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Ron Capps Motorsports Pre-Race Report: Valdosta

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NHRA Southern Nationals
Event 5 of 20
South Georgia Motorsports Park
Adel, Ga.
May 1 – 3, 2026

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

Driver Information:

RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car

Last Event (Charlotte):
Qualified No.1; Event champion (defeated Austin Prock, Spencer Hyde in E1, Alexis DeJoria, Chad Green in E2, Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, J.R. Todd in E3)

2026 Statistics:
Four races; two wins, two No. 1 qualifiers, one runner-up finish

Career Statistics:
672 races; 79 wins, 39 No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

  • Enters race No. 5 of 20 with the Funny Car points lead after winning the 4-Wide Nationals from the pole last weekend near Charlotte
  • Seeking his fourth consecutive final round appearance this weekend at SGMP. In addition to his 4-Wide victory, Capps also won in Phoenix and posted a runner-up finish in Pomona
  • The only repeat winner among the nitro categories so far this season
  • Will compete in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge thanks to his strong Charlotte performance
  • Brought his 75th anniversary diamond 4-Wide Wally trophy to NAPA headquarters in Atlanta prior to making the trip over to Valdosta

Fan Events:

  • Friday, 1:00 p.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway
  • Saturday, 9:30 a.m., Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge driver autograph session, Mission Foods midway
  • Saturday, 10:00 a.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway

Quotable:

“It’s probably pretty obvious how excited I am going right into a back-to-back race weekend straight off our win in Charlotte. We’re headed to a brand-new track to all of us and racing what is the new Southern Nationals, an event with so much history. I’ve been watching races at South Georgia Motorsports Park from different series for quite a while and have been hearing about how great that place is, so it’s really cool for us as NHRA racers to finally be able to race there. I think a national event like this in that area of the country is much needed.
 
“We’re spending the week in between Charlotte and Valdosta in Atlanta with our NAPA and Carlyle Tools partners. Maddi and I took the diamond Wally from the Charlotte 4-Wides to NAPA headquarters earlier this week, and we’ve been here shooting a lot of fun stuff with Carlyle Tools and NAPA Auto Parts, and then we’re heading straight to Valdosta. We look forward to having all of our guests from North Florida and the whole region out to the track this weekend. I think a lot of our fans are super pumped to see what this new track is going to be like as part of the NHRA circuit.”

MADDI GORDON
Driver of the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel Dragster

Last Event (Charlotte):
Qualified No. 14; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Clay Millican, Antron Brown in E1; defeated by Doug Kalitta, Leah Pruett in E2)

Noteworthy:

  • Gordon will throw out the first pitch at Wednesday night’s Atlanta Braves game versus the Detroit Tigers
  • Earlier this week, she visited NAPA headquarters near Atlanta with teammate and RCM owner Ron Capps

Fan Events:

  • Friday, 1:00 p.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway
  • Saturday, 10:00 a.m., RCM driver autograph session, Carlyle Tools midway

Quotable:

“I’m really happy that after Charlotte we get to get right back at it this weekend. I’m going to take the positive energy from Charlotte and bring it into Valdosta. One of the things that I’m most excited about this weekend is the fact that no one has any data there. We go to all the other tracks, and all the other teams already have data; what the rubber is like, whether it’s a slow or fast track, what the shutdown area is like, all of that, and not that I feel like we’re at a disadvantage not having that being a new team, because (crew chiefs) Rob (Flynn) and Troy (Fasching) have obviously raced at all these other facilities quite a bit, but there is a difference. This weekend, we’re all going in with the same amount of data, and that’s zero, so the fact that we’re all going to be figuring this track out together evens the playing field a bit.
 
“We’ve been busy this week since leaving zMAX. We’re in Atlanta and have been spending time at NAPA headquarters. It’s been really cool to see where everyone works, do some filming; it’s my first time to NAPA headquarters so that’s been very exciting. And tonight, I get to throw out the first pitch at the Braves game! I know my 10-year-old self would be freaking out right now if she knew that one day I’d have the opportunity to do that. We bought a baseball, and I’ve been practicing. I hope I can make my former varsity softball coach back home proud!”