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The jump to the NHRA Top Fuel ranks is incredibly unforgiving, but rookie sensation Maddi Gordon is proving she has the mechanical grit and driving talent to hang with the drivers at the top.
While the 2026 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona didn’t end with a Wally trophy for the newly formed Ron Capps Motorsports Top Fuel team, Gordon and her crew are walking away with a massive silver lining. Despite a first-round elimination on Sunday, the driver of the bright yellow-and-black Carlyle Tools dragster laid down her quickest elapsed time and fastestspeed to date, cementing the weekend as a major developmental win.
Taking to social media following the early exit, Gordon remained incredibly positive about her team’s trajectory and the massive performance leaps they are making.
“We may have lost early today, but it’s nothing to hang our heads about,” Gordon shared with her fans. “My Carlyle Tools team ran our quickest ET and speed, and made a solid pass in conditions we’ve never seen before. My team is doing an incredible job. Losing always stings, but running career-best numbers definitely doesn’t!”
Going rounds in Top Fuel requires a perfect storm of reaction time, tune-up, and track conditions. During Sunday’s opening round of eliminations, Gordon drew a brutal matchup against Justin Ashley, who is widely considered one of the best leavers in the sport.
Apr 11, 2026; Pomona, CA, USA; NHRA top fuel driver Maddi Gordon during qualifying for the Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Ashley strapped a blistering .025 reaction time on the rookie and crossed the stripe with a 3.71-second pass. However, Gordon kept her foot planted and didn’t back down, trailing just slightly with an incredibly stout 3.74-second run. While it wasn’t quite enough to turn on the win light, that 3.74 pass effectively obliterated her previous career-best ETs set earlier this season during her explosive debut in Gainesville. It is absolute proof that her crew chiefs, Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching, are rapidly dialing in the new 11,000-horsepower machine.
Gordon’s rapid progression is easily one of the biggest storylines of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. The third-generation racer cut her teeth in the Top Alcohol Funny Car ranks while simultaneously working as a fabricator and clutch specialist for her family‘s team before being hand-picked by three-time Funny Car champ Ron Capps to pilot his brand-new Top Fuel expansion team.
Transitioning from an alcohol-burning Funny Car to a 330-mph, nitromethane-breathing Top Fuel dragster is considered one of the steepest learning curves in all of motorsport.
The physical G-forces are completely different, and the sheer violence of the acceleration is unparalleled. Yet, just two races into her professional Top Fuel career, Gordon is already trading punches with the elite of the motorsport, consistently qualifying well, and reliably pushing into the low 3.70-second range.
With the Winternationals officially done with, Gordon and the Carlyle Tools team are already resetting their focus.
“Looking forward to Charlotte,” Gordon added at the end of her post.
If the Ron Capps Motorsports team continues shaving tenths of a second off their ETs at this current rate, the rest of the Top Fuel field better be on high alert when Gordon rolls into the water box in North Carolina.
Continue reading...
While the 2026 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona didn’t end with a Wally trophy for the newly formed Ron Capps Motorsports Top Fuel team, Gordon and her crew are walking away with a massive silver lining. Despite a first-round elimination on Sunday, the driver of the bright yellow-and-black Carlyle Tools dragster laid down her quickest elapsed time and fastestspeed to date, cementing the weekend as a major developmental win.
A Tough Draw and Career-Best Passes
Taking to social media following the early exit, Gordon remained incredibly positive about her team’s trajectory and the massive performance leaps they are making.
“We may have lost early today, but it’s nothing to hang our heads about,” Gordon shared with her fans. “My Carlyle Tools team ran our quickest ET and speed, and made a solid pass in conditions we’ve never seen before. My team is doing an incredible job. Losing always stings, but running career-best numbers definitely doesn’t!”
Going rounds in Top Fuel requires a perfect storm of reaction time, tune-up, and track conditions. During Sunday’s opening round of eliminations, Gordon drew a brutal matchup against Justin Ashley, who is widely considered one of the best leavers in the sport.
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Apr 11, 2026; Pomona, CA, USA; NHRA top fuel driver Maddi Gordon during qualifying for the Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Ashley strapped a blistering .025 reaction time on the rookie and crossed the stripe with a 3.71-second pass. However, Gordon kept her foot planted and didn’t back down, trailing just slightly with an incredibly stout 3.74-second run. While it wasn’t quite enough to turn on the win light, that 3.74 pass effectively obliterated her previous career-best ETs set earlier this season during her explosive debut in Gainesville. It is absolute proof that her crew chiefs, Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching, are rapidly dialing in the new 11,000-horsepower machine.
Gordon’s rapid progression is easily one of the biggest storylines of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. The third-generation racer cut her teeth in the Top Alcohol Funny Car ranks while simultaneously working as a fabricator and clutch specialist for her family‘s team before being hand-picked by three-time Funny Car champ Ron Capps to pilot his brand-new Top Fuel expansion team.
Transitioning from an alcohol-burning Funny Car to a 330-mph, nitromethane-breathing Top Fuel dragster is considered one of the steepest learning curves in all of motorsport.
The physical G-forces are completely different, and the sheer violence of the acceleration is unparalleled. Yet, just two races into her professional Top Fuel career, Gordon is already trading punches with the elite of the motorsport, consistently qualifying well, and reliably pushing into the low 3.70-second range.
Looking Ahead to Charlotte
With the Winternationals officially done with, Gordon and the Carlyle Tools team are already resetting their focus.
“Looking forward to Charlotte,” Gordon added at the end of her post.
If the Ron Capps Motorsports team continues shaving tenths of a second off their ETs at this current rate, the rest of the Top Fuel field better be on high alert when Gordon rolls into the water box in North Carolina.
Continue reading...
