Maddi Gordon continued to gain experience at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals, where she lost a close opening-round race Sunday morning at Maryland International Raceway. The NHRA Rookie of the Year contender made a string of consistent passes across qualifying and eliminations, giving her confidence in her Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching-tuned Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series kicked off a stretch of three consecutive races. Gordon held on to her No. 6 position in the Top Fuel points standings.
In the opening qualifying session, Gordon powered to a 3.840-second pass at 330.39 mph to streak to the provisional No. 2 spot, earning two championship bonus points in the process. She improved to a 3.805 E.T. at 332.34 mph in the second session to sit fifth going into Saturday. A consistent 3.808-second pass followed in the third session on Saturday. That performance came with another bonus point, as it was the third-quickest pass of the session. Gordon’s only instance of tire smoke all weekend struck in the final qualifying session, and she ended up No. 6 on the final qualifying order.
Gordon rolled into Sunday eliminations facing No. 11 qualifier Will Smith. The two drivers ran nearly identical passes, with Gordon matching her qualifying performance with a 3.805 E.T. at 330.07 mph, but Smith moved first and won with a 3.802 E.T.
“Qualifying went really well, and I really felt confident going into race day today,” Gordon said. “We’re making runs up and down the racetrack in our Carlyle Tools dragster, getting me more experience in the car. We were trying to run a mid-3.70. I technically didn’t lose on a holeshot, but it feels like I did because I just didn’t have a good light. I missed the tree and I’m pretty bummed about that, but we win and we lose as a team. Like Chuck (Grospitch), our car chief said, the windshield is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason, so we’ll just look forward and do better at the next one.”
Before she moves on to the next stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Series schedule, Gordon will head to the High Performance Expo (HPX) in Charlotte, where she’ll appear as a featured speaker. Gordon’s rookie season will then continue at the NHRA New England Nationals, June 5-7, at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
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