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Ron Capps Motorsports Post-Race Recap: Rockingham

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NHRA Nationals at The Rock
Event 16 of 20
Countdown Event 2 of 6
Rockingham Dragway
Rockingham, N.C.
Sept. 25 – 27, 2026

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

Ron Capps Qualifies No. 1, Advances to Quarterfinals at Inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Sept. 27, 2026) – Making his first appearance at Rockingham Dragway in nearly 30 years, three-time world champion Ron Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team enjoyed a quality weekend at the NHRA Nationals at The Rock, qualifying No. 1 and advancing to the quarterfinals of the second of six races in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.

By qualifying No. 1 for the fourth time this season with an impressive pass of 3.870-seconds at 330.40 mph, Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli earned a first-round bye and made the second-quickest run of the session with a 3.892 at 334.08. That set up a massive quarterfinal showdown with points leader and fellow multi-time world champion Matt Hagan. Aboard the SKF-branded NAPA Auto Care Funny Car, Capps left first with an .048 reaction time but slowed to a 4.035 at 309.07, as Hagan chased him down with a run of 3.941 at 328.23 to advance. Still, there were plenty of positives for the veteran racer, who picked up six bonus points throughout qualifying, which tied for the most in the category, after making a series of standout runs.

Capps and his NAPA Auto Car Funny Car team have two quarterfinal finishes to start the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, placing them tied for third with J.R. Todd leaving Rockingham. With four races left in the 2026 campaign, Capps will look to make up significant ground starting next week at a key playoff stop in St. Louis as he continues to chase his fourth series title.

“It was obviously a great weekend,” Capps said. “We lost a close race, but we’ve said it all weekend, if you want to win a championship you’re going to have to want those type of matchups. With Hagan being in the points lead, you want to try to take them out early, but unfortunately that was our worst run of the weekend.

“We just felt like we could go back up and repeat what we’d done, but that’s just the way it goes. It wasn’t bad – we didn’t go out the first round the first two races, but quarterfinal finishes aren’t going to win a championship. However, if we can get a couple wins or more the next few races, we’ll be in good shape. This was a great weekend with great fans, and it just made for an ideal weekend for everybody to be back at Rockingham. We get to take a breath the next couple days, but with NAPA Auto Parts being the sponsor of the Midwest Nationals, there’s going to be a lot of cool stuff next weekend.”

Capps and the NAPA Auto Car Funny Car team return to action in five days at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis, looking to win the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals to close out a stretch of three straight races to open the Countdown to the Championship.

Qualified: No. 1 (3.870 E.T. at 330.40 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.892 E.T. at 334.08 MPH (Bye run)
E2: 4.035 E.T. at 309.07 MPH defeated by Matt Hagan 3.941 E.T. at 328.23 MPH

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

1Matt Hagan2321
2Jordan Vandergriff2237
3Ron Capps2215
3J.R. Todd2215
5Jack Beckman2195
6Austin Prock2177
7Alexis DeJoria2151
8Dan Wilkerson2120
9Chad Green2089
10Spencer Hyde2065
11Dave Richards2054
12Cruz Pedregon2050
Maddi Gordon Shows Countdown Progress at Inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock

NHRA Rookie of the Year contender Maddi Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster team showed strong progress at the second race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway.

A week after falling in the opening round in her playoff debut, Gordon and the Ron Capps Motorsports team advanced to the quarterfinals on Sunday, defeating Justin Ashley in the opening round of eliminations to pick up her first career round win in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Gordon and the Carlyle Tools team went a solid 3.755-seconds at 337.08 mph, quickly tracking down Ashley en route to victory to become the first driver in Mission Foods history to earn a win light at The Rock. It was the strongest run of the weekend for Gordon and her team after qualifying ninth with a 3.764 at 335.32 to set up the first-round showdown.

Following the first-round win against Ashley, Gordon faced off with reigning world champion and No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta. The standout rookie put together a valiant effort, leaving first on the two-time world champ with a reaction time of .044 and a run of 3.790, but Kalitta tracked down Gordon early in the run, going a quicker 3.763 at 331.61 to advance to the semifinals.

While they didn’t make it as long of a race day as they had hoped, Gordon and the Ron Capps Motorsports team will leave the fourth of four new facilities on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Series tour tied for seventh in points, up one position from eighth.

“The number eight and nine match-up is usually the toughest of the round on paper and almost always ends up being the first pair of cars down the track on race day, which I love,” Gordon said. “I love firing up right after the National Anthem and we made a really nice pass. It was solid A to B with that 3.75 and we were the third or fourth quickest of that round and that put us in a good spot in round two against Doug Kalitta, the number one qualifier.

“We definitely had to push against that other tool car. It was a very close race, but it wasn’t enough. Our car wore a little too much clutch and it’s unfortunate to go out in the second round in the second race of the Countdown. We still have four more races left and we get to do this again in five days in St. Louis and we’re excited about the NAPA Auto Parts Midwest Nationals. We have some really cool stuff happening next week, so definitely stay tuned for that.”

Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team finish off a stretch of three straight races to open the Countdown to the Championship next weekend when the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads to St. Louis for the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals near St. Louis. 

Qualified: No. 9 (3.764 E.T. at 335.32 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.755 E.T. at 337.08 MPH defeated Justin Ashley 4.005 E.T. at 241.42 MPH
E2: 3.790 E.T. at 328.95 MPH defeated by Doug Kalitta 3.763 E.T. at 331.61 MPH

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

1Shawn Langdon2335
2Doug Kalitta2310
3Tony Stewart2180
4Leah Pruett2168
5Antron Brown2148
6Billy Torrence2131
7Maddi Gordon2128
7Josh Hart2128
9Will Smith2118
10Clay Millican2088
11Justin Ashley2082
12Tony Schumacher2046