Capps Opens 2026 NHRA Season with No. 1 Qualifier at Gatornationals

Ron Capps kicked off NHRA’s 75th anniversary season by qualifying his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car in the No. 1 spot to score the first Funny Car pole of the year at the NHRA Gatornationals. As a seven-time Gainesville Raceway finalist, Capps was looking to add to his four wins at the historic facility, but an upset loss in the opening round of eliminations Sunday morning ended his day early.

Capps qualified on the strength of his Q2 pass of 3.890 seconds at 334.07 mph and was the only Funny Car racer to dip into the 3.8-second range during opening weekend of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Knowing they were safely in the show, crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and the NAPA team used Saturday’s remaining two qualifying rounds as test sessions to prepare for Sunday eliminations and felt they had a solid plan in place heading into round one against No. 16 qualifier John Smith. The three-time Funny Car world champion was first off the line but his machine started rattling the tires. He pedaled the car and got it to hook back up, but the ignition box was inadvertently shut off, allowing Smith to drive away with the win. While the early exit was a disappointment, Capps was not deterred and is eager to head to Phoenix for the Arizona Nationals and a chance to rebound.

“We left the Finals in Pomona at the end of last year and we already knew what we wanted to test to get better,” said Capps, who debuted as a multi-car team owner for the first time at the Gatornationals with the addition of Maddi Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team. “A lot of work was done at the shop with both teams, obviously getting the dragster together and ready for Maddi’s licensing and then the Funny Car team, we had a great game plan and it all came together. We made great runs in testing and Guido was very excited about coming to race under these warm weather conditions.

“Everyone had that decent shot Friday night, and obviously we were number one with that 3.89, which is always great. With the time change Saturday night and the track conditions the way they were, we figured first round was going to be pretty fast. But, typical Gainesville. I always say, the wins I’ve had here, you always feel like you’ve run multiple events in one day because it’s so demanding. It’s hot, humid, hard on the teams, hard on the drivers. And first round was tough, you never discount Paul Smith, that’s a car that will go down the track so you cannot make mistakes. We went out, rattled the tires. I started pedaling and got it going again, but unfortunately, the ignition box inadvertently shut off, and I was just a sitting duck out there and John Smith was able to drive around me. It’s a bummer, but the great thing is we know we’ve got a good hot rod. We’ve got a weekend off and then we’ll get right back at it in Phoenix.”

Up next for Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team is the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, where Capps made his professional debut in 1995 while competing in the Top Fuel category.

Start / Finish: No. 1/ def. in first round
Points Standing / Total: 9th / 41 points (-74)

Next Race: March 20-22, NHRA Arizona Nationals, Chandler, Ariz.
How to Watch or Listen: FS1, NHRA.TV

NAPA Racing:@NAPARacing
Ron Capps: @RonCapps28
Ron Capps Motorsports: @TeamRonCapps