Three-time NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps is a firm believer in investing in the philosophy that children are our future: teach them well and let them lead the way.
But rather than just hum that song through the course of a day, Capps has put that philosophy into practice, and the results are already proving a strong return on investment with 21-year-old Top Fuel rookie Maddi Gordon.
In just the first two races of the 2026 season, Gordon, who turns 22 on May 10, has exploded in popularity and attention on the Top Fuel circuit, piloting her Carlyle Tools-sponsored dragster to the semifinals of both races, drawing countless interviews and has quickly become someone everyone in drag racing is watching.
Capps giving Gordon a chance is very similar to when Capps was breaking into the sport and was hand-picked by one of the greatest racers in the business to be part of the next generation of drag racers — Don “Snake” Prudhomme — to carry the mantle for Prudhomme’s team at the time.
“I want to give someone a chance like Snake gave me a chance,” Capps said of why he hired Gordon to drive his team’s first-ever dragster. “We’re going to build this program around Maddi. She’s crazy talented and she’s a hard worker, and at 21 years old, we expect her to have a long career out here.”
But having a long career is only part of it. With the success she has up to now and will hopefully continue to have, it will help companies like Carlyle and NAPA Auto Parts, Capps’ primary sponsor, to give better opportunities to females to get into the sport.
“NAPA is really recruiting more women into auto care and mechanics,” Capps said. “Maddi is a great example of what can happen when women take the wheel, so to speak. I mentioned several years ago at a NAPA conference that I would like to put a girl in a car, and instantly the women in the audience sat up a little straighter and several wanted to speak with me about it right away, even though it was just an off-the-cuff remark. That’s when it kind of started.
“There’s a global push right now to encourage women in the STEM fields and to recognize female athletes. We have women who aren’t just in the sport, they win in this sport. And they use science, technology, engineering, and math to accomplish their goals. Maddi is a great spokesperson for that.”
For Gordon, a Paso Robles, California native, her first Top Fuel win isn’t a matter of if it will happen, but rather when it will happen. And after her start to the season, that anticipated first win could potentially come as early as this weekend’s legendary Winternationals at the In-n-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in suburban Los Angeles.
Capps has owned his own single-car team for several years (before that, he spent a lengthy tenure with Don Schumacher Racing). He long wanted to expand his team but was selective with who he wanted to put in a second car.
He didn’t have far to look when he finally took that plunge: Gordon, a third-generation drag racer, was the daughter of Capps’ longtime buddy, Doug Gordon, a three-time NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car champion.
When Gordon says she’s been around drag racing her whole life, it’s not conjecture. She went to her first drag race with her parents just eight days after her birth – and she’s been going to the drag strip ever since.
Maddi is the complete package: she’s young, personable, attractive, well-versed in media interviews, promotes her sponsors in fine fashion, is a mechanical whiz who works on her car, and is quickly growing a large fan base. You know she is special when she lists metal fabrication and welding as her “hobbies.”
Bobby Bennett, Publisher of the No. 1 drag racing website CompetitionPlus.com, boasted to EssentiallySports that he believes Gordon will be the next face of NHRA now that John Force has retired, and will soon overtake Force’s successor of sorts, three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart.
That’s a pretty strong endorsement from Bennett, but he knows what he’s talking about, having covered the sport for well over 30 years.
Another person who has become a quick fan of Gordon’s is NHRA president Glen Cromwell, who predicted to EssentiallySports that Gordon has the potential to become a multi-champion.
All that talk makes Gordon blush at times, but behind that talk is someone who is quickly proving she has what it takes to, indeed as Cromwell said, become a multi-champion. She continues her quest toward that first championship this weekend in Pomona — Gordon is fifth in the Top Fuel standings, just 24 points behind points leader and two-time champion Doug Kalitta.
ES: You’ve gotten off to a great start in the first two races. How did all this come about and are you amazed at how you’ve gotten off to that start, as well?
