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The Split Racing ‘Fast Family’ Adding Another
Driver
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Heather Capano to Compete in PDRA Top Dragster
in 2015
PITTSBORO, N.C. February 26, 2015: Gerry Capano
has steadily worked his way through the paces of
doorslammer racing to reach the height, thus
far, of his career in PDRA Pro Boost and NHRA
Pro Mod. He began in 1995 in a local outlaw
series in the Pro Street division. In 2010 he
was crowned the NEOPM Rookie of the Year and in
2014 he earned a very respectable eighth place
finish in PDRA Pro Boost.
Standing faithfully behind Gerry for many years
was wife, Heather, who acts as Team Manager and
takes care of duties that range from head chef
to back up girl and car maintenance between
rounds. Although Heather has become fairly well
known herself for her various roles, she’s soon
to make another name for herself as driver. This
season she will make her debut in PDRA Top
Dragster.
Heather, a hair stylist by trade, earned her
competition Top Dragster license in August of
2014, during the same weekend her son Gianni
earned his Junior Dragster license. Gianni began
racing right away, finishing out the 2014
season. For 2015, all three Capanos are planning
to be competitive drivers with the PDRA, truly
living up to their Fast Family status.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be able
to do this,” Heather stated. “My husband is the
main reason this has gone from dream to reality.
I’ve always been a racing enthusiast, and being
with Gerry I’ve gotten to experience the thrill
of being behind his car and being a part of the
team and watching him on his runs. I’ve always
been anxious to get behind the wheel. After a
few years the opportunity arose and I took it.
“We started racing Pro Mods with an outlaw
series, not professionally like we are now. So
every year we progressively got faster and more
professional and worked our ways up to the pros.
The more I learned, the more anxious I got to
experience it on my own.”
When she got that experience, Heather says she
was hooked, “The fastest I’ve been in the
quarter is a 7.71 at 170MPH. We’re hoping I’ll
be about 4.60 in the eighth. It’s an adrenaline
rush. Immediately, being in control, I feel like
I was hooked. I can understand what the drivers
always say about being addicted, because you get
behind the wheel, you feel the power of the
engine, you hear the noise, you get to top end
and immediately your thought is, can I go again?
My first time in the car really just solidified
how people say they’re addicted to drag racing.
That adrenaline rush hooked me immediately.”
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Heather plans on being just as
involved with her own dragster as she
is for her husband’s Pro Boost
operation. “I”m the Split Racing Team
Manager. I handle everything from
loading the motorhome to helping tune
the car to pit crew. I’m his back up
girl. I kind of do it all. I’m pretty
hands on when it comes to anything
with the crew. My husband likes to
call me the co-crew chief because I
really help our crew chief stay
organized. I cook and take care of
everybody. I help change the jets in
the car. I make all of the
arrangements. I’m like everything from
Team Manager to Team Mom. They call me
the Pit Boss, actually.”
It was actually Heather’s father who
first introduced her to racing. When
she was growing up he had a race car
fabrication shop and would take her
along as a spectator to events. Later,
roles were reversed when Heather’s
father would join the Split Racing
Team as a spectator. Now, Heather
notes that the family has come full
circle as her dad gets to step into
the role of Crew Chief for her
dragster. “My dad and my husband are
going to be the crew chiefs on my car.
I plan on being in charge of the
weather station and knowing what’s
going on and keeping my own log book,
but my dad and my husband will be in
charge.”
Heather will be competing in a Mike
Bos Dragster, assembled by her father
and powered by a 572 ci Keith Black
BBC engine, which was assembled by
Gerry’s engine builder, Leroy Dewdney.
Split Racing is backed by HE&M Saws
and Amalie Motor Oil. Aerial Signs and
Awnings is coming on board Heather’s
Dragster for 2015 as well.
Heather admits to having more nerves
watching her son race for the first
time than watching her husband or when
she got behind the wheel herself. “You
send your husband down the track in a
five second Pro Mod, and then you send
your kid down the track and the
feeling is totally different. By the
time I got my husband back in the car,
I was like, ‘Shew, thank God.’ But now
he knows the drill.” Nine year old
Gianni will be back on the PDRA tour
in Top Junior Dragster again in 2015.
