Eighteen years to the day after NHRA lost Eric Medlen in a testing accident that forever changed drag racing safety. Ron Capps walked away from what many called a “Big. Violent. Expensive. Painful” crash at the Arizona Nationals. The eerie timing wasn’t lost on Capps, who credited those very safety advancements inspired by Medlen’s 2007 accident for saving him on Sunday.
The catastrophic engine explosion in Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Supra occurred just past the 660-foot mark of the 1,000-foot course, instantly shredding his carbon-fiber body into confetti while transforming his race car into what he later called “a convertible.”
His first thoughts after the crash? Getting out quickly to signal to his parents watching from California and his family at the track that he was uninjured. But his post-crash tweet—emphasizing both speed and safety—seemed to add another voice to the brewing controversy about which motorsport truly deserves the “fastest” title.
His post-crash tweet subtly joined fellow NHRA driver Bob Tasca’s crusade against FOX Sports’ controversial marketing of IndyCar as “the fastest motorsport.”
I’m fine, thankful to everyone that makes us not on my the ffastest Motorsport on the …
But also the safest….
– – – –
Ron Capps walked away from massive explosion that sent him on wild ride into the wall during RD 1 of the #ArizonaNats https://t.co/XMYpsvJIUI
— Ron Capps (@RonCapps28) March 24, 2025
The three-time Funny Car champion’s pointed reference to NHRA being the “fastest motorsport” wasn’t coincidental. Just two weeks earlier at the Gatornationals, Bob Tasca—Tony Stewart’s fierce NHRA competitor—had launched a scathing on-air attack against FOX Sports (NHRA’s own broadcast partner) for their IndyCar promotions claiming IndyCar was “the fastest motorsport in the world.”
“It bangs so quick, so violent, and then it was a convertible again,” Capps recounted after the incident. “I had fire in my face when it did it. It just started going left and I’m just, I’m living Force’s accident, right? I know it’s coming. I had no control. Moving pretty fast, and I know it’s going to be bad.” The wreckage sliced Capps’ car body in two behind the supercharger, sending his chassis spinning into the opposite lane before side-slapping the wall at a perilous spot near the gate—all after clocking a blistering 230.61 mph.
In a testament to NHRA’s safety evolution, Capps emerged relatively unscathed from a crash that, by his own admission, left him surprised to “still awake” afterwards. “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,” Capps said. “No issues at all. You want to thank chassis builders and Toyota and the bodies and all the work that we do.”
Capps’ subtle nod to NHRA’s speed supremacy comes on the heels of Bob Tasca’s fiery callout of FOX Sports just two weeks earlier. After his run at Gainesville, Tasca diverted from discussing his performance to address what he considered disrespect from NHRA’s own broadcast partner: “You know all winter long, we heard about the fastest motorsports on the planet… The truth is, it’s an insult to our fans and to the drivers for FOX to go on TV and say the fastest motorsports in the world, and it’s IndyCar? Come on now! I didn’t think it was fake news network on FOX.”
The numbers firmly support both drivers’ positions. While IndyCar’s highest recorded speed is 237.498 mph (set by Arie Luyendyk in 1996), NHRA Funny Cars routinely exceed 330 mph, with Robert Hight holding the official record at 339.87 mph. Tasca himself hit an unofficial 341.68 mph at a non-NHRA-sanctioned event in 2024.
NASCAR fans still enduring the pain of recurring FOX blunders
FOX Sports has transformed from a broadcasting partner to a recurring nightmare for NASCAR fans, turning what should be heart-pounding racing moments into a frustrating carousel of missed opportunities and technical blunders. The network’s history of broadcasting failures isn’t just a series of isolated incidents, but a systematic erosion of viewer trust that has become increasingly difficult to ignore. From the Daytona 500 to Martinsville, and now at the Circuit of the Americas, FOX has consistently demonstrated an uncanny ability to miss the most critical moments of races.
The pattern of failure is now so established that it has become almost predictable. During the recent race at Circuit of the Americas, viewers watched in disbelief as FOX’s camera work managed to completely miss a pivotal moment between Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch. Just as Bell worked his way to the back bumper for a potential pass, the FOX camera chose an angle obscured by the grandstands, leaving fans to piece together the action through fragments and frustration. This isn’t just a technical error; it’s a fundamental breakdown of what sports broadcasting should represent – capturing the essence of competition in real-time.
What makes FOX’s repeated failures so egregious is the seeming indifference to the fan experience. The network appears more concerned with commercial breaks and random camera angles than with telling the story of the race. Not to forget, only five of the 14 races will be aired on FOX this year. Again, the IndyCar favouritism just comes through and NASCAR fans aren’t liking this inferior treatment. The worst setback of all has to be FOX stealing away Bob Pockrass and his coverage from the track. After all, he was the only hope for the fans while FOX kept on repeating it’s blunders.
Hopefully, the new partner Amazon Prime deliver the goods as they seem to have taken a keen interest in the sport and are eager to make an impact.
The post Another NHRA Driver Joins Tony Stewart & Co.’s ‘Fake News Network’ Controversy After Surviving a Deadly Crash appeared first on EssentiallySports.
