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Ron Capps Motorsports Pre-Race Report: Las Vegas

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NHRA Las Vegas Nationals
Event 19 of 20
Countdown Event 5 of 6
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas
Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2026

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

Driver Information:

RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 6th (-188)

NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Event Highlights:

  • Four-time event champion (2001, 2005, 2011-2012)  
  • Two-time runner-up (2020, 2021)
  • Two-time No. 1 qualifier (2011, 2020)

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Overall Highlights:

  • Six-time winner
  • Four-time runner-up
  • Three-time No. 1 qualifier

2025 NHRA Nevada Nationals Event Recap:
Qualified sixth; First round exit (defeated by Chad Green in E1)

Last Event (Dallas):
Qualified eighth; Semifinal finish (defeated Chad Green E1, Jack Beckman E2; defeated by J.R. Todd in E3)

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

Career Statistics:

  • 686 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:

  • Capps clinched his first win as an NHRA team owner at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when he raced to victory at the 2022 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals to earn his first of 12 wins for Ron Capps Motorsports
  • It was at the 2025 Spring Las Vegas event that Capps announced the addition of Maddi Gordon to his expanding Ron Capps Motorsports team, and later that October, unveiled Carlyle Tools as Gordon’s primary sponsor

Fan Events:

  • Friday, 12:00 – 12:30 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer
  • Saturday, 10:00 – 10:30 a.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer

Quotable:
“Vegas is a race that can really define your season. If you’re contending for a championship, winning this race can keep you in the thick of it and if you’re looking to move up in the standings, like we are with the NAPA car, this is a good place to put yourself in a position to do that with it leading into Pomona as a points-and-a-half race.

“Vegas is where we made our initial announcement that we were bringing Maddi into Ron Capps Motorsports, and then last year after the race weekend, we announced the addition of Carlyle Tools at the SEMA show, so it’s a special place for us as an organization. We’re looking for a great end to the season and for both teams to move up in the points. We’ve got our longtime friends, Palmer Electric, at Vegas. They have done a lot for that facility, and we love spending time with them. We also have a huge contingent of our NAPA Hawaii friends coming out. Not to mention, most of NAPA headquarters will be coming in early ahead of the SEMA show to support us at the track. So, there’s always a lot of pressure surrounding this race, but we love it, and we thrive under pressure. There’s nothing better than having a great weekend in front of partners. It’ll be a big weekend and then it leads into a big week at SEMA. And then of course, it’s all eyes on Pomona, so we’re excited to get back out to Vegas and get everything going.”

MADDI GORDON
Driver of the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel Dragster

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 7th (-286)

Last Event (Dallas):
Qualified sixth; Event runner-up (defeated Shawn Reed E1, Doug Kalitta E2, Justin Ashley E3; defeated by Antron Brown E4)

2026/Career Statistics:

  • 18 races: one win, two runner-up finishes
  • Career-best E.T.: 3.695 seconds (Brainerd 2026)
  • Career-best speed: 340.65 mph (St. Louis 2026)

Noteworthy:

  • Enters the weekend after having powered to her third final round appearance of her professional career at the Dallas event
  • Unveiled her partnership with Carlyle Tools during the 2025 SEMA Show following the Las Vegas race
  • Has one prior national event win at the facility from the 2025 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals while driving her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car
  • Runner-up at both Las Vegas national events in 2024; also recorded a runner-up finish at the ‘25 regional event

Fan Events:

  • Friday, 12:00 – 12:30 p.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer
  • Saturday, 10:00 – 10:30 a.m., Ron Capps Motorsports driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools Outlaw trailer

Quotable:
“It’s crazy to think we’re headed into the final stretch of the year. Vegas is an extremely familiar place for my family and me. I’ve raced Jr. dragsters, Jr. Comp, Super Comp, Super Pro, Alcohol Funny Car; I’ve watched my dad race there my entire life, so Vegas is a very familiar place and one of my favorites. Really looking forward to racing Top Fuel there for the first time ever. It’s going to be awesome; our Carlyle Tools team has been working so hard behind the scenes to get our race car running with the top of the field and I’m just so proud of how far we’ve come this season. I’m looking forward to hanging out with all our amazing partners. We’ve got a lot of folks coming out with NAPA and Carlyle and Monster Energy; they always bring us that good mojo, and hopefully we can have a great weekend and finish strong at these last two races.

“The last time we were in Vegas, we announced our Carlyle Tools sponsorship at SEMA directly after the national event, and that was such an exciting day. Now here we are, one year later, we’re headed back to SEMA after the weekend and we’ve got a packed schedule full of appearances and autograph signings, and all that SEMA has to offer.”