Funny Car champ relives scary crash, will expand NHRA race team

Funny Car driver Ron Capps suffered a massive crash during the first round of eliminations at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Chander, Arizona, on March 23.

The immediate concern centered on Capps when his car exploded and hit the wall. But when he got out under his own power, his team turned its attention to preparing his backup for the following weekend’s event at Pomona.

Any concerns about Capps or how the backup car would run were quickly put to rest when he made his first qualifying run that weekend on March 28.

“I was lucky to walk away from (the wreck),” Capps said. “My team put another car together. Four days later we were the No. 1 qualifier at the very first run with our backup car. That tells you a lot about our team. I think we’re way better, and we’re a threat to win at any event.”

Capps and his team are looking for a strong run at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Qualifying continues Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. Elimination races are on Sunday.

‘It happens’

Capps, a three-time Funny Car champion, got an MRI on his shoulder Wednesday. He said everything was “fine,” but he wanted to get it checked out. As Capps did a media tour around town Thursday, he kept seeing replays of his wreck.

“It reminds me of how bad it was and how bad it could have been,” Capps said. “That’s crazy. It happens. I signed up to be a Funny Car driver. It wasn’t like, ‘You might be on fire. You might be in a wreck.’ It’s how many (wrecks and fires) in your career. It happens; it’s part of it. I knew it was coming. I just didn’t know that was going to be that bad. I’ve still got some side effects from it, and I’m getting better.”

Capps had another nasty crash last year at the Northwest Nationals in Kent, Washington, in July. That was about a month after 16-time Funny Car champion John Force was seriously injured after a crash at the Virginia Nationals.

After Force’s crash, Capps’ crew chief put extra protection in his car.

“We almost lost John Force — he’s the GOAT (greatest of all time) — and we’re lucky to have him alive after his accident. And because of his accident, my crew chief put better padding in the cockpit, and because of that, I walked away from the crash (in Arizona),” Capps said. “Otherwise, I don’t think I would be sitting here.”

Capps said he remembers less about the incident the more days he’s removed from it. He credited the NHRA safety team at the track for responding as quickly as possible.

“We are the fastest motor sport in the world by a long shot. … It is the fastest motor sport, but it’s also the safest,” Capps said. “If you watch that crash, before my car even came to a stop, the NHRA safety staff and paramedics and those people with the safety supplies were on my car before it rolled to a stop to assist me to get out of the car and put out the fire.”

Expanding race team

Capps, the owner of Ron Capps Motorsports, made a major announcement Thursday that his team will expand to a second car with 20-year-old Maddi Gordon. She will drive a Top Fuel car for the team in 2026.

Gordon “reminds me a lot of myself,” Capps said. “I came up in the sport the same way. I worked on them. I didn’t have the backing or money it takes to get a ride, although it was the ultimate dream for me when I was a crew member. Somebody gave me a chance. It was one of those deals where somebody saw something in me and gave me a chance.”

Gordon currently races a Funny Car in the Top Alcohol class with her family-run team. She won at the Northwest Nationals last year and became the 100th woman to win an NHRA national event.

“Ron has always been friends with my family. … I just started driving last year, and Ron’s been there for all of it,” Gordon said. “He’s been a part of our family, so our relationship goes back a long ways with Ron. He even signed my license at Brainerd giving me the OK to drive an Alcohol Funny Car. He’s been a big part of our racing since I was a kid.”

Before their qualifying runs Friday, Gordon sat in and helped warm up Capps’ car as his team tuned it up.

“That’s great about NHRA, is we’ve got some incredible women drivers in all categories that are badasses,” Capps said. “They’ll whip your rear end at the starting line. That happens to me all the time. It’s going to be fun to watch her grow and run for a championship this year with her family and then work on Rookie of the Year next year.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.