Ron Capps Motorsports Post-Race Recap: Pomona 1
Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
Event 3 of 20
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip
Pomona, Calif.
April 10 – 12, 2026
By: Ron Capps Motorsports (Photos Courtesy Ron Capps Motorsports)
Ron Capps Runner-Up in Historic 1,000th NHRA Funny Car Race, Ties for Points Lead at Winternationals
POMONA, Calif. (April 12, 2026) – Ron Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team delivered a standout performance Sunday at the NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, racing to the final round of the milestone 1,000th NHRA Funny Car event before a narrow loss to Matt Hagan. After qualifying No. 2, Capps ran a series of passes in the 3.80-second range, including low E.T. of the event, on the way to his 159th career final round. With the runner-up finish, Capps is now tied for the Funny Car points lead with Hagan following race three of the 20-race NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Funny Car’s first qualifying session on Friday was a challenging one for Capps and his fellow competitors, but with Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli turning the knobs, he charged to a 4.007-second pass at 314.17 mph in the second session. That was the third-quickest performance of the round, rewarding Capps with one championship bonus point and the provisional No. 3 position. By reaching the semifinals at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, which he ultimately won, Capps earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge during Saturday qualifying. Capps left the line first against Paul Lee, but he started to lose traction and backed off the throttle. He then rebounded to a 3.919 E.T. at 330.88 mph in the final session to grab two more bonus points and climb up to the No. 2 position in the final qualifying order.
In the first round of eliminations on Sunday, Capps left the starting line ahead of young gun Dylan Winefsky, and though he lost traction, pedaled, dropped cylinders, and shut off early, he crossed the finish line first with a 4.977 E.T. Capps came back stronger in the quarterfinals, where he fired off low E.T. of the round, a 3.884-second pass at 332.34 mph, to defeat Alexis DeJoria. Capps and Antonelli lowered the boom yet again in the semifinals with a 3.863 E.T. at 330.31 mph – low E.T. of the event – to hold off rookie Jordan Vandergriff and his 3.889 E.T.
Following a quick turnaround to race under the lights in the 1,000th NHRA Funny Car final round, Capps lined up next to fellow multi-time world champion Matt Hagan for the 85th time in eliminations. The NAPA Auto Care machine moved off the starting line first, but Hagan pulled ahead at the finish line, with Capps recording a 3.893 E.T. at 334.32 mph to Hagan’s winning 3.876 E.T.
“You really couldn’t ask for a better final in a lot of different ways,” Capps said. “It was really mano a mano with both teams – ‘Stretch’ (Mike Knudsen, Hagan’s crew chief) and Guido and then Matt and me. I get up for racing Matt. He was a teammate of mine for a long time and I know how good he is. To me, that’s like a ‘Snake’ and ‘Jungle Jim’ race back in the day. You’ve got a great car, you get up there and you throw down, then you add the fact that it’s Pomona on a late Sunday night under the lights and the 1,000th win in Funny Car is on the line. There’s so many cool things about it. I’m bummed it didn’t go our way, but at the same time, we have a good hot rod, and we moved up in points. I’m just so proud of Guido and the guys.”
Capps will look to solidify the points lead at the next stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Series schedule, the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, April 24-26, at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car Point Standings (Unofficial):
1 Ron Capps 251
1 Matt Hagan 251
3 J.R. Todd 224
4 Chad Green 223
5 Jordan Vandergriff 205
6 Spencer Hyde 189
7 Alexis DeJoria 181
8 Dan Wilkerson 138
9 Paul Lee 133
10 Jack Beckman 119
Maddi Gordon Clocks Career-Best Run at NHRA Winternationals
Maddi Gordon, the driver of the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster, continued gaining positive momentum in her rookie season at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals today in Pomona, Calif. The talented Ron Capps Motorsports standout recorded a new career-best speed and elapsed time attempting to defeat Justin Ashley in the opening round of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competition. Although Gordon didn’t get the win light, it was a milestone event in front of a hometown crowd for the California native.
In addition to recording new personal bests and winning the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Gordon, the 100th woman in NHRA history to win a national event, had the honor of hosting NHRA Drag Racing legend Shirley Shahan, who captured victory No. 1 for women.
“I met Shirley at the Winternationals last year and she’s such a wonderful lady,” said Gordon. “I’ve been reading her book and learning more about her. It’s funny because she seems like this sweet lady who would be baking cookies for her grandkids but in reality, she’s bad to the bone! It was really cool to have her out here. She’s like drag racing royalty so the fact that she was hanging out with us, wearing green, was a big honor.”
While Gordon lost traction and had to shut off early in the first Friday session, the Carlyle team quickly found their groove and came back with a stellar pass of 3.819 seconds at 326.56 mph.
On Saturday, Gordon pulled double duty in qualifying, competing in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, wherein the semifinalists from the previous race get a chance at redemption. In the first round of competition for the race-within-a-race, Gordon got the starting line advantage over former world champion Shawn Langdon. She held on to that lead, crossing the finish line in 3.831 seconds at 317.34 mph. In the process, Gordon earned one bonus point for making the third-quickest pass of the session.
“We’re two to one against Shawn Langdon now,” remarked Gordon. “That’s really exciting. He’s mentored me a lot, so it’s a big deal to run against him. He’s one of the best out there. That was really cool.”
In her first Mission #2Fast2Tasty final, which also served as the last qualifying opportunity for drivers, Gordon faced Doug Kalitta. As the two rolled up to the starting line, a real-time fan poll showed that approximately 75% of fans expected Gordon to defeat the Top Fuel veteran. The pair put on a show as they both made their quickest passes of the weekend, but ultimately, Kalitta turned on the win light. Gordon’s 3.798 at 327.98 landed her in the No. 8 spot on the competition ladder.
After morning showers delayed the start of eliminations Sunday, Gordon and Ashley were the first pair on the track. In the Top Fuel Marquee Matchup, Ashley got the starting line advantage, and while Gordon made a blistering pass of 3.744 at 334.15, it was not enough for Ashley’s 3.714 at 332.43.
“We all hate to lose,” said Gordon. “But Rob (Flynn, crew chief) said we can’t hang our heads about how we did today. I had my career-best E.T. and mile per hour, but not my career-best reaction time. As a driver, that’s what I look at because that’s what I want to provide for the team. It was really cool going down the track after all the rain. Rob and Troy (Fasching, crew chief) got it right down Broadway. We made our best run yet in conditions we’ve never had. It shows just how good this team is and how well we can adapt to different conditions. Losing sucks, but running a career-best mile per hour and E.T. definitely does NOT suck!”
The weekend ended on a high note for Gordon and her family when her father, Doug Gordon, raced to victory in the Top Alcohol Funny Car category.
Gordon will continue her Rookie of the Year campaign in two weeks when the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series travels to Charlotte for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Raceway.
Qualified: No. 8 (3.798 E.T. at 327.98 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.744 E.T. at 334.15 MPH defeated by Justin Ashley 3.714 E.T. at 332.43 MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
1 Doug Kalitta 255
2 Shawn Langdon 252
3 Josh Hart 235
4 Tony Stewart 224
5 Leah Pruett 220
6 Maddi Gordon 186
7 Justin Ashley 157
8 Antron Brown 139
9 Billy Torrence 133
10 Tony Schumacher 122
