Ron Capps Motorsports Targets Strong Finish at Las Vegas Before SEMA and Pomona

Some tracks are just another stop on the NHRA schedule. For Ron Capps Motorsports, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is something more. It’s where Ron Capps earned his first win as an NHRA team owner, where the organization announced Maddi Gordon was joining the team, and where the Carlyle Tools partnership took shape heading into last year’s SEMA Show.

Now both Ron Capps Motorsports teams return to Las Vegas for the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, with two races left in the 2026 season and a goal of climbing the standings before the points-and-a-half finale in Pomona.

Ron Capps: Vegas Can Define Your Season

Las Vegas holds a special place in Ron Capps Motorsports history. Capps raced to victory at the 2022 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals, earning his first win as an NHRA team owner. That victory was the first of 12 wins for Ron Capps Motorsports.

With the NAPA team looking to move up in the standings, Capps sees this weekend as a critical setup for the season finale.

“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.

The weekend also carries extra meaning for the organization’s partners, many of whom will be at the track ahead of the SEMA Show.

“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: First Top Fuel Start at a Familiar Track

Maddi Gordon heads to Las Vegas with momentum after reaching the third final round of her professional career at the Dallas event. While this weekend will mark her first time racing a Top Fuel dragster at The Strip, the facility is anything but new to her. She’s raced there in multiple categories and grew up watching her father compete there.

“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.

For Gordon, this trip also marks the one-year anniversary of her Carlyle Tools sponsorship announcement at SEMA, and another busy week is ahead.

“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.”