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
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."


Press Releases: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Alexis DeJoria Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Ron Capps Motorsports Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - John Force Racing Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Tony Stewart Racing Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Spencer Hyde Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Elite Motorsports Preview
Oct 28- LAS VEGAS - Kalitta Motorsports Preview
Oct 27- LAS VEGAS - Mopar Dodge Preview
Oct 27- LAS VEGAS - Terry Haddock Preview
Oct 27- LAS VEGAS - Jeff Arend Preview