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Ron Capps Motorsports Pre-Race Report: St. Louis

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NAPA AUTO PARTS NHRA Midwest Nationals
Event 17 of 20
Countdown Event 3 of 6
World Wide Technology Raceway
Madison, Ill.
Oct. 2 – 4, 2026

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

Noteworthy:

  • Ron Capps Motorsports teammates Ron Capps and Maddi Gordon will run matching NAPA Auto Care paint schemes for the first time during this weekend’s NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals

Driver Information:

RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 3rd (-106 points)

NHRA Midwest Nationals Event Highlights:

  • Four-time event champion (1997, 2005, 2007, 2017)   
  • Four-time runner-up (2009, 2022, 2023, 2024)
  • 2009 No. 1 qualifier

2025 NHRA Midwest Nationals Event Recap:
Qualified 13th; First round exit (defeated by Bob Tasca in E1)

Last Event (Rockingham):
Qualified No. 1; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Bye in E1; defeated by Matt Hagan in E2)

2026 Statistics:
16 races: three wins, one runner-up finish, four No. 1 qualifiers

Career Statistics:

  • 684 races: 80 wins, 41 No. 1 qualifiers
  • Career-best E.T.: 3.821 seconds (Pomona 2, 2024)
  • Career-best speed: 339.37 mph (Martin, Mich. 2026)

Noteworthy:

  • Enters the weekend from third in the NHRA Mission Foods Funny Car point standings after having claimed his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season last weekend in Rockingham, N.C.
    • The three-time Funny Car world champion will be looking to make up ground in the 106-point deficit separating him from the No. 1 ranked driver as he continues his campaign for a fourth series title
  • With four St. Louis victories, Capps is the winningest Funny Car driver at World Wide Technology Raceway
  • Seeking his fourth final round appearance in five years after powering to a runner-up finish in 2022, ’23 and ‘24
  • Will be recognized as one of ‘Gateway’s Greatest’ on Friday for his exemplary performance at the St. Louis area facility
  • Won his first Funny Car race in 1997 at World Wide Technology Raceway’s inaugural event while driving for drag racing icon Don “The Snake” Prudhomme
  • NAPA Auto Parts, Capps’ longtime partner of 19 years, is the event title sponsor
  • Capps’ NAPA Funny Car will carry OE TurboPower branding throughout the weekend as part of a NAPA supplier partnership
    • OE TurboPower is focused on providing high-quality replacement turbocharger solutions designed to deliver the performance, durability and reliability technicians and their customers expect

Fan Events:

  • Thursday, 5:30 – 7 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver appearance, McKay NAPA Auto Parts (10408 Lincoln Trail, Fairview Heights)
  • Friday, 3:30 – 4 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer
  • Saturday, 9:30 – 10 a.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer
  • Saturday, 1:15 – 1:45 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Monster Energy midway

Quotable:
“It’s a tight battle and we know who we’re going to have to fight for the championship. But that being said, looking back at Rockingham and Michigan, you can’t count anybody out on race day. You don’t even want to not mention them, because you look at the top 12 cars in our class, and any of them are capable of winning on Sunday. We’ve got some good tracks coming up, especially this weekend in St. Louis with the event being sponsored by NAPA. The McKay NAPA group here are such big supporters of ours, and racing, and the track, so it’s only fitting we get to do something special and run matching NAPA liveries with Maddi’s team and our Funny Car. It makes me really proud as a team owner. St. Louis has been a good track for me with a lot of wins, and a lot of great results. Of course, when you have so many NAPA people come out like they are, you want to show off.”

MADDI GORDON
Driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Top Fuel Dragster

Last Event (Rockingham):
Qualified ninth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Justin Ashley in E1; defeated by Doug Kalitta in E2)

2026/Career Statistics:

  • 16 races: one win, one runner-up finish
  • Career-best E.T.: 3.695 seconds (Brainerd 2026)
  • Career-best speed: 340.22 mph (Valdosta 2026)

Noteworthy:

  • Will make her St. Louis debut aboard the NAPA Auto Care Top Fuel dragster
  • The Rookie of the Year contender begins the third event of the 2026 Countdown to the Championship tied for seventh and within one competition round of the Top 5
  • On Saturday, St. Louis native and multi-time NASCAR winner and former FOX NASCAR reporter Kenny Wallace will climb into Gordon’s NAPA Auto Care Top Fuel dragster and fire it up ahead of the weekend’s third qualifying session

Fan Events:

  • Thursday, 5:30 – 7 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver appearance, McKay NAPA Auto Parts (10408 Lincoln Trail, Fairview Heights)
  • Friday, 3:30 – 4 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer
  • Saturday, 9:30 – 10 a.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer
  • Saturday, 1:15 – 1:45 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Monster Energy midway

Quotable:
“We’re really excited for the NAPA Auto Parts Midwest Nationals. I know I keep saying excited, but we have some really cool stuff in the works at this weekend’s St. Louis race. This will be the first time in history that NAPA Auto Parts will have primary branding on a Top Fuel dragster, so that’s really cool and our whole team is pumped up to be part of racing history with the NAPA blue and yellow. A NAPA race car at a NAPA race to match Ron Capps’ NAPA Auto Care colors will help give us that extra mojo for race three of the Countdown. We’ll kick off the weekend with a NAPA NHRA customer race with the local dealers, followed by our NAPA store visit. We’re also going to host Kenny Wallce, so, just a lot of fun things happening.”