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Rising Top Fuel Sensation Maddi Gordon Motors Forward at NHRA New England Nationals
Highlights
- Maddi Gordon pedaled throttle first time in second-round loss
- Qualified tenth with a best run of 3.753 seconds
- Defeated Tony Stewart in opening round at New England Nationals
- Encountered tire smoke and lost to Leah Pruett in round two
- Ranks sixth in Top Fuel points after eight NHRA events
- Next race is June 12-14 at Bristol Dragway, Tennessee
Maddi Gordon navigates a pivotal rookie lesson at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, pedaling the throttle for the first time during a second-round loss to Leah Pruett.
Driving the Carlyle Tools dragster for Ron Capps Motorsports, she and crew chiefs Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching treat the eighth event as a development waypoint without compromising car integrity.
Qualifying underscores that approach. After early traction loss, she posts 3.808 seconds at 330.55 mph to climb to ninth, follows with 3.828 at 332.75, then coasts to a tenth-place start.
Race day opens with a marquee pairing against 2025 regular-season champion Tony Stewart. Gordon delivers a career-best 3.753 at 337.50 mph, while Stewart smokes the tires, handing her lane choice.
Career-best 3.753 seconds at 337.50 mph in round one secured lane choice over Tony Stewart.
The second round proves decisive. Gordon leaves well, encounters tire smoke, and pedals the car. Pruett regains traction quicker and completes the pass to progress.
First competitive throttle-pedal event management for Gordon, executed without damaging the car.
Learning to pedal a Top Fueler at speed is a nuanced skill. Gordon acknowledges a brief delay, prioritizing control. The team debriefs with video and data to sharpen in-run recovery decisions.
The wider New England weekend again underlines punishing conditions, with Pro Stock action at New England also producing mixed fortunes for front-runners.
Crucially, the rookie trendline points upward. She improves launch execution, breaks into the mid-3.70s bracket, and strengthens her call-and-response with engineers when the track demands adjustments.
Gordon ranks sixth in Top Fuel points after eight NHRA events.
She holds sixth in the Top Fuel standings after eight rounds, reflecting consistent race-day execution and conservative damage avoidance while the group accumulates data.
Attention now turns to Bristol. The Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals run June 12–14 at Bristol Dragway, where altitude and weather often reset tuning baselines.
Visual Summary
Maddi Gordon
PEDAL MOMENT!
Rookie Learning Curve
6th place
Qualifying
Sessions:
3.808s @ 330.55 mph
3.828s @ 332.75 mph
Final spot: 10th
3.828s @ 332.75 mph
Final spot: 10th
Round 1
vs Tony Stewart
3.753s | 337.50 mph
WIN (best career run)
WIN (best career run)
Round 2
vs Leah Pruett
Pedaled throttle
Lost (strong launch, major lesson)
Lost (strong launch, major lesson)
“Breaking into the 3.70s and learning to pedal are huge steps. The car’s safe, and so am I – now it’s time to review, learn, and bring even more at Thunder Valley.”
— Maddi Gordon
Next: ?? Bristol Thunder Valley Nationals (June 12–14)
Nicholas Rivera delivers NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car news, including eliminator-round results and reaction-time stats. He brings track-side interviews, contender profiles, and championship-point breakdowns straight from drag-racing’s biggest national events.
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