force, 16-time Funny Car champ, and boy am I glad to be here after that crash I had in Richmond, but at the end of the day, I’m going to recover, and I’m getting better already. I was in the hospital for four months.
“I’m still working every day to get my body back in shape, but I got to get my mind back in shape. I took a pretty big hit in that crash at Richmond, so I’ve been in the hospital there in Richmond. I’ve been in Phoenix, Arizona, going through rehab, and I’m out here now, and I’m working at it every day.”
