Gordon, Capps, Stanfield and Gadson scoop up NHRA wins in Norwalk

Top Fuel rookie sensation Maddi Gordon won her first career race on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park, defeating Antron Brown in the final round to hand Ron Capps Motorsports its first Top Fuel and Funny Car sweep with Ron Capps at the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 10th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

In just her 10th professional start, Top Fuel’s Maddi Gordon picked up a Diamond Wally in her Carlyle Tools/Monster Energy dragster, driving past Antron Brown with a run of 3.786s at 333.16 mph.

Gordon’s day was nearly over before it began, as the team had to scramble to get the car started on the starting line due to a parts issue. It finally started just in time – thanks to Spencer Massey graciously waiting as well – and she went 3.854 at 325.14 to get the win. Gordon followed with victories against Tony Stewart and points leader Shawn Langdon to advance to the final.

Brown left first, but Gordon quickly tracked him down to get the victory, finishing off a Ron Capps Motorsports sweep. To add to the moment, Gordon’s father, Doug, also won in Top Alcohol Funny Car on Sunday.

“It literally doesn't get any better than this,” Gordon said. “We brought three race cars here, we came home with three trophies and three ice cream scoopers, and y'all know me, you know I love ice cream, so that is like the cherry on top. I remember backing up from the burnout, and I wanted that win so bad, so bad. For my dad to win, and then Ron to win, it's like the pressure is on, right? I'm just so grateful for this opportunity. This is the best day of my life.

“They say people usually stick out an arm or a leg for you; well, Ron catapulted out of a cannon for me. He believed in me even before I won a Top Alcohol Funny Car trophy. He signed my license in 2023, and I never imagined I would be sitting next to him in the media center. He could have thrown any driver in there, but he chose me, and I'm forever grateful for this opportunity. He changed my life in every way except for where I live.”

Brown reached his second straight final round by defeating Leah Pruett, Tony Schumacher and Clay Millican. Langdon maintains a healthy points lead in the category, with it now standing at 150 points over teammate Doug Kalitta.

In Funny Car, Capps did his part for the first-ever nitro sweep for his team, finishing off a consistent day with a run of 3.969 at 328.54 in his NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra to power past runner-up Jack Beckman.

It gave the three-time world champion and the current points leader his milestone 80th career victory and his third this season, becoming the first driver in Funny Car to reach three wins in 2026.

Capps, who qualified third, defeated Bobby Bode, J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria to reach the final round, which presented a pressure-packed situation for both Capps and Gordon. But Capps came through in the clutch, posting a terrific .048 reaction time that led to a thrilling wire-to-wire victory.

It’s a win Capps will always remember for a variety of reasons, including getting to share in the moment with Gordon as Capps and his entire organization wrapped up another milestone moment.

“I went over to her car before the final round, and I go, "Well, you got your head on straight, right?’ and she's just smiling at me, that Maddi Gordon smile, and I actually asked her for advice,” Capps said.

“You lie in bed, and you dream about stuff like this. I don't know how many final rounds I've been in, but it was fun, and I was just hoping we got the win. Once we got the win, I thought the odds were definitely going down with her dad and me getting a win, but this is crazy. We’re just lucky.”

Knowing he needed to be nearly perfect on the starting line, Pro Stock’s Aaron Stanfield delivered in the final round, using a brilliant .002 reaction time in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling/Janac Brothers Racing car to defeat Matt Hartford on a holeshot with a run of 6.626 at 208.75.

It is Stanfield’s second win this season and the 16th in his career and the young standout earned every part of his second victory in three seasons at Summit Motorsports Park. He scored a holeshot win to start the day against Erica Enders and then knocked off Cody Anderson and Kenny Delco to reach the final round.

He held off Hartford by a mere .006 at the finish line to get the victory and give his team momentum heading into the second half of the season.

“I definitely knew I was going to have to be pretty good on the tree and the old hot rod did just enough to pull one off,” Stanfield said. “Matt's been driving really good here lately and he's had a fast race car. Every time Matt and I race, it's a good and tight race. I think the world of Matt. He does a great job driving the car and they do a great job tuning their own car. It feels great as a driver whenever you're able to do your job and pull off a holeshot win like that.”

Hartford advanced to his third straight final round and the fifth this season thanks to wins against Eric Latino, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and points leader Dallas Glenn. Reigning world champ Glenn moved back into the lead and now has a 23-point advantage over Greg Anderson.

For the second straight day, Richard Gadson got the best of his Pro Stock Motorcycle teammate Gaige Herrera in the final round, as Herrera went red for a second consecutive time, giving the points leader and reigning world champion his second victory this season on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

Gadson was stout in the final round, going 6.849 at 197.36 en route to his sixth career victory and first at Summit Motorsports Park. A day earlier, Gadson won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge over Herrera when his teammate left too early and he took advantage again on Sunday.

The dynamic duo has now met in back-to-back final rounds, with Herrera in Bristol and Gadson Sunday in Norwalk, which they hope is a sign of things to come for the rest of the season in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

“Obviously, I didn't lie yesterday when I told you it's pretty much 'are you willing to red light situation' and you know he's a tough competitor, he'll rebound, and it'll probably be hell for us all for the next couple races,” Gadson said. “I’m really happy and I don’t know if you believe in energies, but I feel like Norwalk owed me one. I got the ice cream scoop that I always hoped for, a double up with the Mission #2Fast2Tasty win, and the overall win. It doesn't get much sweeter than this.

“I don't think I've given Norwalk its due just how good it's been to me. This is the first overall win, but I've had a lot of success here now - two #2Fast2Tasty wins and a final round last year. I love Norwalk. Mr. Bader is amazing - this facility is amazing, the ice cream, the whole deal, the whole experience of being here. This is a special place.”

Herrera reached his second straight final and third of the season by taking down Jianna Evaristo and Angie Smith. Gadson’s points lead now stands at 83 over Herrera.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action July 17-19 with the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.