Ron Capps Sets New Career-Best Speed at NHRA Great Lakes Nationals

MARTIN, Mich. (Sept. 21, 2026) – Three-time Funny Car world champion Ron Capps opened the 2026 NHRA Countdown to the Championship with a career-best speed of 339.37 mph in the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car during Monday eliminations at the inaugural NHRA Great Lakes Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. Capps paired the milestone speed with a 3.859-second pass to defeat Chad Green in the opening round before tire smoke ended his day in the quarterfinals. The early exit moved Capps from second to fourth in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car standings after the first of six playoff races.

Capps and crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli quickly acclimated to the unfamiliar track surface, as Capps used a 3.947-second pass at 331.13 mph to charge to the provisional No. 4 spot in the first qualifying session. He improved to a 3.930 E.T. at 326.80 mph in Friday’s second session to go into Saturday in the No. 7 position. Tire shake followed in the third qualifying session, but Capps bounced back in the final qualifying session with his quickest pass of the weekend to that point, a 3.899-second pass at 336.07 mph.

Capps went into Sunday eliminations in the No. 7 spot ready to take on Chad Green, but persistent rain forced NHRA officials to postpone eliminations to Monday morning. The wait was worth it for Capps, who set a new career-best speed with his 3.859-second pass at 339.37 mph to defeat Green. In the second round, Capps moved first against past world champion Jack Beckman, but he lost traction almost as soon as he hit the throttle, while Beckman advanced to the semifinals.

“What a great track to start the Countdown to the Championship with,” said Capps, who now sits just over three competition rounds out of first place. “Even when it was raining, the fans kept pouring in. And then with the rainout, we came back to run the finals today on Monday and still had a huge crowd. So, that was pretty cool.

“I always brag about Guido being able to adapt to different conditions, and we saw that this weekend. Every qualifying session seemed to have different conditions. We did a good job of qualifying, and I ran the top speed of my career first round today. Unfortunately, we went out second round, but the good thing is, we’re headed to Rockingham in a few days, another track where a lot of racers haven’t been before. I have some good memories there from early in my career, so I’m looking forward to going back and really excited for all the drivers, like Maddi, who have never raced there and have only heard the stories. I think a lot of the racers are going to be surprised by the fanbase there. We’ve got a lot of guests coming out, and a surprise partner coming on board with NAPA Auto Parts next weekend. We’re looking forward to it and I can’t wait to see all the fans at Thurday night’s Fanfest.”

The NHRA Countdown to the Championship continues Sept. 25-27 at the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina. Like U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Rockingham is a new stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule.

Qualified: No. 7 (3.899 E.T. at 336.07 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.859 E.T. at 339.37 MPH defeated Chad Green 12.123 E.T. at 80.83 MPH
E2: 7.056 E.T. at 104.26 MPH defeated by Jack Beckman 3.841 E.T. at 334.08 MPH