Ron Capps Motorsports
RON CAPPS INDUCTED INTO LEGENDS OF THUNDER VALLEY AHEAD OF THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS TITLE DEFENSE
BRISTOL, TN – Ron Capps arrives at this weekend’s Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 12-14, with more hardware on the way — and not the kind that comes with a Sunday win.
Capps, driver of the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car and owner of Ron Capps Motorsports, has been named the 2026 honoree for the Legends of Thunder Valley, Bristol Dragway’s Hall of Fame. He becomes the 24th inductee in the program’s history and only the third active competitor to receive the honor, joining John Force and Tony Schumacher.
The induction is well-earned. Capps is the winningest NHRA Funny Car driver in Bristol Dragway history with eight event victories — claimed in 2001, 2006, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, and 2025 — spanning parts of four decades and earned alongside a variety of team owners and crew chiefs. He also holds the facility’s elapsed time record at 3.884 seconds, set during qualifying in June 2016.
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Top Fuel Rookie Maddi Gordon Gains Experience at NHRA New England Nationals
EPPING, NH — Top Fuel rookie Maddi Gordon experienced another first in her young career Sunday at the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto at New England Dragway, pedaling her Carlyle Tools dragster for the first time in competition before falling in the second round to Leah Pruett.
Competing in the eighth of 20 events on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule, Gordon continued to build critical race-day experience while maintaining her No. 6 position in the Top Fuel points standings.
Gordon posted a weekend-best 3.808-second pass at 330.55 mph in Q2 to advance to the No. 10 qualifying spot. In the first round of eliminations, she delivered one of the day’s strongest performances, wheeling the Ron Capps Motorsports entry to a 3.753-second blast at 337.50 mph to defeat 2025 regular season champion Tony Stewart, who smoked the tires.
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Funny Car Points Leader Ron Capps Records Semifinal Finish at NHRA New England Nationals
EPPING, NH — Ron Capps continued to pace the NHRA Funny Car championship chase Sunday at the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto at New England Dragway, driving his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car to a semifinal finish in the eighth event of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
The three-time Funny Car world champion entered Epping as the points leader and left with that lead intact. His season resume already includes two wins, a runner-up finish, and two No. 1 qualifying efforts.
Capps earned bonus qualifying points throughout the weekend, posting a 4.065-second pass at 319.22 mph in Friday’s opening session before stepping up to a 3.945 E.T. at 328.22 mph in Q3 to earn two more bonus points. He secured the No. 6 qualifying position heading into Sunday eliminations.
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MADDI GORDON MAKES FIRST NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS APPEARANCE WITH CARLYLE TOOLS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
EPPING, NH — Maddi Gordon heads to New England Dragway this weekend for her first-ever NHRA New England Nationals appearance, bringing the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster to Epping for Race Eight of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Gordon, a third-generation drag racer making her full-time professional Top Fuel debut in 2026 with Ron Capps Motorsports, has heard plenty about the New England facility and is eager to experience it firsthand.
“This will be my first time racing in Epping, and I’ve heard nothing but great things. I can’t wait to meet some new fans, check out a historic track, and celebrate in true New England style with a lobster team dinner with the local Carlyle Tools folks on Saturday night,” said Gordon. “We’re starting our race weekend with an appearance at Bentley’s Saloon up in Maine tonight, and I’m very much looking forward to that. I know Ron goes up there every year and it always seems like such a blast, so I’m excited I’ll get to be a part of that this year.”
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POINTS LEADER RON CAPPS RETURNS TO EPPING SEEKING THIRD NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS TITLE
EPPING, NH — Three-time Funny Car world champion Ron Capps arrives at New England Dragway this weekend as the NHRA Funny Car points leader, bringing the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car to the NHRA New England Nationals Presented by bproauto looking to extend one of the sport’s most impressive starts to a season.
Capps enters Race Eight with two wins, a runner-up, two No. 1 qualifiers and a semifinal finish through seven events, the latest coming last weekend at the inaugural Potomac Nationals at Maryland International Raceway. Epping marks the fourth event this season where Capps begins the weekend occupying first place in the standings. He is also set to compete in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday following his semifinal performance at the Potomac Nationals.
The New England Nationals holds a strong track record for Capps, who is a two-time event champion at Epping with victories in 2014 and 2016, along with a No. 1 qualifier award in 2016.
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OKUMA Joins Ron Capps Motorsports as Official CNC Machining Partner
BROWNSBURG, IN – Ron Capps Motorsports (RCM) announced today a new partnership with OKUMA, naming the global leader in machine tool design and manufacturing the official CNC machining partner of the championship-winning organization.
