Ron Capps Crowned "King of Nitro" in All-Ron Capps Motorsports Final Round at Night Under Fire

A Night for the History Books

Ron Capps was crowned "King of Nitro" at the 49th annual Night Under Fire, defeating his own Ron Capps Motorsports teammate Maddi Gordon in a historic Top Fuel vs. Funny Car final round Saturday night at Summit Motorsports Park.

The unique match race format featured four-car shootouts in Top Fuel and Funny Car, with the winners advancing to face each other in the $100,000 final round. Capps, driving his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car, fired off a 3.843-second pass to hold off the hard-charging Gordon, who ran a 3.733 E.T. at 338 mph in her Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster.

It was a moment that no one could have scripted: two teammates, two cars, one team, battling for the inaugural crown in front of a packed house at one of drag racing's most iconic venues.

Just one month prior, Summit Motorsports Park hosted the first RCM nitro double-up at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, where Gordon earned her first career Top Fuel victory, and Capps scored his 80th national event win. The Night Under Fire proved that the magic of that weekend was no fluke.

The Qualifying Session

Before Saturday's primetime show, the King of Nitro participants completed one qualifying session on Friday night to set the eliminations ladder. In Funny Car, Capps qualified No. 1 by a hundredth of a second with his 3.895-second pass at 330.72 mph. Gordon qualified third in Top Fuel with a 3.821 at 322 mph.

The qualifying session set the stage for what would become an unforgettable night of racing. The tight margins a hundredth of a second separating the top Funny Car qualifiers hinted at the level of competition that was to come.

The Eliminations: Capps Dominates Funny Car

Capps continued his consistency in eliminations, running just a thousandth of a second off his qualifying time with a 3.896 E.T. at 331.94 mph to defeat Funny Car rookie Jordan Vandergriff in the opening round.

In the final round, with a trip to the "King of Nitro" final match on the line, Capps left ahead of 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year Spencer Hyde and powered to a 3.892 E.T. at 334.90 mph to hold off Hyde's 3.948-second effort.

The Funny Car bracket was stacked with talent, but Capps made it look easy. His car was hooked up and consistent, launching off the line with authority and carrying that speed all the way through the quarter-mile. The NAPA Auto Care machine was on a rail, and Capps was driving with the confidence of a man who has seen it all and done it all.

The Eliminations: Gordon Conquers Top Fuel

Gordon kicked off the shootout with a side-by-side race against Norwalk fan favorite Clay Millican, with Gordon using a 3.770 E.T. at 330.07 mph to beat Millican's 3.800 E.T. It was a statement win against a veteran driver who knows the Summit Motorsports Park surface better than almost anyone.

Two-time and reigning NHRA Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta got a slight starting line edge over Gordon in the final round, but Gordon charged past him with a winning 3.723-second pass at 336.49 mph to Kalitta's 3.741 E.T. The young driver showed the poise and determination that has made her one of the most exciting rookies in the sport.

Gordon's path to the final was anything but easy. Millican and Kalitta are two of the most respected drivers in the Top Fuel ranks, and both brought their A-game to Norwalk. But Gordon was unfazed, driving with the confidence of a driver who knows she belongs at the front of the pack.

The Final: Capps vs. Gordon

To address the elapsed time discrepancy between Top Fuel and Funny Car, race officials staggered the Christmas tree so Capps' side of the tree would drop .180 seconds before Gordon's side. This handicap system is designed to create a more competitive race between the two different classes, which have vastly different performance capabilities.

Capps cut a .045 reaction time to take a holeshot advantage over Gordon, and crew chief Dean 'Guido' Antonelli was equally aggressive, tuning the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car to a victorious 3.843-second blast at 333.91 mph. Gordon, with crew chiefs Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching, made a big-speed run a 3.733 E.T. at 338.09 mph but it wasn't enough to reel in Capps.

The stagger system gave Capps a theoretical advantage, but it was still a race that required perfect execution. Capps delivered, leaving the line with a lightning-fast reaction time and driving a car that was tuned to perfection. Gordon's run was spectacular in its own right, but the holeshot advantage proved insurmountable.

