Ron Capps Extends Funny Car Points Lead with Second Win in Four Races at NHRA 4-Wide Nationals

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

By: Ron Capps Motorsports

CONCORD, N.C. (April 26, 2026) – Ron Capps’ red-hot start to the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season rolled on at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Sunday afternoon at zMAX Dragway as the three-time world champion secured his second win of the year in his third consecutive final round. Driving his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car at the fourth of 20 races this season, Capps qualified No. 1 and carried that momentum through eliminations. He defeated fellow past world champions Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, and J.R. Todd in the final quad to score his 79th career victory, extending his points lead in the process.
 
Capps posted a solid 3.988 E.T. at 321.65 mph on the board in Friday’s first qualifying session before throwing down a 3.883-second blast at 333.91 mph, one of just two 3.8-second passes in the second session, to finish Friday as the provisional No. 1 qualifier, earning three championship bonus points in the process. In the third qualifying session, which also counted as the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Capps recorded the quickest pass of the quad, a 3.957 E.T., to advance. He was the quickest of the quad again in the final with his 3.929 E.T., but came up just two-thousandths-of-a-second short to Jordan Vandergriff, who won on a holeshot. Capps was also the second-quickest and quickest driver overall in Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, respectively, earning another five total bonus points. 
 
Qualified No. 1, Capps and crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli continued their class-leading performance in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations as Capps fired off low E.T. of the round, a 3.865-second pass at 333.00 mph, to defeat Chad Green, Austin Prock, and Spencer Hyde. His 3.923 E.T. in the next round was the second-quickest of the semifinal quad, sending him into the final round.
 
The finals were a showdown featuring four of the most accomplished drivers in the class. Capps moved first off the starting line and charged to a 3.905-second pass at 334.90 mph to finish first ahead of Beckman, Hagan, and Todd, and clinch his fifth zMAX Dragway victory.
 
“The secret to this success is just surrounding yourself with great people,” said Capps, who will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America’s Class of 2027, it was announced last week. “I’ve been that way my whole career. I can’t believe I have as many trophies as I have, and it’s with all great people. The great Roland Leong taught me a lot about racing, how to be a great racer overall and a great person while you’re doing it, and to really respect everybody. Guido and the NAPA Auto Care guys gave me a great car today and I just didn’t want to mess anything up.”
 
Charlotte was the fourth race for Ron Capps Motorsports as a two-car operation after adding Maddi Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team to the roster over the offseason. What could’ve become a distraction has instead strengthened the fifth-year organization. Capps started the season as the No. 1 qualifier at the Gatornationals, won the Arizona Nationals, reached the final round at the Winternationals, and now won the 4-Wide Nationals.
 
“This all happens in December. I said that in Phoenix,” explained Capps, one of the recent additions to NHRA’s Top 75 Drivers list. “It’s all the effort during the off-weeks. To add a team like we did with Maddi and to watch that all come together with the partners we have like NAPA Auto Parts and Carlyle Tools and then Monster Energy coming on board, it’s special. We had Casey (VanKeuren) from Monster Energy here. She brings good luck for us all the time. We also had NAPA Premium Brakes Booster with Motorcar Parts of America, and Okuma on board this weekend. Maddi and I get to go visit NAPA headquarters this week, and to take this 75th anniversary diamond Wally there is going to be pretty awesome.”
 
Following the midweek trip to NAPA Auto Parts headquarters in Atlanta, Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team will roll into South Georgia Motorsports Park for the first time as it hosts the NHRA Southern Nationals, May 1-3.

