Ron Capps and Maddi Gordon Head to Pomona Looking to Close Out a Strong First Season for Ron Capps Motorsports’ Two-Car Effort

The In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at Pomona marks the end of the road for the 2026 season, and for Ron Capps Motorsports, it’s a chance to put an exclamation point on a year that saw the organization expand into a two-car operation. Ron Capps arrives with momentum in his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car, while Maddi Gordon makes one final push in her bid for NHRA Rookie of the Year behind the wheel of the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster.

Capps heads to Pomona fresh off a runner-up finish at the Las Vegas Nationals. It was the three-time world champion’s second runner-up of the season and his fifth final round appearance overall. His other runner-up came earlier this year at the Pomona 1 event in April, giving him some recent success at the very track where he’ll close out 2026.

For Capps, the NHRA Finals has always carried a different weight. He came up short in a handful of championship battles before breaking through for his first world title in 2016, then added two more, several of them won in come-from-behind fashion on the final day of the season.

“It’s hard to believe, but here we are, coming up on another Pomona Finals. When I look back at a lot of the races throughout my career, there are some that just blend in. But I can tell you without a doubt, if not every NHRA Finals event, at least most of them have stood out in one way or another. For me personally, battling for a championship and to come up short a handful of times, and then to finally win it in 2016, and then to go on and do it two more times has been pretty spectacular, especially when we’ve come from behind and won it on the very last day of the season. There are just so many reasons to get excited for Pomona. It’s such a historic track, on top of it being the place where world championships are decided.

While the NAPA team isn’t in the championship chase this year, Capps says there’s plenty left to race for, including one more 75th anniversary diamond Wally and a strong finish for both Ron Capps Motorsports teams. He also credits crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli for bringing the right attitude into the weekend.

“It’s been a great season for our NAPA Auto Care team and the entire Ron Capps Motorsports organization as a whole. We started our Top Fuel program with Maddi, and that’s been a tremendous success so far. She’s vying for Rookie of the Year, which is a goal we’ve had since the beginning of the season. Achieving that would be a huge accomplishment. We’re both in good spots heading into this weekend, with both teams having the opportunity to move up in the points. We’re not in the championship chase this year, but as any team will tell you, you still want to end your season on a great note, and there would be nothing better than closing out the year with one last 75th anniversary diamond Wally trophy. Guido’s (Dean Antonelli) got the eye of the tiger headed into Pomona.”

Maddi Gordon closes out her rookie Top Fuel season with one of the sport’s most prestigious honors on the line. The NHRA Rookie of the Year award will be announced Monday evening at the annual end-of-season banquet, giving Gordon one last weekend to strengthen her case.

Few drivers in the field have deeper roots at Pomona. Gordon has been coming to the track since she was eight days old, watching her father race his Alcohol Funny Car, and she has since raced there in Jr. Dragster, Alcohol Funny Car, and now Top Fuel.

“It is pretty crazy to think we’re headed back to Pomona to compete in our final event of my rookie season. I have quite literally grown up at Pomona, watching my dad race his Alcohol Funny Car since I was eight days old. I raced Jr. Dragsters there, Alcohol Funny Car, and now Top Fuel dragster. There’s so much history for me at that track, and it’s beyond exciting to be able to close out my rookie season there. It’s incredible to look back at how far our team has come this year. We’ve all learned so much and grown as a team. I’m so impressed with what Rob (Flynn), Troy (Fasching), Chuck (Grospitch), and every one of our Carlyle Tools boys have built, and I couldn’t be prouder to go out there and race with this group every weekend. For Ron Capps Motorsports, it’s pretty awesome that we’ve been able to achieve so much in our first year together, and it just makes us all extra pumped for next season knowing we’ve got a really solid foundation to build off of.

Gordon enters the weekend tied for sixth in the Top Fuel standings, and the Carlyle Tools team gave itself a boost by staying in Las Vegas after the race to test. Gordon made four runs, and crew chief Rob Flynn liked what he saw.

Her off weekend was anything but restful. After the Las Vegas race came a busy SEMA Show schedule with her partners, followed by a return trip to the Las Vegas track to race the family car.

“We’re headed into the weekend tied for sixth place. We stayed behind in Vegas to test, and we ended up making four hits. Rob was ecstatic with the results, so we’ve got a lot of confidence going into Pomona, and we’re just going to take it one round at a time and try to collect some more win lights. After the Vegas race, I attended the SEMA show where we got to spend a lot of time with all our partners. Carlyle Tools had an amazing booth, and we filmed some fun social content with them. They really knocked it out of the park with their demo stations. After the SEMA show, I actually headed back to the Vegas track with my family to race our family car. So, that’s how I spent my off weekend, back at the track, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I had a few days at home after to regroup, and now I’m ready to hit the gas again in Pomona. I can’t wait for one more great outing with our team before we head into the off-season and get to work on our 2027 program.”