Capps' Reaction: "You Can't Even Dream Up Something Like This"

"You can't even dream up something like this," said Capps, the current NHRA Mission Foods Series Funny Car points leader with three wins this season. "We thought we had the disadvantage with the stagger. Guido wanted to test something since we got here, and we didn't get a chance to do that with the weather today, so he leaned in and said, 'We're testing it right now in the final against Maddi,' and I was like, 'Oh no.' But I stepped on the gas and around 300 feet out, this thing put me in the trunk and just took off. I was looking for Maddi's little wheel out the side the whole way down, then all of a sudden my scoreboard came on."

The reference to "the trunk" is classic drag racing slang for when a car's acceleration pins the driver back in the seat so hard it feels like they've been thrown into the trunk. It's the kind of sensation that only the most powerful drag racing machines can produce and Capps' Funny Car delivered it in spades.

"What a great night," Capps continued. "It's a win-win, obviously, and I would have been just as happy if Maddi had won, but I would have also heard about it for a year from Maddi about beating me. There's no doubt about it. But it's a pretty cool win for everybody. We had all of our people watching on FloRacing with NAPA and Carlyle, and our Monster people were here. It was just a great event. The weather was a threat all day, but you roll around from the staging lanes to the starting line and look up into the grandstands and the place is completely packed. These fans are unbelievable."

Gordon's Perspective: A Collective Victory

Gordon, who added a first-time Night Under Fire appearance to her whirlwind rookie season, also counted the performance as a collective victory for RCM in its first year as a two-car operation.

"It's one thing to be invited to this race as a performer because we are way more than drag racers right now, we are performers at this event," said Gordon, currently ranked sixth in the Top Fuel points standings. "But to get past Clay Millican and Doug Kalitta to then get to race the boss man in the final, it does not get any better than that. Well, it would've been really cool if we won. But that was one of the coolest runs of my entire career. To have NAPA, Carlyle Tools, Monster Energy, and all of our other partners represented in the final was awesome. We are two cars, one team, so we all won no matter what. Thank you, Bill Bader Jr. (track president), for having us, and thank you, FloRacing, for streaming it so my whole family could watch at home. Man, what a weekend."

The sentiment from Gordon reflects the culture that Ron Capps Motorsports has built in its first year as a two-car operation. There's no rivalry between the teammates just mutual respect and a shared commitment to excellence.

The Night Under Fire: A Legendary Event

The Night Under Fire is one of the most storied events in all of drag racing. Now in its 49th year, the event has become a summer tradition for fans across the Midwest and beyond. The combination of nitro-powered dragsters and funny cars, jet cars, fireworks, and the electric atmosphere of Summit Motorsports Park has made it a can't-miss event for generations of racing fans.

This year's event was particularly special, with the inaugural "King of Nitro" title adding an extra layer of excitement. The unique format pitting Top Fuel against Funny Car in a winner-take-all shootout delivered on its promise of drama and high-speed action.

What's Next: The NHRA Brainerd Nationals

After three consecutive weekends on track, the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team will have a couple weekends off before the next stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour, the NHRA Brainerd Nationals, Aug. 20-23, at Brainerd International Raceway.

Capps currently leads the Funny Car points standings with three wins this season, and he's looking to add to his already impressive career total. Gordon, currently ranked sixth in Top Fuel, continues to build momentum as a rookie driver with a bright future ahead of her.

The Night Under Fire will be remembered for many things the roar of the engines, the smell of nitro in the air, the fireworks lighting up the Ohio sky. But for Ron Capps Motorsports, it will be remembered as the night when two teammates proved that they are the class of the field.

Capps' victory was a testament to the skill and determination that has made him one of the greatest funny car drivers in the history of the sport. Gordon's performance was a statement that the future of Top Fuel is in good hands. And the fact that they did it all as teammates two cars, one team, united in pursuit of excellence made it all the more special.

"You can't even dream up something like this," Capps said. And he was right. But sometimes, dreams come true. And for one night in Norwalk, Ohio, the dream was real.