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It’s probably not a coincidence that Maddi Gordon, a 21-year-old rookie driver in the NHRA’s Top Fuel dragster series, doesn’t do anything slow on purpose.
She had to think about it for a moment, but said it’s true.
“It’s actually funny you bring that up,” Gordon, a native of Paso Robles, California, told The Arizona Republic ahead of advancing to the semifinal round before finishing fourth in her Top Fuel debut in the 2026 Gatornationals March 5-8 at Gainesville (Florida) Raceway. “I walk fast. I hate walking slow. When I get behind someone who’s walking slow, I get irritated because I feel like I’m losing time.
“So yeah, I walk fast. I eat really fast. I probably talk fast. It’s so funny. I don’t do anything slow. I definitely don’t do it slow on purpose. Oh, my gosh. I never thought about that before.”
When you’re born into a racing family, the need for speed becomes second nature. That’s what happened with Gordon, who attended her first drag race when she was just eight days old, began racing as an 8-year-old, and in 2024 became the first third-generation Top Alcohol Funny Car driver in NHRA history and the 100th female racer to win an NHRA national event in the organization’s 75-year history.
“It’s just a lifestyle,” said Gordon, who picked up Monster Energy as another top sponsor at the Gatornationals. “I wake up every day, and I think about drag racing. I wake up every day, and I don’t just think about driving, but the mechanics, 'How can we make the car faster, how can I be a better driver, how can I be better for our sponsors?’
“It’s a lifestyle. As much as I love driving, I love everything about the sport. I love the fans. I love the camaraderie. I love our teammates, I love working on the cars. … There’s just so much to learn, and honestly, I just love learning. It’s a never-ending path of things to learn.”
Soon, Gordon will be in the Valley for the NHRA’s Arizona Nationals on March 20-22 at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, where she plans to rocket her 12,000-horsepower, nitromethane-burning Carlyle Tools dragster to a speed of 330 mph in fewer than four seconds.
Firebird is no stranger to Gordon. She raced junior dragsters and other event classes here as a young teenager and won on the Alcohol Funny Car circuit each of the past two years at the Chandler drag strip.
“Firebird’s been really good to me and my family over the years," she said. "It’s just a great, great place; we love the facility and it’s been lucky for us.”
Though she got her start thanks to her father, Doug, a three-time national Funny Car champion, Gordon is moving up to the sport’s fastest class with the help of veteran driver and race team owner Ron Capps, another three-time national Funny Car champ. Capps handpicked Gordon to pilot the Top Fuel dragster for Ron Capps Motorsports in the same way the legendary Don “The Snake” Prudhomme gave Capps a shot back in the 1990s.
“Oh, gosh. None of this would have been possible without Ron Capps. Absolutely not,” Gordon said. “Driving professionally with Top Fuel costs was something I never dreamed about because it just seemed unattainable. My favorite thing to say about it is people say, ‘Reach for the stars.’ This was outer space.
“He saw potential in me that I honestly didn’t even know I had. When I say this is an opportunity of a lifetime, I really, really mean it. This has changed my life. It really, really has.”
In August 2022, Gordon's pro racing career almost stopped before it ever had a chance to soar. That’s because the family had concerns about her continuing to pursue a role in drag racing following a horrific crash involving her father during the first round of eliminations at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota.
The elder Gordon’s Chevy Camaro Funny Car got loose, crossed the center line going nearly 248 mph, flipped over on its side and slammed nose-first into the opposite-lane wall. The car broke apart, turned upside down and skidded to a stop with a tire hung up on the barrier.
Miraculously, Doug Gordon walked away from that crash with only a couple of minor bruises.
“The one time I was fearful was after that crash,” Maddi Gordon said. “I was supposed to get in the car two years later in 2024. When he crashed, there were some conversations between my family and whether or not they were actually going to let me get in the car. Obviously, it was their decision, and if they said no, I wasn’t going to get to do it.”
Once the family figured out how and why the accident happened, then made some necessary safety changes, Maddi’s racing career resumed as scheduled. She hasn’t looked back since.
Now, it’s only about going as fast as possible. If you’re like me, where sometimes even the spinning tea-cup ride at Disneyland gets a little unnerving, just imagine flying down the asphalt at 330 mph. A Top Fuel drag racer can experience 7Gs of pressure, which is akin to a fighter pilot or an astronaut on blastoff.
I asked her to describe what the feeling is like.
“I feel like my arms get 3 miles long,” she said. “It’s intense, absolutely. It’s very similar to the Alcohol Funny Car that I drove. But when you get to 400 feet and that engine drops and this thing just locks the clutch up and starts pulling, it’s just indescribable. My arms are getting like 3 miles long and the steering wheel is just going away.
“There’s so much pressure. It feels like an elephant is just sticking its foot on my chest. It’s pretty gnarly.”
But she loves it because she loves going fast. Maddi Gordon does everything fast. It’s the only type of speed she knows.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
Sign up for our free newsletters at https://profile.azcentral.com/newsletters/manage/ for complete coverage.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 3rd-generation drag racer Maddi Gordon is addicted to speed
Continue reading...
