Ron Capps’ red-hot start to the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season rolled on at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Sunday afternoon at zMAX Dragway as the three-time world champion secured his second win of the year in his third consecutive final round. Driving his NAPA Auto Care Funny Car at the fourth of 20 races this season, Capps qualified No. 1 and carried that momentum through eliminations. He defeated fellow past world champions Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, and J.R. Todd in the final quad to score his 79th career victory, extending his points lead in the process.
Capps posted a solid 3.988 E.T. at 321.65 mph on the board in Friday’s first qualifying session before throwing down a 3.883-second blast at 333.91 mph, one of just two 3.8-second passes in the second session, to finish Friday as the provisional No. 1 qualifier, earning three championship bonus points in the process. In the third qualifying session, which also counted as the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Capps recorded the quickest pass of the quad, a 3.957 E.T., to advance. He was the quickest of the quad again in the final with his 3.929 E.T., but came up just two-thousandths-of-a-second short to Jordan Vandergriff, who won on a holeshot. Capps was also the second-quickest and quickest driver overall in Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, respectively, earning another five total bonus points.
Qualified No. 1, Capps and crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli continued their class-leading performance in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations as Capps fired off low E.T. of the round, a 3.865-second pass at 333.00 mph, to defeat Chad Green, Austin Prock, and Spencer Hyde. His 3.923 E.T. in the next round was the second-quickest of the semifinal quad, sending him into the final round.
The finals were a showdown featuring four of the most accomplished drivers in the class. Capps moved first off the starting line and charged to a 3.905-second pass at 334.90 mph to finish first ahead of Beckman, Hagan, and Todd, and clinch his fifth zMAX Dragway victory.
“The secret to this success is just surrounding yourself with great people,” said Capps, who will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America’s Class of 2027, it was announced last week. “I’ve been that way my whole career. I can’t believe I have as many trophies as I have, and it’s with all great people. The great Roland Leong taught me a lot about racing, how to be a great racer overall and a great person while you’re doing it, and to really respect everybody. Guido and the NAPA Auto Care guys gave me a great car today and I just didn’t want to mess anything up.”
Charlotte was the fourth race for Ron Capps Motorsports as a two-car operation after adding Maddi Gordon and the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel team to the roster over the offseason. What could’ve become a distraction has instead strengthened the fifth-year organization. Capps started the season as the No. 1 qualifier at the Gatornationals, won the Arizona Nationals, reached the final round at the Winternationals, and now won the 4-Wide Nationals.
“This all happens in December. I said that in Phoenix,” explained Capps, one of the recent additions to NHRA’s Top 75 Drivers list. “It’s all the effort during the off-weeks. To add a team like we did with Maddi and to watch that all come together with the partners we have like NAPA Auto Parts and Carlyle Tools and then Monster Energy coming on board, it’s special. We had Casey (VanKeuren) from Monster Energy here. She brings good luck for us all the time. We also had NAPA Premium Brakes Booster with Motorcar Parts of America, and Okuma on board this weekend. Maddi and I get to go visit NAPA headquarters this week, and to take this 75th anniversary diamond Wally there is going to be pretty awesome.”
Following the midweek trip to NAPA Auto Parts headquarters in Atlanta, Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team will roll into South Georgia Motorsports Park for the first time as it hosts the NHRA Southern Nationals, May 1-3.
This story was originally published on April 27, 2026. 
