Ron Capps Motorsports Post-Race Recap: Bristol
Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Event 9 of 20
Bristol Dragway
Bristol, Tenn.
June 12 – 14, 2026
By: Ron Capps Motorsports (Photos Courtesy Ron Capps Motorsports)
Newly Crowned ‘Legend of Thunder Valley’ Ron Capps Charges to Semifinals at Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 14, 2026) – Just days after being named the newest member of Bristol Dragway’s ‘Legends of Thunder Valley,’ Ron Capps raced to a third consecutive semifinal finish Sunday afternoon at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Capps, crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli, and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team set low elapsed time of the event twice on race day before coming up short to Daniel Wilkerson in the semifinals. The late-round finish helped Capps maintain his points lead as the first half of the 20-race NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season winds down.
In the week leading up to the Thunder Valley Nationals, Capps was announced as the 24th inductee into the facility’s prestigious ‘Legends of Thunder Valley’ hall of fame. With eight Bristol victories, he’s the winningest professional series driver at the track. Capps became only the third active driver to earn a spot in the track’s hall of fame. The honor was made official during a special presentation at Sunday morning’s pre-race ceremony.
“This place is magical for me and it’s been that way since I rolled in here for the first time driving for Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme,” said Capps, who came into the weekend as the defending event champion. “I got to win here with every team owner I drove for, including myself. The memories are great because every win, I can say we never had it easy and backed into a win or had an easy day – quite the opposite, in fact. When I pulled into the track on Friday, it was surreal to just stand there and look up at the grandstands. I could not believe my name was up there with those legends.”
The first day of qualifying on the brand-new racing surface presented challenges for Capps and his fellow Funny Car competitors. He smoked the tires in both Friday qualifying sessions to end the day in the No. 10 spot. The third qualifying session on Saturday was also the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, which Capps raced his way into when he reached the semifinals at the last race in Epping. Capps left the line ahead of Jack Beckman and launched hard, but he drove into tire smoke again. Finally, everything lined up for Capps in the final qualifying session when he recorded a 4.131-second pass at 304.53 mph to take the No. 7 position going into eliminations. It was also the third-quickest pass of the session, a feat that came with one championship bonus point.
The NAPA Auto Care Funny Car looked like a totally new race car on Sunday, as Capps threw down the quickest pass of the event, a 3.989 E.T. at 324.44 mph, to drive around Chad Green in the opening round of eliminations. He lowered that weekend best to a 3.980 E.T. at 327.43 mph in the second round to get past Funny Car rookie Jordan Vandergriff and his 4.040 E.T. In the semifinals, a dropped cylinder slowed Capps’ momentum. He posted a 4.058 E.T. at 299.40 mph behind Daniel Wilkerson’s 4.023 E.T. With the semifinal finish, Capps locked into his 22nd career Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
“Kudos to everyone involved with the facility and what they did at this track,” Capps said. “It’s one of the coolest places to race at and the fans are incredible here. It’s a bummer Friday was not the greatest qualifying for the fans, but they came out every day. We all knew it just took more rubber to get down the track. We saw some great races on race day. Guido threw down low E.T. for Funny Car twice on Sunday. It would’ve been great if we could’ve won, but I’m still happy with the semifinal finish. Guido was trying to run another 3.98 before it dropped the cylinder. Overall, it was a really good points weekend. We made it into another Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and we’ve leaving here with the points lead.”
Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team will now move on to another fan-favorite stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Series tour, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 26-28, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Qualified: No. 7 (4.131 E.T. at 304.54 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.989 E.T. at 324.44 MPH defeated Chad Green 4.196 E.T. at 305.56 MPH
E2: 3.980 E.T. at 324.44 MPH defeated Jordan Vandergriff 4.040 E.T. at 285.29 MPH
E3: 4.058 E.T. at 299.40 MPH defeated by Daniel Wilkerson 4.023 E.T. at 320.51 MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Ron Capps | 691 | |
| 2 | Matt Hagan | 667 | |
| 3 | J.R. Todd | 634 | |
| 4 | Jordan Vandergriff | 619 | |
| 5 | Jack Beckman | 589 | |
| 6 | Chad Green | 572 | |
| 7 | Alexis DeJoria | 527 | |
| 8 | Spencer Hyde | 459 | |
| 9 | Austin Prock | 437 | |
| 10 | Dan Wilkerson | 393 |
Maddi Gordon, Carlyle Tools Top Fuel Team Work Through Challenges at Bristol
NHRA Rookie of the Year contender Maddi Gordon’s first trip to Bristol Dragway came to an end in the second round of the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals as she lost to 2025 regular season champion Tony Stewart. It was another learning experience for Gordon and the upstart Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team out of the Ron Capps Motorsports organization as they dealt with a brand-new racing surface and atmospheric conditions unlike any other track on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour. Gordon leaves the ninth of 20 races ranked No. 7 in the Top Fuel points standings.
Like many other teams racing on the new Bristol surface for the first time, Gordon lost traction early in her first qualifying attempt on Friday. Crew chiefs Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching reviewed the data and tuned Gordon to a much-improved 3.965-second pass at 311.77 mph in Q2 to close out Friday in the No. 10 position. Gordon lowered her weekend best again with a 3.922 E.T. at 313.29 mph in the third session on Saturday, then smoked the tires in the final qualifying session.
Racing from the No. 12 spot on the ladder, Gordon squared off against Billy Torrence in the opening round of eliminations. Despite a dropped cylinder, Gordon powered to her quickest pass of the event, a 3.817 E.T. at 329.26 mph, to upset the No. 5 qualifier, who ran a 3.895 E.T. Gordon recorded a consistent 3.826 E.T. at 330.88 mph in the second round, though she reached the finish line second behind Tony Stewart and his winning 3.805 E.T.
“Even though we didn’t qualify well, I had confidence in our car,” said Gordon, who sported a special carbon fiber cowboy hat crafted by NASCAR driver and racing seat fabricator Corey LaJoie using Revchem Composites materials, throughout the weekend. “Rob and Troy talked me through all the changes that they made for race day and I just felt really confident that we had a good race car. Going up against Billy is a tough matchup, so I was super pumped to get past the first round. It would’ve been really nice to get through second round against Tony, but it didn’t happen. It was still a good race. There are conditions here we don’t really see anywhere else with the altitude. We’re going to keep learning and keep it rolling for Norwalk.”
Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team will have a weekend off before returning to action at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 26-28, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Qualified: No. 12 (3.922 E.T. at 313.29 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.817 E.T. at 329.26 MPH defeated Billy Torrence 3.895 E.T. at 288.03 MPH
E2: 3.826 E.T. at 330.88 MPH defeated by Tony Stewart 3.805 E.T. at 320.05 MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Shawn Langdon | 920 | |
| 2 | Doug Kalitta | 806 | |
| 3 | Leah Pruett | 694 | |
| 4 | Tony Stewart | 533 | |
| 5 | Antron Brown | 517 | |
| 6 | Josh Hart | 500 | |
| 7 | Maddi Gordon | 499 | |
| 8 | Billy Torrence | 466 | |
| 9 | Justin Ashley | 419 | |
| 10 | Clay Millican | 365 |