MADDI: Absolutely. I am just in awe, to be honest with you. In my opinion, it comes down to the preparation beforehand. Ron approached me close to two years ago now about this opportunity. Through those two years, he’s been briefing me on everything when it comes to driving, sponsors, media, fans, all of that. He spent so much time with me prepping me and getting ready.
He said from the beginning, I am not going to spring this all on you. We’re going to slowly teach you all this so I don’t get overwhelmed and I understand what this process is going to be like. I really think that has just been a huge part.
Also, too, he did the same thing when it comes to building a team. He didn’t just slap this together in one week. Him and Guido (Capps’ crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli) spent a lot of time analyzing who they want to purchase (from), what cars they want to buy, what parts they want to buy, and took so much time analyzing everything.
When we get to the racetrack, yes, we’re a brand new team, but this has been in the making for two years. In my opinion, I think it really goes down to the time spent behind the scenes with Ron and Guido and (co-crew chiefs) Rob (Flynn) and Troy (Fasching) and all the guys at the shop.
ES: How did Ron originally reach out to you? Was it based upon what you had done on the track on your own? Did somebody recommend him to you? How did you two get together originally?
MADDI: It’s kind of a funny story. I am from Paso Robles, California. That’s San Luis Obispo County. Ron was born and raised in San Luis Obispo. Our families had known each other for years. He went golfing with my grandpa, Mike. Our families had been connected for years.
He obviously moved closer to the L.A. area. We’d always see him at the racetrack. He actually signed off on my Alcohol Funny Car license in 2023. By no means was that for a hope of a Top Fuel ride. That was no vision of mine, but it was a vision of his. He had basically started watching me since 2020.
It was the first year that my sister (Macie, who races in Super Comp and Top Dragster) and I actually went out and were full-time crewing on my dad’s car. It was our first race out. My grandma posted a video of me and my sister doing bottom end together.
He reposted it and got hundreds of thousands of views. He was like, ‘Whoa, okay. I’m going to keep an eye on this.’ I had no idea that he was keeping an eye on me for this opportunity. It just transpired into this amazing deal.
ES: Was it hard to contain yourself emotionally when one of the greatest drivers in drag racing history came to you and said he wanted you to drive a car for him and he’d build a team around you?
MADDI: That’s a great question. How did I contain myself? It was very hard. The weekend that he approached my family and asked if I’d be interested, I think he knew how I was going to feel because he told my parents, ‘Don’t tell her. I don’t want to mess her up. I don’t want to mess up her weekend.’
He told my family at Seattle of 2024, which was my rookie year (in Top Alcohol Funny Car). I had never even won a national event yet. He saw me as his driver, and he wanted to basically ask my family before he had gone any further.
Of course, my parents could not keep it from me because they were acting weird. I’m like, ‘What is wrong with you guys? Why were you guys acting so weird?’ They told me on Friday and we ended up winning my first national event. And it was also the same weekend I became the 100th woman to win (in NHRA competition). It was kind of crazy, but it was just a huge weekend.
Ron really made sure that we kept the process slow. He told me basically, ‘Hey, I want you to be my driver. Are you in?’ I’m like, ‘Of course. Absolutely!’ He said, great. Well, don’t think about it. I will handle everything. You just keep driving your family race car. Don’t even think about this. I’ll let you know when I need something. He, I think, really knew how I was going to feel and how in awe I was.
He honestly tried to keep me out of a lot of things so I could just stay focused on my career driving the Funny Car. I had a career also. I was a full-time sales rep at my family’s cabinet company. He tried to keep me out of a lot of things. Then he would slowly integrate me into the process. I could slowly learn.
It was huge. After I got that news, we had a meeting with him. I remember like it was yesterday, walking into the pit and just in awe. Could I really be here? Here we are. It was just, gosh, it’s crazy to think back. When he asked me that, I was like, ‘Wow, what if this really happened? This could be life-changing.’