Now it’s Gerry’s turn to worry,
watching his wife go through the same
paces they’ve helped their son
through. “He’s always very adamant
about me staying calm and letting the
car settle down.” Heather explained.
“It’s safety first with him. For him,
it’s the same watching me as it is for
me watching our son. It’s funny the
way those things work. He’s 100%
supportive of me, though, and I
wouldn’t be doing this without him.”
Heather plans to test at local tracks
to get more experience, but her racing
will largely be concentrated at PDRA
National Events. With a realistic
perspective, Heather and Gerry aren’t
planning to break TD records this
season. The plan is for her to get
comfortable behind the wheel and move
up in speed when she’s ready.
“My main focus for 2015 is to gain
knowledge, experience and seat time,”
Heather added. “My biggest goal is to
actually qualify for a PDRA National
Event in Top Dragster, but my main
focus is really just to gain that
experience and seat time behind the
wheel. I want to earn seta time in
order to steal one of my husband’s
Hemis in the future. If I get enough
experience this year I think Gerry
might kick one in the corner for me.”
Gerry’s own program continues to make
strides, and despite fielding a third
car this year, the couple has no plans
to slack off on their Pro Mod
operation . “Gerry finished eighth
last season in Pro Boost in just his
first year racing on a national level
in his Pro Modified car. He also
finished top 28th in NHRA Pro
Modified, even attending only five out
of their ten events in 2014. We had an
awesome year last year and are hoping
to improve this year.”
Although three out of three for race
car drivers in one family is enough to
earn the title Fast Family, there’s
more to it than that. Another passion
of Split Racing is physical fitness,
which Heather believes also plays a
major role in their success on the
track.
“I’m an avid fitness enthusiast,
anything from trail running to yoga.
Cooking, racing, and training - that’s
my life. My husband and I used to run
an annual half-marathon every March. I
think we’ve done four or five of them
together. Now it seems racing season
begins sooner and sooner. So now we
run together at the race track. That’s
when we have time to do it. We get up
early, before the crew, sneak out of
the motorhome and go run around the
track before the hectic day gets
going.
“I suit my husband up. I’m the one
that buckles him in the car and helps
him put his helmet on and his fire
suit. When I begin doing this for
myself, I started to really see how
much fitness can play a role. I have
to say that if it wasn’t for me
knowing how to breathe, between
running and doing yoga, putting on all
the gear and fire suit could be an
overwhelming experience. Everything is
cut off and strapped in. Being in good
physical condition was a big thing
that I believe helped me get off to a
good start in my driving.”
Heather’s commitment to physical
fitness is obvious from her
appearance. This probably also hasn’t
hurt her becoming most well-known as
Gerry’s back up girl, as she could
easily rival back up girls from
decades past, even coming in as a top
3 finalist for 2014 Back Up Girl.
More than just a pretty face,
Heather’s hands-on approach to
everything she undertakes has her
gearing up for the ride of her life in
2015. Her disarming smile won’t tell
the whole story this year. Heather
Capano is focused and ready to be as
fierce a competitor as any.
Learn more about Split Racing at
www.splitracing.com
ABOUT THE PDRA
Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina,
the Professional Drag Racers
Association is the top sanctioning
body in the United States for the
sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The
PDRA’s professional categories include
Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost,
and Pro Extreme Motorcycle along with
Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr.
Dragster, and Top Jr. Dragster. The
2015 PDRA schedule consists of ten
national events. For more on the
world’s premier eighth mile drag
racing organization visit
www.pdra660.com.
Follow the PDRA:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram,
YouTube.
Photo of Gerry Capano’s Pro Boost
Corvette: Gary Rowe / RaceWorks.com /
PDRA660.com
Photos of Heather Capano: Mark Walker
- godragracing.org / Tara Bowker -
Black Rock Photography
PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier
Professional Drag Racers Association
lisa@pdra660.com
704.692.4636 |
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