Dave Capriotti has built a career as one of Colorado’s most recognized and successful engine builders.Hebegan his career in 1974, when he formed a business partnership with Rick Madonna to create MADCAP Racing engines. While they initially intended to simply run an auto repair business, their own drag racing experience led them to begin building racing engines for their fellow competitors. Soon after, they became the biggest race engine supplier for Division 5 NHRA drag racing in Colorado, with their customers winning many National and local events. Multi-time NHRA Champion V. Gaines used MADCAP engines for power in his successful Pro-Stock teams, and eventually purchased the MADCAP business, which led to Dave starting DC Racing Engines in the late 1990’s.
As DC Racing engines became more involved with oval track racing, Dave built race motors for the best in the business. There was DC Racing power under the hood as Rick Carelli won the first ever NASCAR Craftsman Truck series event at Tucson Raceway, as well as in the Mike Bonicelli Racing entry in the inaugural NASCAR Southwest Tour race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Chris Raudman driving. DC Racing engines were instrumental in winning multiple NASCAR regional track championships and feature event wins throughout the country, as well as season championships in the NASCAR Southwest Tour and SPEARS SRL Tour. In the local racing scene, DC Racing Engines were the choice of competitors in nearly every racing division at Colorado National Speedway and other Colorado tracks.
In 2005, Dave was recruited to spearhead the newly-formed Furniture Row Racing motor program and facility design. Dave and the engine team he helped assemble built motors for the NASCAR Busch and Sprint Cup Series cars driven by Jerry Robertson, Kenny Wallace, Joe Nemecheck and Sterling Marlin, and it became known in the NASCAR garage that the Furniture Row engines were second to none when power was concerned. After the Furniture Row motor program was shut down due to increased costs in the sport, Dave re-opened DC Racing engines in 2009, and retired in 2014. He leaves behind a remarkable success story.
In a career spanning over 40 years, Dave Capriottihas been the engine builder of record for competitors in the widest array of racing formats imaginable. His engines have been in the winner’s circle in NHRA, NASCAR, SCCA, and Land Speed record events, as he worked his mechanical magic under the Madcap Racing Engine, DC Racing engine, and Furniture Row Racing enginebanners. In recognition of these accomplishments, Dave Capriotti is now an esteemed member of the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame!
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