ES: I talked about you to NHRA president Glen Cromwell. It was funny because he and I almost said the same exact thing at the same exact time. I said, the response from a lot of the fans in drag racing that didn’t know you up to now, the first question everybody asks is, where’d she come from? That kind of thing. Especially with the start you’ve had. How have you handled that? People ask, where’d she come from? All of a sudden, she’s reached the semis in the first two races. You’re setting the place on fire. How are you handling the sudden fame and attention?
MADDI: It’s been so amazing. I honestly can’t wipe the smile off my face. Just being compared to people like Ron and John Force, being thought of in the same sentence of them was just like, are you kidding me? My favorite thing is, I just get to be myself. I’m very thankful that Carlyle and NAPA, they made it very clear from the start that I am to not be media trained to any extent. No training, no videos, absolutely nothing. From a very corporate company, that’s not very common. What I just love so much is that they just love me for me and I get to just be myself. For me, I love working on cars. I love mechanics. I love tools. I’ve been working with tools since I was born.
For me, being able to go around promoting Carlyle, a tool company we’ve been using, and talk about racing, I could talk all day long. It’s just something that I love. For the fans to see that passion in me, it’s just so surreal. And it’s also so surreal that I get to be myself. I get to show my passion. I get to be excited. I’m not a teenage girl anymore, but I always call myself a bubbly, high-pitched teenage girl. They like it, so I’m happy.
It’s amazing. Ron said in one of his interviews, his exact words were, ‘We’re going to wind her up and set her free.’ I kind of feel like that’s what they’ve done. It’s been amazing because I just get to be myself. I’m so thankful that they didn’t want me to get media trained. I get to be myself and talk about racing and be excited about it and just bring some excitement to the field category. Not that they don’t have excitement already, but just bring some laughter and some big smiles down there.
All the fans have been absolutely wonderful. Gainesville was insane. Oh, my gosh. There was like a sea of green, more green every single round in the stands. I couldn’t believe it. We drove by them after first and second round in Gainesville. They were all standing and cheering. Seriously, at one point, I turned and I’m like, ‘Is John Force passing me on a scooter right now? Are they looking at me? There’s just no way.’
It’s unbelievable.
ES: We have a number of big races coming up including Pomona this weekend, then Charlotte, the return to Georgia and Chicago. Have you thought about how you’re going to approach these next few races with bigger fans, media attention and hopefully continue the great results? How will you keep your focus?
MADDI: Drag racing has truly been my whole life since I was born. It wasn’t something that was forced upon me by any means. My dad grew up drag racing. My mom did not. They came from very different aspects of the sports world. My mom grew up playing your typical stick and ball sports, cheerleading, softball, all that. I very much had a choice in what I wanted to do. From the very start, it was always drag racing. I didn’t do your typical sports, but drag racing was always what I loved.
My family always jokes around that ‘Maddie goes crazy in the off-season,’ which I do, because there’s no racing to watch. There’s no races to go to. There’s no race cars to work on. What the heck do I do?
For me, now being a professional race car driver, racing is literally my life. It’s how I make a living, everything. I’m always focused on racing. I’m always focused on how can I be better? How can I improve? For me, it’s the same mindset going into every race.
The Countdown (NHRA’s six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs), obviously, is going to be different. To me, I’m always going to have a similar mindset. I always go out there, wind it the best I can, learn everything. I’m learning constantly, because obviously, I’m not involved in the mechanics as much in this race car, but I take every opportunity I can to learn. I stayed on Monday after Phoenix, so I could learn how to build a top-fuel short block. One of our guys spent the time with me, teaching me how to build a short block. It’s just focusing on the task at hand. I can’t, and I won’t, let myself down.
I don’t want to say this in a bad way, so I hope it doesn’t come out wrong, but I can’t let myself get caught up in all the attention from Gainesville and Phoenix. I need to focus on Pomona. I need to focus on Charlotte. Then, I let myself go through all the comments and the great videos after the races. At the races, I’m just laser-focused on the task at hand.
Fortunately, I’m always so busy at the race, whether it’s sponsor appearances, fans, I’m always pulling in a million different directions, which helps me, because I can never sit still. That works out great. Honestly, it’s just focusing on the task at hand, focusing on how I can improve myself. That’s what we were doing in Phoenix.