While this marks the first official collaboration between RCM and OKUMA, the relationship between the two extends back to RCM team owner Ron Capps’ days driving for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). While at DSR, Capps experienced firsthand the advantages of utilizing engine components machined with high-precision OKUMA machine tools, capturing multiple championships and race wins with DSR Performance parts, a longtime OKUMA partner. Capps continued to lean on OKUMA and DSR Performance when he transitioned into team ownership in 2022 and considers the precision and accuracy behind the manufacturing process to be an integral part of his team’s success. Since ‘22, Capps has captured 11 national event wins, eight poles, and the 2022 Funny Car championship aboard the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car.
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Maddi Gordon Shows Consistency at Inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals
MECHANICSVILLE, MD – Maddi Gordon continued to gain experience at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals, where she lost a close opening-round race Sunday morning at Maryland International Raceway. The NHRA Rookie of the Year contender made a string of consistent passes across qualifying and eliminations, giving her confidence in her Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching-tuned Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series kicked off a stretch of three consecutive races. Gordon held on to her No. 6 position in the Top Fuel points standings.
In the opening qualifying session, Gordon powered to a 3.840-second pass at 330.39 mph to streak to the provisional No. 2 spot, earning two championship bonus points in the process. She improved to a 3.805 E.T. at 332.34 mph in the second session to sit fifth going into Saturday. A consistent 3.808-second pass followed in the third session on Saturday. That performance came with another bonus point, as it was the third-quickest pass of the session. Gordon’s only instance of tire smoke all weekend struck in the final qualifying session, and she ended up No. 6 on the final qualifying order.
Gordon rolled into Sunday eliminations facing No. 11 qualifier Will Smith. The two drivers ran nearly identical passes, with Gordon matching her qualifying performance with a 3.805 E.T. at 330.07 mph, but Smith moved first and won with a 3.802 E.T.
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Ron Capps Strengthens Funny Car Points Lead with Semifinal Finish at NHRA Potomac Nationals
MECHANICSVILLE, MD – Three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Ron Capps entered the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals tied for the points lead with J.R. Todd after capturing two wins in three final rounds in the first six races of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. By reaching the semifinal round Sunday at Maryland International Raceway, Capps became the sole points leader in his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car at the first of three back-to-back-to-back races.
Qualifying was a learning experience for Capps and his team led by crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli as they developed data and a tune-up for the historic track, which is one of four new tracks on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Series schedule. Capps lost traction on his first qualifying pass, but rebounded with a 4.050-second pass in the second session to move up a spot to No. 11. On Saturday, Capps spun the tires down-track in the third session before throwing down a 4.024 E.T. at 321.65 mph in the final session to gain another spot on the qualifying order.
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ROOKIE GORDON EAGER FOR FAMILY REUNION AND NEW CHALLENGE AT INAUGURAL NHRA POTOMAC NATIONALS
Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster driver enters Maryland International Raceway on equal footing with veteran competition
MECHANICSVILLE, MD — Maddi Gordon heads into the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals Presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway this weekend with extra motivation — not only does she get to introduce a new fanbase to NHRA drag racing, but her entire family will be in attendance as her father competes in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the same event.
Gordon, who pilots the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster for Ron Capps Motorsports, is in her rookie season on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. This weekend marks the second time in 2026 that she will race on equal footing with her more experienced peers, as most drivers and teams will be navigating MIR conditions for the first time.
“I’m so ready to go back racing with my Carlyle Tools team, but this weekend, I’m extra excited because it’s the first time in quite a while that I get to race with my family again,” said Gordon. “My dad will be running in Top Alcohol Funny Car this weekend at MIR, so my whole family will be out there — my mom, my dad, my grandma, my grandpa, my sister, and Jake. It’ll be really nice to have them there.”
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CAPPS TIED FOR FUNNY CAR POINTS LEAD HEADING INTO INAUGURAL NHRA POTOMAC NATIONALS
NAPA Auto Care Funny Car driver embraces the “firsts” surrounding Maryland International Raceway debut
MECHANICSVILLE, MD — Ron Capps arrives at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals Presented by JEGS tied for the Funny Car points lead and ready to put his team’s adaptability on full display at a track no one has experienced before.
Capps, who pilots the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car for Ron Capps Motorsports, is knotted with J.R. Todd atop the Funny Car standings through six races. He has made the most of his opportunities in 2026, converting two of three final round appearances into wins and earning two No. 1 qualifiers along the way.
The three-time Funny Car world champion embraces the unique dynamic this weekend brings, with nearly the entire field navigating Maryland International Raceway for the first time.
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