She had to think about it for a moment, but said it’s true.
“It’s actually funny you bring that up,” Gordon, a native of Paso Robles, California, told The Arizona Republic ahead of advancing to the semifinal round before finishing fourth in her Top Fuel debut in the 2026 Gatornationals March 5-8 at Gainesville (Florida) Raceway. “I walk fast. I hate walking slow. When I get behind someone who’s walking slow, I get irritated because I feel like I’m losing time.
“So yeah, I walk fast. I eat really fast. I probably talk fast. It’s so funny. I don’t do anything slow. I definitely don’t do it slow on purpose. Oh, my gosh. I never thought about that before.”
When you’re born into a racing family, the need for speed becomes second nature. That’s what happened with Gordon, who attended her first drag race when she was just eight days old, began racing as an 8-year-old, and in 2024 became the first third-generation Top Alcohol Funny Car driver in NHRA history and the 100th female racer to win an NHRA national event in the organization’s 75-year history.
“It’s just a lifestyle,” said Gordon, who picked up Monster Energy as another top sponsor at the Gatornationals. “I wake up every day, and I think about drag racing. I wake up every day, and I don’t just think about driving, but the mechanics, 'How can we make the car faster, how can I be a better driver, how can I be better for our sponsors?’
“It’s a lifestyle. As much as I love driving, I love everything about the sport. I love the fans. I love the camaraderie. I love our teammates, I love working on the cars. … There’s just so much to learn, and honestly, I just love learning. It’s a never-ending path of things to learn.”
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Maddi Gordon landing at Arizona Nationals
Soon, Gordon will be in the Valley for the NHRA’s Arizona Nationals on March 20-22 at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, where she plans to rocket her 12,000-horsepower, nitromethane-burning Carlyle Tools dragster to a speed of 330 mph in fewer than four seconds.
Firebird is no stranger to Gordon. She raced junior dragsters and other event classes here as a young teenager and won on the Alcohol Funny Car circuit each of the past two years at the Chandler drag strip.
“Firebird’s been really good to me and my family over the years," she said. "It’s just a great, great place; we love the facility and it’s been lucky for us.”
Though she got her start thanks to her father, Doug, a three-time national Funny Car champion, Gordon is moving up to the sport’s fastest class with the help of veteran driver and race team owner Ron Capps, another three-time national Funny Car champ. Capps handpicked Gordon to pilot the Top Fuel dragster for Ron Capps Motorsports in the same way the legendary Don “The Snake” Prudhomme gave Capps a shot back in the 1990s.
“Oh, gosh. None of this would have been possible without Ron Capps. Absolutely not,” Gordon said. “Driving professionally with Top Fuel costs was something I never dreamed about because it just seemed unattainable. My favorite thing to say about it is people say, ‘Reach for the stars.’ This was outer space.
“He saw potential in me that I honestly didn’t even know I had. When I say this is an opportunity of a lifetime, I really, really mean it. This has changed my life. It really, really has.”
Dad's violent NHRA crash nearly stopped Maddi Gordon's career
In August 2022, Gordon's pro racing career almost stopped before it ever had a chance to soar. That’s because the family had concerns about her continuing to pursue a role in drag racing following a horrific crash involving her father during the first round of eliminations at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota.
The elder Gordon’s Chevy Camaro Funny Car got loose, crossed the center line going nearly 248 mph, flipped over on its side and slammed nose-first into the opposite-lane wall. The car broke apart, turned upside down and skidded to a stop with a tire hung up on the barrier.
Miraculously, Doug Gordon walked away from that crash with only a couple of minor bruises.
“The one time I was fearful was after that crash,” Maddi Gordon said. “I was supposed to get in the car two years later in 2024. When he crashed, there were some conversations between my family and whether or not they were actually going to let me get in the car. Obviously, it was their decision, and if they said no, I wasn’t going to get to do it.”
Once the family figured out how and why the accident happened, then made some necessary safety changes, Maddi’s racing career resumed as scheduled. She hasn’t looked back since.
Now, it’s only about going as fast as possible. If you’re like me, where sometimes even the spinning tea-cup ride at Disneyland gets a little unnerving, just imagine flying down the asphalt at 330 mph. A Top Fuel drag racer can experience 7Gs of pressure, which is akin to a fighter pilot or an astronaut on blastoff.
I asked her to describe what the feeling is like.
“I feel like my arms get 3 miles long,” she said. “It’s intense, absolutely. It’s very similar to the Alcohol Funny Car that I drove. But when you get to 400 feet and that engine drops and this thing just locks the clutch up and starts pulling, it’s just indescribable. My arms are getting like 3 miles long and the steering wheel is just going away.
“There’s so much pressure. It feels like an elephant is just sticking its foot on my chest. It’s pretty gnarly.”
But she loves it because she loves going fast. Maddi Gordon does everything fast. It’s the only type of speed she knows.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
Sign up for our free newsletters at https://profile.azcentral.com/newsletters/manage/ for complete coverage.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 3rd-generation drag racer Maddi Gordon is addicted to speed
Continue reading...
