{"id":102503,"date":"2025-11-04T21:44:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/carlyle-tools-to-power-maddi-gordons-rookie-top-fuel-season-with-ron-capps-motorsports\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T21:44:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:44:30","slug":"carlyle-tools-to-power-maddi-gordons-rookie-top-fuel-season-with-ron-capps-motorsports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/carlyle-tools-to-power-maddi-gordons-rookie-top-fuel-season-with-ron-capps-motorsports\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlyle Tools to Power Maddi Gordon\u2019s Rookie Top Fuel Season With Ron Capps Motorsports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carlyle Tools, the private label hand tool brand of longtime Ron Capps Motorsports (RCM) partner NAPA Auto Parts, will back NHRA drag racer Maddi Gordon as she embarks on her rookie season competing in the sport\u2019s professional Top Fuel ranks, it was announced today at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.
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In April, fourth-year NHRA team owner\/driver Ron Capps confirmed that he would expand his single-car operation into a two-car team in 2026 and had selected Gordon as the driver of his organization\u2019s first Top Fuel entry. Capps, a three-time Funny Car world champion and 31-year veteran of the sport, has enjoyed a nearly 19-year partnership with NAPA Auto Parts. On Tuesday at the SEMA show, Gordon revealed the black-and-venom-green Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster that she will pilot at all 20 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events in 2026, starting with the series\u2019 season-opener in March.
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\u201cThis is definitely a pinch-me moment,\u201d said Gordon, a third generation drag racer who grew up traveling the NHRA tour with her family\u2019s Top Alcohol Funny Car operation and became the 100th woman in NHRA history to win a national event when she scored her first victory aboard the family entry in 2024. \u201cI\u2019m still wrapping my head around the fact that I get to drive a dragster for Ron next year, and to do that with such an innovative and dynamic brand like Carlyle Tools is a dream. My family and I started working with Carlyle earlier this season on our Alcohol car when Ron helped to set us up with a product agreement. It was so cool to be able to represent them on a smaller scale this year, but the fact that it has evolved beyond that, and I\u2019ll get to be \u2018the Carlyle driver\u2019 competing in NHRA\u2019s pro ranks, is not something I could have ever imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

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L-R: Katherine Wooten, NAPA Auto Parts Director of Partnership Strategy & Activation, Ron Capps, Maddi Gordon, Danny Huffaker, Senior Vice President of Product & Marketing, Joe Sabo, Senior Product Manager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The partnership with Gordon reflects the recent Carlyle Tools brand transformation, which is geared toward reaching students and young technicians. At just 21 years old, Gordon is adept at both driving and wrenching on her family\u2019s race car, perfectly embodying the demographic Carlyle Tools is hoping to attract.
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\u201cMaddi doesn\u2019t just talk the talk, she walks the walk,\u201d said Capps. \u201cWhen we announced that Maddi would be joining RCM earlier this season, I had said that we were going about this a bit backwards, because normally you start out by securing funding and then you add the driver, but for me it was important to pay it forward and give an up-and-comer like Maddi, who both drives and works as a crew member, \u2018the shot\u2019 that Snake (Don Prudhomme, Capps\u2019 former team owner) gave me. Maddi does the clutch; she can pull a cylinder head, she\u2019s not afraid to get her hands dirty; she does it all. NAPA and Carlyle recognized those qualities in her, and I think the fans will too. She is the ultimate spokesperson for Carlyle Tools and will be an awesome ambassador for the brand.\u201d
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Katherine Wooten, NAPA Director of Partnerships Strategy and Activation shares Capps\u2019 sentiment, also emphasizing Carlyle\u2019s push to bring young men and women into the auto care space.
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\u201cMaddi represents everything we\u2019re working toward with the Carlyle Tools transformation \u2013 she\u2019s young, she\u2019s incredibly talented, and she knows her way around an auto shop,\u201d Wooten said. \u201cWhen we reimagined the Carlyle brand, we had the next generation in mind, and we were looking for someone who could authentically connect with young technicians. Maddi doesn\u2019t just drive the car, she understands the tools and knows what it takes to build something from the ground up. That\u2019s exactly who we want to represent Carlyle. We\u2019re thrilled to welcome Maddi to the NAPA family and can\u2019t wait to watch her legacy unfold.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After closing out the remainder of the 2025 season with her family, Gordon, who earned her Top Alcohol Funny Car license in 2023, will begin the licensing process to compete in NHRA\u2019s premier class. She has three national event wins, four regional triumphs, and currently sits third in the category\u2019s point standings. Gordon will kick off her Rookie of the Year campaign aboard the Ron Capps Motorsports Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster when the 2026 season gets underway with the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 6 \u2013 8.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on November 4, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Carlyle Tools to Power Maddi Gordon\u2019s Rookie Top Fuel Season With Ron Capps Motorsports<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carlyle Tools, the private label hand tool brand of longtime Ron Capps Motorsports (RCM) partner NAPA Auto Parts, will back NHRA drag racer Maddi Gordon as she embarks on her rookie season competing in the sport\u2019s professional Top Fuel ranks, it was announced today at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.\u00a0In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}