Qualified: No. 1 (3.883 E.T. at 333.91 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.865 E.T. at 333.00 MPH defeated Austin Prock 4.460 E.T. at 191.76 MPH, Spencer Hyde 8.207 E.T. at 69.59 MPH
E2: 3.923 E.T. at 327.90 MPH defeated Alexis DeJoria 3.980 E.T. at 296.89 MPH, Chad Green 10.164 E.T. at 82.41 MPH
E3: 3.905 E.T. at 334.90 MPH defeated Jack Beckman 3.917 E.T. at 329.50 MPH, Matt Hagan 3.947 E.T. at 330.55, J.R. Todd 4.050 E.T. at 323.81

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car Point Standings (Unofficial):

1	Ron Capps	377
2	Matt Hagan	329
3	J.R. Todd	304
4	Chad Green	279
5	Jordan Vandergriff	265
6	Alexis DeJoria	235
7	Spencer Hyde	223
8	Jack Beckman	213
9	Dan Wilkerson	170
10	Dave Richards	138

Maddi Gordon Reaches Semifinal Quad, Posts Career-Best Reaction Time in Charlotte

NHRA Rookie of the Year contender Maddi Gordon continued her steady progression in Top Fuel competition Sunday at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, advancing to the semifinal quad in the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster for Ron Capps Motorsports. Though it was Gordon’s four-wide debut in the pro ranks, she brought experience as a past four-wide winner in Top Alcohol Funny Car, using that edge to cut her career-best race day reaction time at the fourth of 20 races on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour.
 
Before on-track action began on Friday, Gordon, team owner and teammate Ron Capps, and the RCM team helped the NAPA Apprenticeship Program recognize its 2025 graduates in a trackside presentation. The program seeks to address the shortage of technicians around the nation by removing barriers and offering students alternative pathways into the industry. Participants have 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. 
 
Gordon, who won the 2025 NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals in Top Alcohol Funny Car just days after being announced as the driver of the new Ron Capps Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, made incremental improvements in each qualifying session. She opened qualifying with a 3.862-second pass at 325.22 mph in the heat of the day, good for the provisional No. 7 spot. She followed with a 3.828 E.T. at 326.32 mph in Q2 to end Friday in the No. 13 position. Saturday qualifying kicked off with a 3.885 E.T. before crew chiefs Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching tuned Gordon to her best effort in the final session with a 3.825 E.T. at 324.67 mph.
 
On race day, Gordon improved yet again in the opening quad, posting a 3.777 at 332.51 mph to defeat Clay Millican and Antron Brown and advance to the next round. In a loaded semifinal quad featuring two-time and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta, 2023 championship contender Leah Pruett, and past world champion Shawn Langdon, Gordon ran a competitive 3.767 at 333.16 mph, but fell just short of advancing as Kalitta (3.707) and Pruett (3.749) moved on.
 
“We improved every pass going down the track,” Gordon said. “I improved in my reaction times to my best light yet, a .060. Doug Kalitta was .059, so I didn’t get to beat him on the tree, but we were close. We’re making forward progress. Every week, we’re just going to try to improve and I think that’s what we’ve been doing. We’re just going to keep chipping away at it. That was nothing to hang our heads at. That was a monster, monster matchup. We were only two hundredths away from advancing, and at 330 mph, two hundredths isn’t that much. I’m really happy after this weekend, so I’m just going to take the positive energy that we have here from this weekend and bring it to Valdosta.”
 
Gordon won’t have a chance to slow down, as she has a busy week of activities planned leading into the NHRA Southern Nationals, May 1-3, at South Georgia Motorsports Park. She’ll join Capps on a visit to NAPA Auto Parts headquarters in Atlanta and she’ll throw out the first pitch at Wednesday night’s Atlanta Braves game.

Qualified: No. 14 (3.825 E.T. at 324.67 MPH) 

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.777 E.T. at 332.51 MPH defeated Clay Millican 3.911 E.T. at 266.69 MPH, Antron Brown 4.267 E.T. at 193.02 MPH
E2: 3.767 E.T. at 333.16 MPH defeated by Doug Kalitta 3.707 E.T. at 339.02 MPH, Leah Pruett 3.749 E.T. at 333.66 MPH

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):

1	Doug Kalitta	374
2	Shawn Langdon	359
3	Leah Pruett	299
4	Tony Stewart	296
5	Josh Hart	265
6	Maddi Gordon	237
7	Justin Ashley	208
8	Billy Torrence	187
9	Antron Brown	164
10	Clay Millican	146