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Ron Capps Motorsports Pre-Race Report: Charlotte

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NHRA 4-Wide Nationals
Event 4 of 20
zMax Dragway
Concord, N.C.
April 24 – 26, 2026

By: Ron Capps Motorsports (Photos Courtesy Ron Capps Motorsports)

Noteworthy:
The Ron Capps Motorsports team has a busy weekend on deck at the season’s only four-wide event:

  • On Friday, the NAPA Apprenticeship Program will recognize its 2025 graduates, with seven automotive technicians set to take part in a trackside presentation ahead of the weekend’s first qualifying run. The program is one of the key initiatives NAPA has deployed to tackle the shortage of technicians around the nation by removing barriers and offering students alternative pathways into the industry. The program provides aspiring technicians the opportunity to earn a living while earning up to four ASE Certifications through academic and hands-on instruction at participating NAPA Auto Care Centers.
  • Prior to qualifying getting underway, RCM drivers Ron Capps and Maddi Gordon will make an appearance at NAPA partner Hendrick Motorsports
  • This weekend marks the first of six events where Okuma will receive increased branding on both Capps’ NAPA Auto Care Funny Car and Gordon’s Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster as part of a partnership with Don Schumacher Motorsports
  • Additionally, Capps’ machine will carry NAPA Premium Brakes Booster branding as part of a weekend partnership with Motorcar Parts of America

Driver Information:

RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car

NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Event Highlights:

  • 2017 event champion  
  • 2025 runner-up
  • 2014 No. 1 qualifier

zMAX Dragway Overall Highlights:

  • Four-time winner
  • One No. 1 qualifier

2025 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Recap:
Qualified seventh; Event runner-up (defeated Buddy Hull, Cruz Pedregon in E1, Hunter Green, J.R. Todd in E2, Matt Hagan, Alexis DeJoria in E3; defeated by Austin Prock in E3)
 
Last Event (Pomona):
Qualified second; Event runner-up (defeated Dylan Winefsky in E1, Alexis DeJoria in E2, Jordan Vandergriff in E3; defeated by Matt Hagan in E4)
 
2026 Statistics:
Three races; one win, one runner-up finish, one No. 1 qualifier
 
Career Statistics:
671 races; 78 wins, 38 No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

  • Enters the season’s only four-wide style event tied for the Funny Car points lead after powering to a runner-up finish at the most recent event in Pomona, Calif.
    • Capps also has a win (Phoenix) and No. 1 qualifier (Gainesville) through the first three races of the year
  • A two-time winner while competing in the unique four-wide style of racing. In addition to his 2017 Charlotte event triumph, Capps also won the 2022 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals (victory No. 1 for RCM)
  • It was recently announced that Capps will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America’s Class of 2027

Fan Events:

  • Friday, 2 – 2:30 p.m., Mission #2Fast2Tasty driver autograph session, Mission Foods midway display
  • Friday, 2:30 – 3 p.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway display
  • Saturday, 10 – 10:30 a.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway display

Quotable:
“There seems to be a lot of buzz heading into the 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte this weekend. Obviously, everyone always hears me brag about our NAPA Auto Care team, and what we’ve shown throughout these first three races of the season with the performance, the consistency, and all the teamwork, has brought us great success. We had a No. 1 qualifier to kick the year off in Gainesville, and then of course a win in Phoenix in adverse conditions, and a runner-up finish in Pomona at our most recent race. So, we’re pumped to get to Charlotte and to the 4-Wides.

“Looking at the weather this weekend, it’s going to be fantastic; warm weather with a chance of clouds, and it could produce some of the quickest times we’ve seen all season. We’re lucky because we get to share our car with a lot of great NAPA partners, and anytime you have a sponsor like NAPA Auto Parts that allows you to represent one of the great vendors from the NAPA system, like NAPA Premium Brake Boosters, it’s a sense of pride. And then of course we also have Okuma on both cars, so we really want to put it in the winner’s circle this weekend. It all starts on Friday with qualifying under the lights later that night and we’re looking forward to it.”

MADDI GORDON
Driver of the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel Dragster

Last Event (Pomona):
Qualified eighth; First round exit (defeated by Justin Ashley in E1)

Noteworthy:

  • While this year’s Charlotte event will mark Gordon’s first time competing in a four-wide event in a professional class, she has prior experience with the unique format, having won the 2025 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals Top Alcohol Funny Car trophy

Fan Events:

  • Friday, 2:30 – 3 p.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway display
  • Saturday, 10 – 10:30 a.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway display

Quotable:
“I’m always really excited to go racing no matter where we’re going, but the 4-Wide Nationals in particular is really exciting, especially with this being the only one of the year, and I personally love a four-wide race. I think it’s super exciting for the racers, super exciting for the fans, and what’s better than 48,000 horsepower taking off at the same time. It’s just a really cool format. As a driver, it definitely changes up your staging procedure and how you approach a run in a way, because if you’re going down the track and you have to pedal it, you can’t give up because you don’t know what the other two cars across the way are doing. So, it really pushes you to be the best driver you can be; especially if you make it to the final quad because you have to beat three people to win the race. And this is the only time we’ll race four across this year, so everyone’s going to be gunning hard for that one 4-Wide diamond Wally trophy; it really raises the stakes.

“We’ve got a lot of folks from Carlyle and NAPA coming out, some of them first-timers, some folks from Monster, too, so we’re really looking to show up and show out for them. We’ve got some good momentum with my family too. My dad won in Pomona, my sister won in Vegas, and they got their first diamond Wallys, so hopefully we can keep the Gordon win streak going this weekend. Our Carlyle Tools guys have been working really hard and doing a great job, and we’re just trying to push harder and harder with every race, and hopefully, we’ll see our first 340 this weekend.”