Ron Capps Survives Explosion To Win Phoenix, Langdon And Glenn Also Score At Arizona Nationals

The desert heat and tricky racing conditions made the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals a true test for teams competing in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

When the smoke cleared at Firebird Motorsports Park, three standout performances defined the weekend. Ron Capps battled back from a violent engine explosion to win Funny Car, Shawn Langdon continued his Phoenix dominance with a third straight Top Fuel victory, and Dallas Glenn earned redemption in Pro Stock with a clean sweep performance.

Ron Capps Battles Back For Emotional Funny Car Victory

Few wins in Capps’ long career have been as dramatic as Sunday’s. Driving the NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra, the three-time Funny Car champion survived a massive engine explosion earlier in eliminations before storming back to defeat Spencer Hyde in the final round. Capps ran 4.124 seconds at 303.24 mph to secure his 78th career victory and his fourth win in Phoenix.

The road to the final wasn’t easy. During his second-round victory over Daniel Wilkerson, Capps’ car suffered a violent explosion at the finish line that left the team scrambling to prepare the car for the next round. Despite the damage, the team regrouped and defeated defending event winner Paul Lee in the semifinals.

In the final round, Capps left first and steadily pulled away from Hyde to claim one of the most memorable wins of his career.

“We knew this was going to be a battle of attrition and dropped cylinders today,” Capps said. “A couple of those runs, there was no way I would imagine that would have got us lane choice, but it did. It was like a bracket car. This win reminded me a lot of my first win in St. Louis [1997] because it was hot and we had 150-degree track temps there and we dropped cylinders all day but still won the race.

“We burned a lot of stuff up. At that time it happened, we weren’t sure the win light was going to be worth it, but it wouldn’t have been worth it had it been a runner-up. I have to thank Paul Lee and his team for waiting for us. We went to warm it up [in the pits], and it wouldn’t even fire, so we literally went up there not knowing if it was going to start. To get that win in the semis and have a blast down the road when it did was pretty cool.”

Hyde, the reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year, reached his third career final round after defeating Blake Alexander, J.R. Todd, and four-time champion Matt Hagan.

Shawn Langdon Extends Phoenix Dominance In Top Fuel

When it comes to racing in Phoenix, Langdon has found a winning formula. The former world champion delivered another strong performance, defeating Leah Pruett in the final round with a 3.877-second run at 325.45 mph in his Kalitta Air dragster. The victory marked Langdon’s third straight win in Phoenix and his 23rd career Top Fuel victory.

Langdon was incredibly consistent throughout the weekend, qualifying No. 1 and posting multiple 3.80-second passes in challenging desert heat. His route to the final included wins over seven-time champion Tony Schumacher and rookie standout Maddi Gordon.

“At the beginning of the year, we made some really good runs in testing under some really good conditions. One of the prime focuses for this year is making good runs when it gets hot out, and being able to have a car that you can gain the small bonus points,” Langdon said. “So that’s been a big focus for the team and Brian [Husen, crew chief], and being able to come out here on some of the hottest conditions that we’ve really ever seen, for him to make the adjustments and the team to make the adjustments, that feels really good.”

“That’s the cool thing about being a part of this team: even though you win a race, they’re still looking at the finer details. Brian leads the way, and he demands perfection, and the car’s not perfect. We’re going to make it perfect.”

Pruett reached the 26th final round of her career in just her second race back in competition, defeating Cam Ferre, Josh Hart, and reigning champion Doug Kalitta.

Dallas Glenn Gets Phoenix Redemption In Pro Stock

After last year’s heartbreaking final round in Phoenix, Glenn made sure history wouldn’t repeat itself. Driving his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, the reigning Pro Stock champion defeated Cody Coughlin with a 6.627-second pass at 206.39 mph to claim his first victory of the season. The win also completed a weekend sweep for Glenn after he captured the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday.

Glenn was dominant on Sunday, defeating Stephen Bell, Matt Latino, and Greg Stanfield before meeting Coughlin in the final. A sharp .027 reaction time allowed Glenn to lead wire-to-wire, securing his 22nd career victory and his first win at Firebird Motorsports Park.

“It feels really good. Last year’s final was very ugly, and it was all caused by a mistake on my part and then a malfunction on Greg’s part. So to come here and do a much better job for the fans feels really great,” Glenn said.

“When we were driving here, I know I definitely screwed up last year, and I really want to win Phoenix. I’ve never won here before, and I really want to get one of those cool 75th anniversary trophies, so this takes the pressure off for the rest of the season. I definitely feel like I have a lot less pressure on me this year. I feel more relaxed on race day. I’m kind of just going with the flow and definitely not putting as much pressure on myself. I know what I can do, and I’m just trying to go out there and have fun and click some rounds off.”

Coughlin reached his second career Pro Stock final after defeating Eric Latino, Chris McGaha, and Jeg Coughlin Jr.

Top Fuel — Shawn Langdon, 3.877 seconds, 325.45 mph def. Leah Pruett, 3.930 seconds, 317.57 mph.

Funny Car — Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 4.124, 303.23 def. Spencer Hyde, Ford Mustang, 4.326, 259.76.

Pro Stock — Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.627, 206.39 def. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.674, 207.30.

Super Stock — Tim Seymour, Chevy Camaro, 9.208, 145.20 def. Evan Kowalski, Chevy Cobalt, 9.229, 136.22.

Stock Eliminator — Justin Lamb, Chevy Camaro, 9.512, 139.80 def. Leo Glasbrenner, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.

Super Comp — Doug Johnson, Dragster, 8.888, 176.63 def. Tanner Theobald, Dragster, 8.880, 173.38.

Super Gas — Val Torres Jr., Chevy Camaro, 16.241, 62.66 def. Chris Gabbard, Plymouth Duster, Foul – Red Light.

Top Sportsman — Rob Mendenhall, chevy Camaro, 6.969, 196.73 def. Will Yakimetz, Camaro, 6.864, 172.28.

Top Dragster — Cooper Chun, Dragster, 7.741, 152.21 def. Dylan Hough, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.

Pro Modified — Justin Bond, Chevy Camaro, 5.736, 251.81 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.

Legacy Nitro Funny Car — Nathan Sitko, Pontiac Firebird, 4.799, 236.71 def. Ryan Horan, Chevy Camaro, Broke.