My dad and I worked on the practice tree together. We found some small ways that I can tweak what I’m doing in the race car and hopefully gain me a couple of hundreds on reaction times. That’s what it’s about. It’s about just learning and talking to other drivers and seeing how I can improve. We’ve had an amazing start to the season, but you’ve got to keep growing and keep learning, because the conditions are going to be better in Pomona than we’ve had in Gainesville or Phoenix. It’s going to be faster, and it’s going to be tighter racing, too.
ES: You were the 100th woman to win in NHRA competition. Obviously, Ron has been a big influence on your career, but was there a woman drag racer that was also a key influence or mentor to you? Or if there wasn’t a woman who was an influencer, who was your biggest influencer then overall?
MADDI: Definitely, my biggest inspiration was always my dad. That’s for sure. I always looked up to him as obviously not only a dad, but also as a competitor, how he handled himself with competitors, interviews, racing. I’m a person, if I dream something, I work day and night to achieve it. I can’t just dream something and be like, oh, hope it happens. If I dream it, it’s like, well, I want to make this happen.
Truthfully, I never dreamed of Top Fuel because it just seemed completely impossible. That just seemed out of this world. No way I could ever get there. I always dreamed of Alcohol Funny Car because I felt that might be something. Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe I could achieve that. I felt my drive was always for Alcohol Funny Car because that seemed potentially achievable. That was because of my dad.
As a woman, I looked up to Annie Whiteley. I just thought she was absolutely bad to the bone. She was a grandma who was out there driving Alcohol Funny Car.
At the time, she was the only full-time woman to race Alcohol Funny Car. I think Alcohol Funny Car is one of the coolest classes out there. After driving one, I know how difficult and how super intense they are to drive. Massive amount of respect for her jumping in that car.
I just think she was the first, other than my dad’s car, her car was the first car I sat in. Obviously, she’s similar size to me height-wise. The pedals were close. The handbrake was close. I was like, whoa, maybe I really can fit in one of these cars. I would say, yeah, definitely Annie Whiteley and my dad.
Of course, I always watched Ron Capps because he’s one of the best drivers in the show.
ES: Final question: What is it like when you’re in the staging lanes and you’re looking over to the guy in the next car and it’s Tony Stewart or it’s Doug Kalitta or it’s Antron Brown. That has got to be intimidating if you’re a young person, but at the same time, you also know that you’re there because of what you’ve done. What is it like to race the biggest of the biggest, the best of the best, so to speak?
MADDI: It’s insane. I look at the ladder and we’ll be going through at the end of the day, talking with Rob about who ran what, how we compare to the other guy, what my reaction time was compared to them. I look at the list and I’m like, are you kidding me? My name is next to Doug Kalitta, Clay Millican, Tony Stewart, Tony Schumacher. I mean, what? I’ve watched these guys race since I was born.
I can remember waking up because Dad would be (racing) on the East Coast, so he’d be three hours ahead. We’d wake up early. We’d still be in our pajamas. We’d run into the computer and we’d watch Dad run and then we’d stay and we’d watch the pros. Never did I imagine I could be lining up next to Doug Kalitta or Tony Stewart. I mean, just the ultimate amount of respect for all of them. Spencer Hyde, he just said the nicest things about me on the Wes Buck Show the other day. I just sit there and truthfully, you cannot rub the smile off my face. I am just in awe and just truly blessed to be where I am in that position, just so honored to race against them now.
But like what Antron says, when you put the helmet on, you have no more friends. They’re no longer friends. He is no longer Tony Stewart, the multi-world champion, probably one of the biggest names in all of racing. He is the guy that I want to whoop right now. I can’t let myself get caught up in starstruck. I’ve got to do my job and try to beat those world champions. I still am just in awe and just honored to be able to race next to them.
I go in every single race with the confidence that I am getting in a race car that can win with their tuning. I get in there with the mindset, I got to do my job, just ‘Don’t mess it up, Maddi.’
