Crossword Genius

Static car's plate seen in capital (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

crackling

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'static' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to natural events as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I don't see?

'car's plate seen in capital' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'plate' could be 'l' (from the L-plate that Learner drivers use) and 'l' is present in the answer.
'in' is present in the answer.
an anagram of 'car' is 'cra' which is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for crackling that I've seen before include "Crisp exterior of roast pork" , "Pork covering" , "Crisp skin of pork joint" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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